My opinion? Don't take the Lipitor. If you decide to take it, however, take CoQ-10 along with it.

I am pretty much against any of the statins, except, maybe in a VERY small population. A woman under 50 with no signs of heart disease or diabetes (which if controlled shouldn't even BE a risk factor IMHO) and a total cholesterol of 218 is NOT someone who should be in that population. (Also if you are still able to have children, be sure to prevent any pregnancy while on these meds!)

Personally, tho I don't believe the whole cholesterol causes heart disease theory. I do agree that high triglycerides are bad (because they're directly related to carb consumption), but pretty much feel the rest of the numbers are useless. MAYBE there's something to the type of LDL you have, but my experience is that docs are reluctant to do the differentiating testing.

I'm 51 and last test I had done I had a total of about 265. My HDL was just about the same at 48, my tri's (after a very bad weekend) were in the 150's. Initially my doc told me I needed to go back on Lipitor (bad side effects), even tho I had no other risk factors....NO family history, quit smoking, not diabetic, BP normal, etc. The only "risks" I had were my cholesterol numbers. When I protested and said I wouldn't take the meds even if my LDL went up to 350 she suddenly decided since I quit smoking there probably wasn't a need for it.

If you feel the need to lower your total and LDL and increase your HDL (hey, it can't hurt, right? well maybe not)....then try doing it naturally first. B complex and folic acid, exercise, removing processed foods, excess carbs and trans-fats from your diet are probably the most important things you can do. This should also lower your homocystine and CRP levels (inflammation markers), which some feel are more indicative of impending heart disease.

Some feel taking cinnamon, policosanol, plant sterols, niacin, etc can all help lower your numbers or "risk". (Red yeast rice is a natural statin and pretty much carries the same risk) Eating healthy veggies, adequate protein and natural fresh fats is also very important.

If you do decide to take the statins, be sure to take CoQ-10, since statins are known for depleting the body's coQ-10 stores and this is essential for the body. This is very important, but may docs (like mine) don't tell patients to take it.

Also, please do some research online and make sure you know what side effects are related to statin use. Here's a good place to start: http://medicine.ucsd.edu/SES/adverse_effects.htm Also be aware that side effects may not show up until you've been on the meds for a while. And a lot of people report muscle problems that do NOT show an increase in CPK (the marker for muscle damage). Side effects often do not go away quickly when the med is resumed, so docs often use this as proof that the statin wasn't the cause.

Also, don't let your total cholesterol go below 160. Levels below 160 seem to point to a higher incidence of depression and suicide ideation. And remember....cholesterol is so essential to the human body that it can produce what ever it needs....statins prevents this from happening.....so if your body needs cholesterol (like for creating new blood vessels, repairing others, etc) and the levels are too low the body can't even produce what it needs.

Consider this too. Back when they first started talking about high cholesterol being a cause of heart disease, the accepted total cholesterol levels were much higher than they are now. People with "familial hypercholesterolemmia" had levels over 350 before they were treated! Now the levels are lowered significantly....in some cases to as low as 180! That's only 20 points higher than what was always considered the "acceptable minimum".

That's my 2 cents....ok, dollar and a quarter.