How to lower Bad (LDL) Cholesterol?

When you have high cholesterol, the first thing to do is to change your diet and fitness: less saturated fat, no Tran’s fat, less sugar, and more activity. If that doesn’t bring down your bad (LDL) cholesterol enough, your doctor may suggest that you also take medicine to help out.

There are several different types of prescription drugs that lower LDL. Get to know what each of them does.

Side effects

Common side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs include the following:

·         diarrhea or constipation

·         abdominal pain, cramps, bloating,or gas

·         nausea

·         vomiting

·         headache

·         drowsiness

·         dizziness

·         muscle aches or weakness

·         flushing (skin turning red and warm)

·         Sleep problems

What is a drug interaction?

If you take 2 or more medicines at the same time, the way your body processes each drug can change. When this happens, the risk of side effects from each drug increases. Plus, each drug may not work the way it should. This is called a “drug-drug interaction.” Vitamins and herbal supplements can also affect the way your body processes medicine.

Certain foods or drinks can also prevent your medicine from working the way it should. They can also make side effects worse. This is called a “drug-food interaction".