I have some basic questions that I hope someone can answer in relatively simple
understandable terms.

I am a healthy 33 year old female, a life long lacto-vegetarian (used to be
lacto-ovo, but I have given up eggs for health reasons), with low to normal
{*filter*} pressure and normal triglycerides, but I have high cholesterol that is
presumed to be mostly related to heredity (its been high since I was first
tested at age 23 and has ranged between 210 and 288). I also exercise 4-5
days a week.

My doctor has put me on Zocor.  He started me at 10 mg/ day, but after 6 weeks
my cholestorol had not changed (went from 282 to 288 (sorry I've forgotton the
HDLs)), so now we have increased the dose to 20 mg/day and it will be a couple
more weeks before I am tested again to see if it has been effective.

What does the Zocor actually do?  and how does diet interact with the
medication?   I do watch my diet and fat intake (and I am constantly looking for
new ways of cutting more and more fat from my diet), but what does the drug do
for someone who doesn't?  Why are my triglycerides normal?
Do the different medications do different things?  If Zocor doesn't reduce my
cholesterol at the 20 mg/day will another drug maybe be more effective or is
there nothing else to do?

Is there a FAQ?

Thanks for any info,

Melanie Dresser

--
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"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.
Well, for years I was smart; I recommend pleasant.  You may
quote me."  Elwood P. Dowd
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Zocor (simvastatin) is an inhibitor of an enzyme that is important
in the synthesis of cholesterol.  A low cholesterol, low saturated
fat diet probably increases the effectiveness of the medication in
lowering cholesterol levels.

There are many different cholesterol lowering agents and combinations
of medications may be more effective though combinations can also
sometimes have serious side effects.

Another important general question to consider is whether there
is a significant benefit to taking cholesterol lowering medications
at all for people who do not already have heart disease.

There is no solid evidence to show that such medications reduce overall
mortality although there is evidence that they reduce deaths from
cardiovascular causes such as heart attacks.

There are certainly physicians who would argue that a non-smoking
woman without a family history of heart disease who is in good health
should not be treated with medications for a cholesterol of 280.  The
question of who should be treated for high cholesterol levels
remains a major controversy in medicine.
--
David Rind