I've been going through a long and winding road over the last year. Somethings have come and gone, but my general health is still not normal and I'd like your thoughts. Thanks in advance for reading.

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FYI: I'm a 38 yo male. At the beginning of this story I was on 10mg Crestor to treat cholesterol. My numbers were "managed" to the point that my total cholesterol was around 180, LDL a bit above 100 and my HDL around 37.

Roughly in November of 2008 I went on a walk where I was experiencing excruciating pain (shin splints?). I managed to finish the race although I was one of the last, behind several elderly people. I noticed a large swollen "bump" on my shin. This was later thought to be localized varicose vein by my physician (he did no exams to confirm this). Within weeks after, I start feeling like a "fluid" was randomly flowing through my leg(s) at times, felt a bulge that would "flow" in my abdomen and so on. Also around this time I would have issues with my hearing - I would hear a whooshing sound that went on for days - I was prescribed an antibiotic.

Things went on until May or so of 2009. I was regularly exercising and working out (walks 3 miles/day, significant lawn work). I am thin boned but weigh about 158 and stand 5'7". During the walks, I noticed that my veins were getting more and more pronounced, the varicose veins would not "recede" so it likes a new vein would be surfacing on every strenuous walk, run. Finally one day, I finished a run and my right shoe felt like it was flooded with water. I took off my shoe, my foot looked swollen and I felt it might have been blood pooled into my right foot (same foot where the original "bump" showed up). The "varicose" veins are mostly in my right leg, but some in my left as well. During this time, I would occasionally get a strong dizzy spell - out of the nowhere I'd be standing at the office and get a sudden sensation like I was falling. Then it would recede for a long time. I would also get sudden hot flashes - in an AC room in front of a computer doing no activity.

Fearing injury, I went to see an internist. I told him of all my issues (this led to ultrasounds from a vascular surgeon telling me my veins, valves, were fine and there was no sign of DVT - although I've had symptoms similar a couple of times in a plane) but my internist also asked me to get an ultrasound on my abdomen as I felt like some fluid was retained there at one time (also because my Mom was diagnosed with colorectal cancer recently). Long story short - ultrasound led to 3 CT scans of my chest, abdomen and pelvis (pelvis for the sake of figuring out the issue with my veins). Nothing of significance to note.

I should also mention that I also saw milder issues like very dry skin (to the point of scaly on my legs, a little hair loss (I know I'm 38...), weight gain despite exercise) so I wondered if this could also be due to hypothyroidism. TSH came at 3.3 and my doc thought I was normal for hypothyroid.

As time went on, my dizziness/lightheadedness increased in frequency and duration. It became more and more common - whether I was exercising or not (standing was enough, and eventually even sleeping). July 1st - I went to the ER - feeling short of breath, heaviness in my limbs. Coming from a history of heart problems - I went in. One day later, I was fine (no stroke, no heart attack nothing)- doc told me to stay on Crestor and take aspirin. I left still feeling dizzy/light-headed and a bit weak.

I came to a realization. Right about when my symptoms started increasing in May/June I had run out of my batch of Crestor from India and started my Crestor from the US. I immediately started reducing my dosage, some days were strangely symptomatic, others I was feeling better. However the dizziness remained, weakness was building. I went in circles with a GI doc, ENT and then Ophthalmologist. The GI doc to follow up on my abdomen, the ENT and Opthamologist regarding dizziness. They all recommended that I stay get off Crestor and see what happens - there was nothing in my abdomen that could be discerned by blood test, ENT reported a slight ocular abnormality that was never acknowledged by my Opthamologist. I was fine otherwise.

On July 21st I stopped Crestor altogether after having reduced dosage for a week or two. On August 5th, after a lot of reading, I started 100mg of CoQ10 with Vitamin E. Two days later I started on the Kaneka brand recommended by some and am staying with that for now (I went steadily from 100mg up to 900mg/daily at one point and now at 300mg).

During this time the lightheadedness would ebb and flow but I would have profound fatigue. I would sleep all night and then be more tired during the morning. There were days I could not summon the energy to even drive to work to my desk job.

By August I would start having bouts of blurry vision and sensitivity to bright lights. One day, in attempt to do lawn work with my hedge trimmer, I came inside feeling really winded. So much so that my arms and hands started shaking uncontrollably (twitching is probably a better word). For months, I would have random uncontrollable muscle twitches. At this point, I tried to supplement with magnesium and I was also taking a lot of Gatorade, etc to correct what I thought might have been a electrolyte imbalance. Moreover, I would have some weird neuropathy where portions of my feet would be numb. It was awkward - on hardwood floors sometimes I'd have a harder times "gripping", I would often slip as I don't think my brain and feet were "talking".

My doctor wasn't going anywhere with this, so I kept digging and we would do tests. I checked for Lyme disease and then was thinking of metal toxicity and vitamin deficiency -- finally something -- my Vitamin D was at 16.2 (normal 32-100). I started supplementing heavily and that started to help (to date I take 6000 IUs daily). I also at this time was on several other supplements - 2 tspns Cod Liver Oil, Acetyl-L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid, B vitamins (until I felt that the large doses of B6 were contributing to my muscle twitches), 2g Vitamin C and Magnesium Orotate.

So by the end of 2009, I generally improved. My veins were "stable" - they haven't developed further but do get more prominent with exercise as I'd expect. I was trying to get as much sun as possible despite the season, I also was eating very healthy. By the middle of summer in fact, I was off coffee, sodas and mostly eating fruits, fresh and raw salads when possible and so on. But still my progress was slow and at times stagnant. In October my D level was up to 27 so I thought I'd be in the normal range by now...so didn't know what to think.

I switched doctors a few months ago. He immediately asked me to maintain my levels of D even though he found me at 38 (This was after nearly 6 months of supplmentation!). He also found my TSH at 4.0. I am now on 75mg Synthroid. He found my LDL cholesterol at 205, and Triglycerides at 190 and HDL at 37. He wanted me immediately on Lipitor. I told him I wanted to hold off for a little while to see what I could do with diet. During that visit, he thought my BP was a bit high (I've never had a BP problem until 2009 when it was started to be higher in the ER and a few doctors visits). I'm now apparently consistently around 130/90. The diastolic led to a carotid scan (don't know why - but it's clear) and then an echocardiogram. The echo found mild LVH. The doctor wants me on 25mg of Toprol now. My TSH has now normalized but I'm still on synthroid.

As things stand today, I feel that there is a factor or two that probably started this whole journey and it's cascading through my system and that's what I'm noticing and dealing with. I want to get to the bottom of this instead of taking medicines that I feel have aggravated if not possibly caused the problem (hello Crestor). I am still reluctant to start the Lipitor and Toprol. The toprol perhaps is more logical for my BP. But I also wonder if my hypothroidism is complicating things - it can lead to higher cholesterol numbers (and mine have never been this high).

A couple of weeks ago I started noticing my blood pressure raging, palpitations that I could feel just walking around and so on. I stopped the synthroid for two days to see what would happen - but the palpitations were now there again and stronger, with lightheadedness and shortness of breath. However during this time I was on a very high fiber diet (trying to manage my cholesterol through diet - oatmeal, flaxseed, apples, almonds, exercise and beans) - I was very gassy and I noticed that that might be contributing. I also started taking 4mg of Astaxanthin during this month. Last thing: my last blood test after the one month of the high-fiber diet and astaxanthin actually increased by LDL from 205 to 221! My triglycerides plummeted to 114 and my HDL improved to 40 (astaxanthin?).

At this point I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of this.
-Do you see any underlying pattern to any of this?
-I just read that B12 deficiencies could be causing these problems as well. I've never been checked for it but I've been taking a mulivitamin for the last few months that has nearly 1600% the RDA for B12. As an aside, I've had white hair just starting to snowball on me for the last 5/6 years. It started slowly but now it's everywhere. I've read this could be due to B12 deficiency?
-Why do I still (even after "resolving" my hypothyroidism) feel dizzy on occasion? Also a B12 side effect?
-Despite a pretty healthy diet (not veggie or vegan however) I am constantly bloated and not regular. Sometimes days between bowel movements. I'm about to go on this colon cleansing program: https://drnatura.com/colonix_program.php to see if that will help.
-Also I'm going to start Greens Plus soon although I'm taking a lot of supplments as it is to see if that helps. Ever since my first days, I do feel there is something at the "gut level" that is screwing me up - if I can get my pipes cleaned and then look into probiotics and so on, I thought that might help. Any thoughts on that?
-I will make one last point. Back in May 2009 there were a few environmental things that occurred that were brushed off, but wanted to make sure that no one here thought they were of any significance.
-I noticed in our bathroom that it was very "wet". My towels would have a VERY strong moldy smell to the point that to this day I don't let it dry in the bathroom. This might have lasted a week or two before I moved it (don't know what I was thinking).
-We got a new mattress and mattress "protectant". The protectant had so many chemicals that I would be tearing up and felt it in my throat and lungs. We aired it out for several days and eventually returned it.
-I got a new cell phone (this one is definitely a stretch) and bluetooth headset. I don't know what effect the radiation might have on me that might lend to any of this.

If you are still reading this I would love to hear your thoughts. I am at a point that I'm not as anxious about this as I used to be but I don't feel most doctors are looking deeply enough - and I'm still forced to read and look for answers. Perhaps that aspect will never end. There is a lot of knowledge on this board and many coming from viewpoints I've never considered. Please let me know whatever thoughts you might have on this.

Thanks in advance.

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LATEST TEST RESULTS: 4/8/2010

Total Cholesterol: 284
Triglycerides: 116
HDL: 40
VLDL 23
LDL 221

TSH: .423 (Normal: .3 - 3.0)
T4, Free, Direct 1.51 (0.82 - 1.77)

Previous numbers (from memory) roughly 1.5 months earlier:

Trig: 190
HDL: 37
LDL: 205

TSH: 4.0

It looks like the main problem is getting your thyroid medication optimised. Until this is sorted you will have all sorts of odd symptoms including palpitations.

Your HDL is very low. Have you been tested for Lp(a)? this causes low HDL and the only effective answer is niacin.

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/niacin/CL00036


However, your low HDL as well as the white hair can mean a copper deficiency and that could also go with some of your other symptoms, loss of muscle control, underactive thyroid, cholesterol levels,feelings of low energy, possible hernia,low fat metabolism and varicose veins.

A low copper level can effect your heart and artery integrity as it is responsible for the fibres that strengthen arteries and the heart muscle. I think you should get checked for copper levels by your doctor. In the meantime eating nuts and organ meats will help to increase levels.

Eating iron enriched foods also can lower copper absorption.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=uk

Liverock:

Thank you for your feedback. For some reason HDL seems to run low in my family. I've tried to "man up" and get my exercising despite my dizzy spells which makes walking, stairmaster, etc very exciting. I also am on 4mg of Astaxanthin that seems like it might have contributed (along with exercise) to moving my HDL nearly 10% - 37->40.

The copper is a very good point that I will look into. I am regularly eating nuts not however (almonds specifically) and I do eat organic meats on occasion, although not organ meats. I'll try to get this looked at my next blood test.

Thank you again,
eers

You certainly had some very serious symptoms and they still at this point in my opinion are not resolved. No diagnosis had been made, and then again, medical doctors admit according to the Journal of American Medicine that only 5 to 6 percent of the diagnosis are correct.....Imagine that!


Getting off the crestor was probably the smartest thing you did.
Do not start any other lipid control medication, in my opinion this will only lead you further into the rabbit hole.

Do find yourself a knowledgable Naturopath who is somewhat high tech. One that is willing to use technology... you will find that naturopaths vary on this. Your medical doctor will never be able to help you unless you need emergency services. A naturopath should be able to help you from needing emergency services

You have:
a vascular issue
a lymphatic issue
a liver issue
a thyrod issue most like caused by deficiency of iodine
a mineral issue

I would not supplement iron unless aneamia is detected but do add grass fed beef to your diet. If there is anemia only a natural plant based product is recommended like Nature Sunshine IX formula, and only until labs indicate normal levels.

B12 levels can be checked. Injections may be a good idea to bring you up to level. I would not accept a b12 level under 250 a healthy.

Your doctor really failed you in your Vitamin D3 supplementation. You need to get it up and get it up now. Get some Biotec D3 in 50,000 IU strength and take three a day for 3 days then return to Biotec 5,000 IU daily. Save the high potency for when you feel ill. I suspect the product you are using may not be very good. Switch to Biotec brand. Its quality is proven. A search will lead you to a source or www.vitalady.com sells it. There are lots of posts on vit D3 on this forum and we have some very knowledgable people here discussing it. Do a forum search.

Search this forum on iodine. Lots of info for you on how to supplement. You do still have a thyroid issue. Taking thyroid hormone tells me that it is not resolved and you are deluding yourself. Iodine is your best chance for eliminating this medication. They thyroid molecule is structured around an iodine molecule. Check your thyroid levels 4 to 6 weeks after supplemention starts as your synthyroid will likely need to be decreased.

Often, but not always, thyroid issues start due to poor digestion and iodine is not metabolized correctly so that it is never turned into thyroid hormone. Do you have reflux, acid indegestion, gas, bloating? If so this needs to be resolved. Do not take antacid pills. They will lead to a slow and miserable decline in health. Let us know.

Eliminate sources of flouride, like water. soda pop, commercial products with water in them. Use pure clean alkaline water. You may have to get a water ionizer if your city water is bad. And if you have city water that you drink 99% chance it is bad.

Supplement with topical magnesium daily. You can get liquid mag at www.iherb.com
Just put it in a spray bottle.

IF you have a mold issue get an Enlay room ozonator and use it. Remove any wall boards etc that are contaminated.

Remove any plastics that might be off gassing chemicals.

It would be good to know exactly what your lipid levels are without medicaiton treatment.

A colon cleanse is probably fine. But most digestive issues to do not start in the colon or small intestine. They start with problems with the liver and in the secretion of enzymes and acid in the stomach. These have to be made right. Digestive enzymes may be needed, Betaine HCL may be needed with meals

there is a product called TMG that can help your liver and your digestion (thanks pinball doctor!) I get mine at Iherb.com and will be starting soon.
Look at this and read the reviews:
https://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-TMG-500-500-mg-120-Easy-Solv-Tablets/141?at=0

You need a liver detox.

You need a heavy metal detox likely.

If you do not have daily bowel movements you really need to work on that.
I make my own yogurt and keifer. I take flaxseed. Add more fiber to your diet. Can you do that? If not try the yogurt called Ativea available at any grocery store. Be sure to supplement with magnesium to assure balance in calcium and magnesium

Look at Lymphomyosot drainage remedy from Heel. Take it with Galium Heel for 3 months to cleanse and strenghten immune and lymph defense. get it here: www.iherb.com

You likely take in enough calcium, especially if you eat dairy. If you don' broccoli is a good source, eat it at least 3 times a week, organic. You do not need 1000 or 1200 mg a day. This is a lie from our dairy industry. You need magnesium and lots of it. Eat nuts. Get to know what foods supply magnesium and supplement also with topical mag.

Purchase and take trace minerals daily. You can get them in liqud or pill form at www.reachforlife.com

__________________

get your thyroid medication optimised.

pinballdoc & Arrowwind09:

Thank you all sincerely for your feedback. There were some questions about my test results, so I've posted my latest ones in my original note, but they are here again:

LATEST TEST RESULTS: 4/8/2010 (I have not been on cholesterol meds since last summer)

Total Cholesterol: 284
Triglycerides: 116
HDL: 40
VLDL 23
LDL 221

TSH: .423 (Normal: .3 - 3.0)
T4, Free, Direct 1.51 (0.82 - 1.77)

Previous numbers (from memory) roughly 1.5 months earlier:

Trig: 190
HDL: 37
LDL: 205

TSH: 4.0

Would anyone reading this have a recommendation for a good naturopath in Atlanta, GA? I will start looking, but I'd prefer to go with someone recommended.

I think my Vitamin D levels are getting back to normal, but I haven't stopped supplementation. I'm on 6000 IUs/daily - but it's Nature Made tablets. One point I'd like to make, I regularly take Cod Liver Oil which contains a substantial amount of Vitamin A which I've read could impede Vitamin D absorption. I'll try to find that article and post it.

Along with the Colonix, I will be starting a heavy metal detox which I believe includes some liver detoxing (I'm new to all this). I hope things will at least improve with that.

I agree that I have a thyroid issue so long as I take medication for it, I will look into the iodine as you've all recommended.

Just to clarify a few things: I am still on several supplements and I've listed them below, one of them is Vitamin D - I didn't get off of it, I just pointed out how slow the progress was.

Daily regimen
Synthroid - 75mg
Vitamin D - 6000 IUs
Vitamin C - 2g (I am increasing my dosage)
Kaneka CoQ10 - 300mg
Cod Liver Oil - 1 tspn
Astaxanthin - 4mg
Twinlabs Daily Multi Caps - as recommended here (great site): https://www.health-heart.org/simple.htm

Prescribed by my doctor (but not taking):
Lipitor 10mg
Toprol 25mg - to treat "borderline" LVH and high diastolic BP

Magnesium Citrate - I was taking Orotate until I ran out. I have a bottle of Citrate but the first night I took it, I started getting intense itching and breaking out in a rash/hives. I'm guessing this is an allergic reaction. Since I eat about 20 almonds or so a day along with an apple, I thought I would be covered. Is there another version of Magnesium you'd recommend - I think it's better to err on the high side.

Other questions/points to clarify:

-Gatorade - this last about a month when I literally couldn't get out of bed at the beginning of last summer. This was to handle what I thought was an electrolyte imbalance at one point along with a lot of bananas. I don't drink this, nor do I drink coffee, sodas, etc. Nothing if I can help with High Fructose Corn Syrup.

-Can someone confirm whether my multi is adequate? I'm sure it's of good quality. If you can recommend something specific, that would be ideal. I don't know if I mentioned it before but I've ordered a batch of Greens Plus as recommended by pinballdoc (thank you) elsewhere.

-The mold and mattress - both issues were something I was dealing with about a year ago but I don't think they are an issue now (the mattress protector is gone, there is moisture in our bathroom as would be expected, but I don't see anything particularly worrisome). I just wanted to mention it as others have talked about fungus and mold and it's effects on the body, and wanted to know if anyone thought that could be something I'm unknowingly dealing with.

-pinballdoc - I'm not trying to pick a fight but I've read conflicting reports about animal protein, saturated fat and effects on health, relevant cholesterol numbers (HDL, Triglycerides and so on). Here are some examples:

Low Carb Diet reduces Triglycerides, increases HDL, more LDL A particles
https://www.menshealth.com/men/health...10000013281eac

This is the kind of thing that makes me question everything: https://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/c...anged-my-life/

Diets among the longest lived people include some dairy and meat (mostly veg.):
https://spacedoc.net/diet_mortality

Saturated Fat:
https://www.spacedoc.net/saturated_fat_is_good_for_you_1
https://www.spacedoc.net/saturated_fat_is_good_for_you_2
https://www.spacedoc.net/saturated_fat_is_good_for_you_3

For the last month, I was trying to have it both ways and lower cholesterol naturally. I had these for the most part on a daily basis until the last week or so (because I thought it was causging excessive gas and bloating that was contributing to the shortness of breath and who knows what else):

Beans
Oatmeal
Flax seed
Apples
Almonds
Exercise (until the palpitations hit in)

For now, my usual meals involve: fruits (apples, oranges and bananas), water - about 60-80oz daily at min, raw salads or raw veg added in foods. Beans of some sort usually. Food is usually organic.

Ok - so I have some work to do on my end. Thank you all again sincerely for your thoughts.

Get off Nature Made Vitamin D as fast as possible.It doesn't raise vit D levels in some people.

https://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-it-or-isnt-it-vitamin-d.ht

If you want to raise HDL then as I mentioned before Vitamin B3(Niacin) is the best thing to try. If you do have low copper that will also cause low HDL levels.

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/niacin/CL00036

The formula to understand your cholesterol levels follows:

divide your total cholesterol number by your HDL number:
the results should be below 4 for both men and women
Good is 3.5 excellent is 3 and fantastic is 2.6

Yours was 7.1

Then divide your LDH by your HDL number:
the result should be less that 2.5

yours was 5.52

Niacin is a good choice. I personally cannot stand to take much niacin, at least the amount to get this kind of job done. There is a time realease by perscription only form called Niaspan. This still may cause some flushing. Take it at bedtime with a snack and the instructions also said an aspirin but I wouldn't do that part.

Drinking 2 to 6 ounces of red wine can raise HDL significantly.


There is controversy about how low is low and how high is high. I recommend a carotid artery sonogram to LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR ARTERIES. Insurance will cover it, but it is not too expensive any way. Many people now think that cholesterol has litte to do with plaque build up.

I'm in the middle of reading Dr Mark Sircus's book on Magnesium and he swears up and down and inside out and has a boat load of studies that states that oral supplementation of magnesium is iffy and then he points out a zillion and a half reasons why it is not absorbed well by people who are magnesium defiicint which he swears almost everyone is. It is one of the best referenced book I've seen in nutrition.

He states that magnesium should be in the form of magnesium chloride which comes in a liquid form from www.iherb.com
The best application is topical, daily. Just put it in a spray bottle.
You can also take it orally and it will absorb at least fair.

I have started doing this and proving to myself my own magnesium deficiency by some of the changes I see.

Magneium deficiency cannot be seen by lab work most of the time. Neither can a calcium deficiency because the body will pull it out of other places to keep the blood levels "normal"

Eating too much calcium can cause mag deficiency.

I disagree that a high level B vitamin is worthless. there are many studies that show mega dosing in some of these vitamins will produce real physiological effects to permanently correct deficiencies.

I am not vegetarian, although I was for 13 years. It turned out not to be for me and I paid my price. From what you have written here it looks like you could be protien deficient. In order to get enough protien from beans you must eat whole grain brown rice with it or another suitable grain. (not wheat) If you are protien deficient then asking your body to do a lot of exercise you are doing yourself no favor. You will lose muscle mass. We are suppose to have a healthy set of muscles

So you see we are of varing opinion on this forum.

I whole heartedly support a high protien low carb diet. Most if not all your carbs need to come from vegetables. You can add beans if you exercise a lot! It can rectify your cholesterol problem. The thing is, you have to find good quality meat. (well you don't have to but it is recommended. I didn't when I did the Atkins program to loose weight. It was near impossible at the time) Organic if possible. If you can't you have to cook the hell out of it due to all the pathogens it might be carrying. Look into purchasing beef locally, grass fed (that means no grain ever) and no antibiotics and no feed lot contamination. Get a farmer to raise one for you. Get a big feezer, about $300 and put a sid of beef in it. Its not that hard to do if you really want to. Once you find your source, a butcher and a freezer most of the work is done.

Vegetarians (or if you only eat limited meat)are notoriously B12 deficient so make sure you check that levels. Low normal is not acceptable.

What ever you do, with the symptoms you had, please don't rely on us to figure it all out. Seek face to face counsel with a pro in natural medicine.

For your heavy metal detox look into Chelorex. This seems like a remarkable product. Lots of studies to back it up. You don't want to dink with protocols that do not move the metals fully out of your body. If you do not use this product add Alpha Lipoic Acid to your protocol.
https://www.scienceformulas.com/ this link offers radio programs from the doctor that developed this product. they are informative.

for finding a practitioner this page may help. I know none of these folks.
https://naturopaths.healthprofs.com/cam/state/GA/Atlanta.html

this guy seems to have all the righ buzz words but he will promote vegetarianism. at the very least he is passionate about it all. He may like you even if you eat meat. he is profoundly spiritually oriented.
https://naturopaths.healthprofs.com/cam/prof_detail.php?profid=516100&sid=1271350856.0805_ 16348&city=Atlanta&state=Georgia&thrpst_type=6
https://

This one looks sound.
https://naturopaths.healthprofs.com/cam/prof_detail.php?profid=502515&sid=1271351097.3497_ 25276&city=Atlanta&state=Georgia&thrpst_type=6

If you go to a doc come back and tell us what he says... we are always interested in learning.

Oh, and regarding your slighly elevated TSH. this likely means you do not have enough thryroid hormone (hypothyroid)... but I would not sweat it at this point. Start iodine supplementation (lugol's or nascent iodine) as soon as possible then get tested in 4 to 6 weeks. Everything could change and likely will. You should be able to get off that synthyroid entirely but have a doctor help you by providing proper testing. It may take 6 months to a year and a half as he will decrease your medication as the tests indicate needed.

First, your doctor was an idiot for puting you on crestor... especially without puting you on Co Q10 at the same time. Statin drugs are dangerous and unnecessary. Better results can be obtained by using niacin or niacinamide. All benefit with no nasty side effects.

I also don't like the idea of him puting you on antibiotics.

Gatorade? Are you kidding? First of all that stuff is green. What does that tell you? Thats right, its artificial color, and that alone is reason enough to not put it in your body. Drink filtered water instead, and tea.

You stated that you take 2 grams of C per day. That may seem like alot but it is really not enough. You need to take a couple of grams every 4 or 5 hours. You also stated that you take magnesium, but didn't say how much. I would suggest magnesium from citrate because it is easily absorbed by the body in this form. You would need 450 mg per day to start, and as far as D3 is concerned, you need to get your level up to at least 75, not 35. That is too low.

Also iodine can make a big difference in your health. 50 to 75 mg of Lugols per day for three months should get your level to optimal. After that, 15 mg per day should be enough, however, it is nearly impossible to OD on iodine, in spite of what some doctors say.

As far as your multivitamin goes, most of the ingredients are synthetic. That means poor absorbtion, and unless it is made from whole foods, its probably not even worth taking. In other words, if it is a cheap multi, then it uses cyanacobalamine for B12 rather than the more expensive but much better methyl version. Also, most of these cheap multivitamins use palmitate for vitamin A, which is toxic.

You also need a bathroom fan to prevent mold from growing. Mold needs wetness to multiply, thus making the bathroom an ideal location.

All new mattresses come with a fire retardant coating, usually boric acid or similar, and that is very toxic. It is possible to get one that is not "treated" but is not easy.

High blood pressure is dangerous and can shorten your life, however, high cholesterol is not as bad as it is made out to be. There are much better "symptoms" that will determine if you will have a heart attack or stroke, such as C-reactive protein and homocysteine levels. Most animals have high cholesterol but don't die from heart attacks. Also keep in mind that approx 80% of cholesterol is made in the liver. Now I ask you, if cholesterol was so bad, why would the liver make it? If you want better health stay away from animal protein, including all dairy. Also stay away from all sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup. That includes the artificial sweeteners such as splenda or aspartame... they are deadly.

Some of your symptoms seem to indicate that your adrenals are weak. Weak adrenals can cause thyroid problems; as well as several other things. Vitamin C is the most required nutrient for the adrenals. Second is pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). It is important not to take a single B vitamin. That counts for B12 too. Take a B50 complex. Anything more than 50 is a waste of money. You'll see this in bright yellow urine. I also count on licorice root and yucca root and adaptogens. Hypoglycemia should not be ruled out regarding your dizziness. Do a little research there.

Probiotics will be your best help. They help in so many ways. They make some of the B vitamins and vitamin K for you. They produce acid to kill bad pathogens. Don't take just one strain. Kefir has the widest variety of probiotic strains.

It is considered unwise to abruptly stop any drug. This includes statins. Do a little research on serrapeptase and nattokinase to wean yourself off of statin.

More fiber will help to maintain your good flora. The soft fibers (not psyllium) will provide excellent food for probiotics. It's the fiber's silica that's a great nutrient for them. The fiber and the probiotics will greatly enhance your bowel environment and movement.

Digestive bitters and TMG could be a remarkable help to your entire digestive system. They will enhance the work of your enzymes and many other functions. TMG will help to maintain an acid environment for your stomach.

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- Jim

�Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.� Sir Winston Churchill

jfh: That was a lot of information...

• I've read something about adrenals before but no dr has ever pursued it further. I am enamored by this idea as I do know stress is a big issue with me, and worsened after these health issues started surfacing. It also makes sense that my whole body is attacking me, but that it stemmed from a more defined problem.

• I am currently taking about 3g of Vitamin C and I will steadily increase dosage. In the meantime, I'm not taking any particular B complex vitamin as it seemed a high dose of B6 contributed to some muscle twitching I was having a while ago. However, I do take a good (?) multi - do you think this is enough B5?

https://www.twinlab.com/product/daily...0-or-180-count

• I am going to start "Greens Plus" which might be better than my current multi, I will look into if it has the two ingredients you recommended.
• I stopped Crestor last summer and I steadily lowered my dosage until I stopped entirely (couldn't cut the pills any further). My current doctor is asking for me to start Lipitor but I haven't.

Arrowwind09:

• I'm not particularly worried about LDL unless I can control it naturally. This is a great site that documents issues with homocysteine and inflammation and questions statins (I'm sure we have enough of that on this board): https://www.health-heart.org/
  HDL however, yes I am concerned. I will try the red wine and start the niacin. Let's see how I do a few months from now. I will have to say that this past month (at least early on prior to the palpitations, etc) I was exercising regularly and also taking 4mg of Astaxanthin. Within a month or so (from my last blood test), my HDL increased nearly 10%. Moreover, my triglycerides went from 190 to 116 during that time. Here is more on Astaxanthin for those interested: https://astaxanthin.org/research/cardiodisease.html
• I'm going to look into the Vit D and magnesium you recommended. I looked at some numbers and almonds + apples probably are not putting me at an optimum level.
• Regarding detox - I've just purchased a colon cleanser and detox that seems to have some good reviews. I will report on the results so we can learn something from it. https://www.naturalhealingtoday.com/c...t_reviews.html
• Lastly, I'm not vegetarian -- I eat my fair share of meat although I try to eat fresh vegetables and fruits regularly, if not for the most part.

Again, thank you both very much for all of your information. I clearly have some homework to do so let me start looking into that and let you know what I find.

Toxicity of B6 normally only causes sensory activity; not muscle spasms. Something else must be doing this to you. Magnesium will help. My favorite form of magnesium is bound with chloride, called "Magnesium oil". It is transdermal, used topically. Next favorite is bound with malate. Magnesium malate. Studies show subjects using malate have an increase in the rate of muscle ATP (Andenosine Triphosphate, the major energy source within the cell) production during exercise.

Bee pollen is a good source of B5.

I don't like multivitamins. Too many vitamins and minerals that don't react will with each other. Don't bother taking calcium and magnesium together. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker. Both are required by your system; but should be taken apart. Vitamin C should not be taken with iodine. Vitamin C will transform iodine into iodide immediately. Vitamin C also causes better iron absorption. This is not good for men. We have no way of getting an accumulation of iron out of the body; except via blood donations or chelation.

Just an update since the last time I posted. I was trying to maintain my supplement regimen and add two recommendations. To this point I've purchased

Lugols Iodine: https://www.iherb.com/Iosol-Formula-I...0-ml/4785?at=0
Magnesium Choloride (Liquid): https://www.iherb.com/Allergy-Researc...6-ml/3446?at=0

My body seems so hypersensitive to change that I was wary of trying too many things at once, just so I can understand what might be causing the issue (you can see how optimistic I am). With that in mind, I've started the magnesium (1 tspn this point) that I'll be slowly ramping up through this week (I started Sunday).

One thing I've noticed - after a fairly active weekend filled with more random symptoms (dry skin, scaling on my nose as if I was sun burned -- very hard
to do as I have a very dark complexion) and seemingly sinus issues... For two days I had a lot of problems with dizziness and then also the numbness
in my feet. Also was battling constant fatigue at work - yawning all the time - although I'm going to bed around 9.30 every night (but I wake up before
6 usually) -- strangely I get a second wind after 5-6pm. Anyway, last two evenings I pushed myself into activity and the strange thing is I don't notice my symptoms as much when I'm doing rigorous lawn work. The numbness in my feet at one point was bad enough that that and my occasional blurry vision made me wonder about diabetes - but two previous blood tests have me at 91 and 84, although diabetes does run in my family. In any case, I am a little better now and maybe the magnesium is helping with that.

Anyway, I will be giving more details perhaps at the end of this week or beginning of next when I start on the Lugol's.

Thanks for reading.

Iosol is not the Lugol's iodine. Lugol's is a specific combination of iodine with potassium iodide. One drop of Lugol's provides 6.2 MG. One drop of Iosol provides 1.8 MG. I've never used Iosol. What are your expectations; and how are you planning to use it? I like to take an iodine supplement at least once a week. I believe that most people are deficient in iodine as well as magnesium; so your new additions should help. IMO mag chloride is the best for bio-availability. I prefer to use mag malate for the binding of malic acid to improve the ATP for the cells' energy.