Over-the-counter cholesterol drug denied

[Chico Man]

Over-the-counter cholesterol drug denied
Friday, January 14, 2005 Posted: 3:22 PM EST (2022 GMT)

BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) -- Federal health advisers recommended against over-the-counter sales of a cholesterol drug, saying that patients need medical guidance in treating a condition that has no symptoms and requires drugs for life to stay healthy.

The panel advising the Food and Drug Administration also voiced concern that women who are pregnant, and may not know it, will wind up taking Mevacor and possibly damage the developing fetus.

The vote was 20-3.

An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration began meeting Thursday to consider a request to sell a low-dose version of the cholesterol drug Mevacor directly to consumers for the first time.

Allowing over-the-counter sales for Mevacor would have put a new sort of medication on drugstore shelves. Unlike treatments for coughs, colds and allergies, Mevacor is meant to prevent future heart disease, rather than treat existing symptoms. And while a cough or cold is apparent, the only way to know one's cholesterol level is to be tested.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/01/14/cholesterol.drugs.ap/index.html

In my opinion, there already is an over the counter cholesterol drug... its called "a diet high in soluble fiber". How about oatmeal, vegetables, fruit, lots of water, nuts, berries, and staying away from red meat?

[leftofcool]

1. Good post

"In my opinion, there already is an over the counter cholesterol drug... its called "a diet high in soluble fiber". How about outmeal, vegetables, fruit, lots of water, nuts, berries, and staying away from red meat?"

As though we are prepared to trust the FDA.

Left of Cool

[Chico Man]

3. I was actually impressed by the govt's new diet guide..

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/12/food.pyramid.ap/index.html

"It is not too hard," the health secretary insisted Wednesday in issuing new federal dietary guidelines that also urge people to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables and stick to fat-free or lowfat milk.

The guidelines bring the government one step closer to revising the familiar food pyramid, which in the next two months will be updated for the first time since its creation 12 years ago.

[SoCalDem]

7. Have you priced fresh fruit & vegetables lately?

Poor people with little or no access to large supermarkets (usually in suburban settings) will never be able to use the "new guidelines"..

The empty calories that go hand in hand with high cholesterol foods are the foods of choice for people as the slide DOWN the economic ladder.

Rich people always have "control" over what they eat, but the further down the ladder you go, the less control there is.

People with hungry kids and a small bank account always look for the "cheap stuff", and most urban people and apartment-dwellers have no way to grow their own vegetables.. People living in poor rural areas used to be able to supplement their diets with fish they caught in nearby streams, rivers & lakes.. Now that so many are pollutued, they cannot even do that.. Fish is a very pricey commodity in the stores these days...

I am not saying it cannot be done..just that it's not as "easy" at it looks at first glance.

[Chico Man]

13. Notice the plug for genetically modified food?

This is their way of bring health foods to the masses. Will it work? Perhaps, but the consequences are unknown...

""Eat more fruits and vegetables, eat the foods that will help you get the nutrients you need, and GMA and the food industry is providing the packaged food that will do that," she said."

[sldavis]

2. good

I thought it was un-freaking-believable that they suggested that Mevacor be allowed OTC status. People can't really self-treat cholesterol, unless they're also skilled at monitoring it themselves. And the adverse effect and drug interaction profiles of lovastatin are not exactly benign. Now I want to know who are the 3 creeps on the FDA panel that thought it should be OTC.

[Quakerfriend]

4. looks as though the happenings with cox-2 inhibitors

have gotten to them a bit.

Mevacor, shmevacor. Drugs, drugs, drugs. $$$$$$.

And, flax seed oil (8-10g/day) has been show to lower chol and triglycerides by 25-40%. I did some of the original research 10 yrs ago at UPenn.

[TexasSissy]

6. Flaxseed? Really? I have a bottle of capsules of that,

but I haven't taken them yet, since I forgot why I bought them. (Did I buy them to improve memory?)

I'll have to read up on this this weekend.

[Hardrada]

9. No, isn't it ginkgo?

You are supposed to take ginkgo to improve your memory....aren't you?

[kohodog]

12. Red Rice Yeast is also effective

and won't kill your liver.

[iamtechus]

5. Some folks have no insurance and can't afford US drug prices, office calls

If you're serious about treating yourself, you'll need one of these:

http://www.shopping.com/xDN-Health_Aids--hd_type_cholesterol_monitors

And you can probably get your mevacor cheaper here than anywhere else:

http://www.sharpmeds.com/newscripts/Searchprices.asp

No prescriptions required.

[Sgent]

8. Go to a community health center

You can get the statins for reduced cost/free, and the physician visit is at a reduced cost/free.

Link:

[Deja Q]

10. Lots of diseases have no symptoms. At least to start with.

This is a fine line to cross.

[CBHagman]

11. Talk to some cardiologists and cardiac nurses before you...

...start advising people on what to take. My jaw dropped when I heard about the cholesterol levels some of my fellow heart patients had. Some people had unbelievably high cholesterol, and these were people of normal weight and under the care of a specialist. Some of this is hereditary.