9th January 2006
Buffy,
Your numbers are great; I hope you get the same with the slightly weaker statin. Insurance Company decision was probably based on the fact that the Zocor (simvastatin) goes OFF PATENT (two nicest words in the English language :bouncing: ) this year . I'll bet MANY insurance plans will make the swich.
Are you taking double the milligram dose that youu took with the Lipitor? That would be about right for the same level of control.
Unless you have heart disease you might even get good enough numbers by taking the SAME milligrams of simvastatin as atorvastatin and settling for slightly higher LDL's. But if you DO have any proven heart disease, then aiming for the same, or better, blood lipid numbers is the better idea.
I've taken Lipitor for a zillion years but I might be forced into switching to a generic sometime in the future. My partner uses Zocor and neither of us has ever had a problem with side effects. I've doubled my Lipitor to 20 mg. for the last two weeks to see if I can pull off an <70 LDL in the hopes of some plaque reversal.
(Watch the articles start coming out that say simvastatin isn't as good as once thought! :D:D:D)
Your numbers are great; I hope you get the same with the slightly weaker statin. Insurance Company decision was probably based on the fact that the Zocor (simvastatin) goes OFF PATENT (two nicest words in the English language :bouncing: ) this year . I'll bet MANY insurance plans will make the swich.
Are you taking double the milligram dose that youu took with the Lipitor? That would be about right for the same level of control.
Unless you have heart disease you might even get good enough numbers by taking the SAME milligrams of simvastatin as atorvastatin and settling for slightly higher LDL's. But if you DO have any proven heart disease, then aiming for the same, or better, blood lipid numbers is the better idea.
I've taken Lipitor for a zillion years but I might be forced into switching to a generic sometime in the future. My partner uses Zocor and neither of us has ever had a problem with side effects. I've doubled my Lipitor to 20 mg. for the last two weeks to see if I can pull off an <70 LDL in the hopes of some plaque reversal.
(Watch the articles start coming out that say simvastatin isn't as good as once thought! :D:D:D)