Okay, saw my cardio doc today; EKG, nuclear stress test, and circulation tests all wonderful, no blockage, BUT..... my ultra-sound on my carotid arteries showed a 20-40% blockage on the left one. Doc wants me on Pravachol, a statin. I just had a bad experience with one drug, Crestor, my arms, hands, shoulder, legs and feet ache and tingle, freaky side effects for anyone, but I'm diabetic, and it really stresses me out.

I don't know your age or the type of diabetes you have, so just take my response with a grain of salt. Use what you want of it, if any, and toss out the rest.

I'm in my 60s and have 3 serious chronic illnesses. I take somewhere around 28 different prescription meds every day. I have learned that it's my right to say 'NO' to doctors. If they want me to try a particular drug, I try it. If it causes side effects that bother me even a little (unless I know they'll go away as I adjust to the med), I simply go right back and say, "I won't take this stuff anymore because [insert reason]." They have long ago given up arguing with me! They may think of me as a stubborn old woman, but I don't care if they do!

Will the drug actually remove the plaque from your arteries, or just slow down the rate of accumulation? If I were in your position, I would try the drug. Ask the doc to give you enough samples to get you through a month, so you won't be spending a lot of $$$ on a med you may not be able to tolerate. (You did tell him/her that you were not able to tolerate the previous statin you were on, didn't you?) Also, tell the doc that you have read (if you have) the latest studies that indicate statins can actually do harm to the body. (The literature is here on this site. Look for it!)

Tell him/her you want another ultra-sound in 6 months. In fact, I would outright demand one. I would tell the doc to make out the order right then and there and hand it to me. Period. (That's because the LC woe actually can clear the plaque from blood vessels, but you don't need to get into a hassle over your woe with the doc right now.)

I certainly understand how the tingling, etc. would have been frightening to you! That's a warning sign of peripheral nerve damage, which is common in diabetics. It would have scared the daylights out of me, even though I don't have diabetes!

Always remember that the doctor is your employee! As long as you're basically reasonable and try to work within his/her treatment plan, there shouldn't be any quarrels between the two of you. But in the end, you are the boss, and decisions about your health should be agreements between you and the doctors. They can't force you to do something you really don't want to do. They might try to order you to, but I just tell them I will take their advice under consideration. (Doesn't mean I'm necessarily gonna do what they said, just that I'll think it over! )

Good morning, Kisal

Thanks for your post, I'll address some of what you wrote:

I'm 42, and was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic this last December. I haven't been diabetic for terribly long, as I had a fasting blood sugar of 102 (not great, but not diabetic) just in mid-2004. I've read, and been told, that it can take several years for the diabetic neurophathy to occur, so I tend to think (and hope!) that I haven't developed that. Reading former NASA astronaut/MD Duane Graveline's website, though, he discusses how one of the occasional side-effects of statins is also neuropathy.

The cardio doc said he does not think the plaque is calcified, and the statin has an excellent chance of reducing some of it, and certainly from preventing any more build up, preventing any need for surgery. As you said, and I also read something like it in one of the Eades' books, our low-carb eating can reverse buildup, as long as it isn't too hardened.

I did tell him about my Crestor problems, he said that it's "notorious" for causing muscle problems, he told me the Pravachol is far better tolerated, and that it would not harm my liver, nor cause muscle issues. I've read differently, however; it did seem that Dr Graveline was less harsh with the Pravachol. It's supposed to be one of the less-powerful statins.

He also told me he wants another ultra-sound in 6 months, he actually called my other doc on the phone while I was there to get them to set it up.

I look at it like this: I've had anxiety attacks for about 12 years. Feeling like I can't breathe, dizzy, aches in my chest area. But never, never, the weird tingling/muscle aches in my feet/legs/arms, until after spending January on a statin. Did the statin "kick in" my diabetes, or create some neuropathy on its own? Is it all in my head? I know from experience, the mind is far more powerful than most of us realize, and with the stress I've been under, maybe the newer symptoms are only stress-induced. They aren't there when I wake up, and they come on, or increase, when my anxiety is high, so......

Again, thank you, Kisal. You sound like an excellent person and patient! Take care of yourself.

The best supplements clogged arteries are vitamin D and Coenzyme Q10.

I've tried 2 statins and reacted badly to both. This seems to be the norm. If your reaction to 1 was rhabdo, you should NEVER take another. For other reactions, it's different for everyone, but many say the reactions come back faster and often more severe.

Dr Graveline's site has some great info.
http://www.spacedoc.net/