I am supporting this thread by restarting it with some current history.

Since 1995 I have been on Lipitor (up to 40mg) and three different blood pressure meds. I have asked several times, what it would take to reduce or eliminate those meds. I was told: Diet and Exercise, but not what kind of Diet & Exercise. Not to mentionFish Oil, CoQ10 and other OTC products. 

After 20 years I weaned off the Rx drugs and started a low Carb regimen, slightly somewhat similar to the Adkins diet. I am eliminating as much (processed) wheat and sugar products; as well as packaged and sugar foods as possible, and including more protein and fat in my diet. I am losing weight and my blood pressure is down significantly. (Unfortunately, I have a desire for dark chocolate and ice cream with a little mint added.)

With that, I was able to pursue some bicycling and hiking .

3/2020 Then I had some chest-pains. The Cardiologist prescribed Rx. Nitroglycerine a timed release medication.

6/3/2020 - A heart surgeon - Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (I did not continue with Nitroglycerine medication} I had by a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting x3 surgery. At the time, I requested that I did not wish to take statins.

I was however, prescribed Rosuvastatin (Crestor) 40MG by an assigned cardiologist, butI was not in a position at this point, and accepted the medication regimen. 

By mid-Summer 2020, I was able to restart my walking program. As the year progressed however I was getting weaker. By the end of 2021, I no longer had the endurance to continue a robust walking  program. 

I was involved in a walking program with my health insurance provider, doing 7500 steps per day for 10 days in a month, every month. This was mostly accomplished by walking the apartment hallways. I also have health club memberships with the TriCity YMCA and now Life Time fitness. 

The statin as now prescribed was AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals ©2020 See US-55677 Highlights of Prescribing Information. Use 40mg dose only for patients not reaching LDL-C goal with 20mg. Advise patients to promptly report to their physician unexpected and/or persistent muscle pain, tenderness or weakness and discontinue CRESTOR if signs or symptoms appear. I had these symptoms, I need to discontinue statins.

Letter to cardiologist, 5/26/2022

In the past, I had partaken in a diet/lifestyle change using the KETO diet (similar to Adkins) and reduced my weight from 200 pounds to 140 pounds, this along with the other benefits it provided. The lifestyle part was regular exercise 2-3x/week at the YMCA. I will be returning to that immediately. Diet and exercise is necessary for good health, but in my current condition, exercise is problematic. I will be working on that now.

My response to Laura RN, May 26, 2022

My history with these medications have been problematic. Using my bypass surgery as a base time (June 3, 2020) my BP and cholesterol were normal since 8/6/2019 without medications. Granted, the cholesterol dropped significantly while on Crestor in the months that followed. More so than necessary.

As I initially explained however, I have experienced increasing discomfort, tension, and weakness upon walking that subsides during periods of rest. I am sometimes awaken during the night with some of these symptoms as well. I can no longer walk for any distance and hiking is not possible, something I was looking forward to in my retirement. Walking up or down stairs is not in my playbook!

On May 6. 2022 I had my annual wellness exam with my insurance company, during this visit the NP found that my resting heart rate was 52 bpm (which it usually is), the target is 60 - 100 bpm and that I should talk to my doctor about this. (I did that).

In addition, I use my Fitbit app to monitor my sleep (time, deep/REM, and restoration). On Monday and Tuesday nights my heart rate dropped to 44 bpm while asleep, which is great for restoration, but dangerous for my heart! I also found that Metropolol also has a rare side effect with muscle problems.

I realize that these medications are prescribed as a safety measure, but I have already discontinued Crestor. I will discontinue Metoprolol as well and monitor the results, going forward. My Primary Care Doctor read me the riot act, so I fired him.

I am no longer able to hike for any distance and exercise is rather limited.                                                                 

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