Crestor: A Two-Fisted Cholesterol Drug

Q. I just had a blood test and my physician said my HDL cholesterol's low and my LDL is high -- the reverse of what it ought to be. She prescribed a brand-name statin drug, Crestor. When I asked about a generic, she said a generic statin won't be as good for me. Is she right?
-- Anonymous, via e-mail

A. Your doc's not saying generics-schmerics. Crestor's a potent cholesterol drug that will help both your problems, and there's no generic for it yet. Crestor excels at lowering artery-clogging LDL and will also kick up your heart-healthy HDL. We're guessing both are pretty bad, and that's why your doc stuck to her Crestor guns. We'd like your LDL below 70 and your HDL above 50. Find out your numbers! It's important. (Learn how keeping your HDL up helps your brain remain young.)

There are other reasons to like Crestor, and Lipitor (which should have a generic by December), too. They have what we call good statin side effects. Both of these statins (but not all of the others) have been found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by 60%. Both also seem to be much stronger inflammation fighters than generic statins. (Statins may help prevent prostate cancer, too.)

Like other statins, Crestor can cause muscle pain. Try taking 200 mg of CoQ10 a day to prevent this, or talk to your doc about a hybrid approach: Switch to a daily low dose of simvastatin (take the CoQ10, too) and twice a week -- say on Tuesday and Saturday -- take 5 mg of Crestor. This regimen pumps up HDL while cutting LDL by 80%, without increasing muscle aches.

If you haven’t heard this yet, the "grapefruit effect" applies to statin drugs.