Policosanol Good or Bad, Objective opinion.

[bruegger84]

Has anyone tried policosanol? Has it been good for anything? I have some and when i take it I get insomnia. But it seems to energize me for some reason. I should discuss with my doctor but it doesn't seem to hurt.

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by bruegger84

Has anyone tried policosanol?

I have not, but I looked into it when my wife needed an alternative to statins for cholesterol. As far as that goes,

Published studies have come to conflicting conclusions regarding the efficacy of policosanol in lowering LDL (i.e., "bad cholesterol") or raising HDL (i.e., "good cholesterol").[5][6][7] Despite a number of studies funded by the Cuban government, which produces and markets the drug,[8] independent clinical trials have found no evidence of the efficacy of policosanol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policosanol#Studies

For cholesterol, she takes a timed-release niacin, and it's working great (keeping our doctor happy).

Doc

[bruegger84]

http://medical-wiki.com/articles/pol...-and-benefits/

Supposedly in Cuba they saw it as a panacea.

[bruegger84]

Does this medication help anyone else? I find i can really breathe much better on this, but gives me insomnia for the most part.

[zygopetalum]

Sorry I don't know anything about policosanol but watch out for the Albuterol if you are having chest pains...too much Albuterol can kill you and I hope you talk to the doctor if he is not already aware of what is happening.

Xopenex (levalbuteral) is supposed to have fewer cardiac side effects but it is expensive and your insurance may not want to pay for it.

Take care,
judi

[bruegger84]

Originally Posted by zygopetalum

Sorry I don't know anything about policosanol but watch out for the Albuterol if you are having chest pains...too much Albuterol can kill you and I hope you talk to the doctor if he is not already aware of what is happening.

Xopenex (levalbuteral) is supposed to have fewer cardiac side effects but it is expensive and your insurance may not want to pay for it.

Take care,
judi

Yeah I've heard of xopenex, and there is also Formoterol. I don't take alot of albuterol typically mostly just one or 2 puffs, but lately i can't really stand the deal of it.

I'm pretty fed up with my doctors basically, if anyone else had this problem and wasnt diagnosed as bipolar or had some mental issues, they would get help. But since i go in there, they dont care, They aren't with me from day to day, to know what i actually go through and feel. I feel as if im dying, basically, very slowly. congestive heart failure seems like it. even on days when im energetic it's almost like im sluggish.

And when im on psych meds, some particulars forget about it, i cant even function.

[zygopetalum]

Well I'm happy you aren't out there taking 20 puffs of Albuterol, sometimes people do tend to overdue it, I saw one individual who took 7 puffs and a little while later took 5 more, I wouldn't want to do that!

I think that doctors do tend to blow people off sometimes if the individual has any type of chronic, diagnosed disorder. My pulmonologists additude is often "You're not dead! You're breathing! Shut up!"

I think they are trained to diagnose and treat specific diseases and some of them just don't respond to things that may be significant at a subclinical level or enhance your quality of life. You're right in trying to find what works best for you.

Good luck,
judi