High Blood Pressure Drugs
The medical approach to addressing high blood pressure is to artificially lower your blood pressure through biochemcial changes instead of fixing the root cause of your high blood pressure. Refer to Chapter 15 of Death to Diabetes for a list of the root causes, and how to address them -- without the drugs.

Everyone with high blood pressure doesn't need to be treated with drugs. Most people may do just as well by reducing weight, eating properly and getting the right amount of physical activity.

Also, don't insist that your doctor use a certain drug because you've read or heard about its effect on other people. You can have a serious side effect if you take a "wonder drug" that isn't right for you. You should ask your doctor and insist on non-drug solutions for your blood pressure. Unfortunatley, most doctors are not trained to provide non-drug solutions for your health -- they are trained to "push" the pharmaceutical company's drugs.

Although high blood pressure and diabetes are "connected" and are driven by similar root causes, instead of addressing these root causes, Western Medicine focuses on the symptoms. As a result, more than 82% of Type 2 diabetics are doomed to take multiple drugs to suppress the symptoms instead of address what's actually causing the health problems.

Please Note: Your blood pressure is artificially lowered while you are taking these HBP drugs; and, your heart muscle and cardiovascular system become biochemically dependent on these drugs. As a result, it becomes difficult to get off these drugs once you start -- so insist on a non-drug solution, if possible.

Types of Blood Pressure Drugs
There are several major types of high blood pressure (HBP) drugs:
-- Diuretics
-- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
-- Angiotensin II receptor blockers
-- Calcium antagonists (calcium channel blockers)
-- Beta-blockers
-- Sympathetic nerve inhibitors
-- Vasodilators

These drugs help to lower your blood pressure and may be helpful in acute health-threatening situations, but these drugs are dangerous because they slowly cause damage to the liver, kidneys, and heart muscle, and, can eventually lead to congestive heart failure!

Diuretics: rid the body of excess fluids and salt (sodium) and should be used as initial therapy for most patients.
Examples:
hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix, Hydrodiuril, Microzide)
chlorthalidone (Hygroton)
furosemide (Lasix)
indapamide (Lozol)
metolazone (Mykrox, Zaroxolyn)
amiloride hydrochloride (Midamar)
spironolactone (Aldactone)
triamterene (Dyrenium)

ACE inhibitors: interfere with the body's production of angiotensin, a chemical that causes the arteries to constrict.
Examples:
benazepril hydrochloride (Lotensin)
captopril (Capoten)
enalapril maleate (Vasotec)
fosinopril sodium (Monopril)
lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril)
moexipril (Univasc)
quinapril hydrochloride (Accupril)
ramipril (Altace)
trandolapril (Mavik)

Angiotensin II receptor blockers: block the effects of angiotensin. 
Examples:
candesartan (Atacand)
irbesarten (Avapro)
losartin potassium (Cozaar)
telmisartan (Micardis)
valsartan (Diovan)

Beta-blockers: reduce the heart rate and the heart's output of blood.
Examples:
acebutolol (Sectral)
atenolol (Tenormin)
betaxolol (Kerlone)
bisoprolol fumarate (Zebeta)
carteolol hydrochloride (Cartrol)
metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor)
metoprolol succinate (Toprol-XL)
nadolol (Corgard)
penbutolol sulfate (Levatol)
pindolol* (Visken)
propranolol hydrochloride (Inderal)
timolol maleate (Blocadren) 

Sympathetic nerve inhibitors: reduce blood pressure by inhibiting the sympathetic nerves from constricting blood vessels. Sympathetic nerves go from the brain to all parts of the body, including the arteries. They can cause the arteries to constrict, raising blood pressure.
Examples:
hydrochlorothiazide

Vasodilators: relax the smooth muscle in the walls of the blood vessels (especially the arterioles), allowing the vessel to dilate (widen).
Examples:
clonidine (Catapres)
doxazosin (Cardura) 
guanfacine (Tenex)
hydralazine (Apresoline)
methyldopa (Aldomet)
minoxidil  (Loniten)
prazosin (Minipress)
terazosin (Hytrin)

Calcium antagonists (calcium channel blockers): reduce the heart rate and relax blood vessels.
Examples:
amlodipine besylate (Norvasc)
diltiazem hydrochloride (Cardizem CD, Cardizem SR, Dilacor XR, Tiazac)
felodipine (Plendil)
isradipine (DynaCirc, DynaCirc CR)
nicardipine (Cardene SR)
nifedipine (Adalat CC, Procardia XL)
nisoldipine (Sular)
verapamil hydrochloride (Calan SR, Covera HS, Isoptin SR, Verelan) 

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High Cholesterol Drugs
Cholesterol-lowering drugs, especially the statin drugs, have become very popular. In fact, one of the statin drugs (Lipitor) has become the Number 1-selling prescription in America.  Why is that? Because the pharmaceutical companies and the doctors convinced us that these drugs would prevent heart attacks and strokes.  But, the latest studies show that these drugs do not prevent heart attacks or strokes, and, may, in fact, trigger a heart attack or stroke!

Refer to Chapter 15 of Death to Diabetes for a list of the root causes of high cholesterol, and how to address them -- without the drugs.

Types of Cholesterol-lowering Drugs:
-- Statins
-- Niacin
-- Bile-acid resins
-- Fibric acid derivatives (fibrates) 
-- Cholesterol absorption inhibitors  

Statins: block the production of cholesterol in the liver, but also blocks the production of a key nutrinet called CoQ10.
Side effects: intestinal problems, liver damage, and in a few people, muscle tenderness.
Brand names: Crestor, Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor

Niacin (Nicotinic acid): is a B-complex vitamin that lowers LDL cholesterol and may raise HDL cholesterol.
Side Effects: flushing, itching, tingling and headache.
Brand names: Nicolar, Niaspan

Bile-acid resins: work inside the intestine, where they bind to bile from the liver and prevent it from being reabsorbed into the circulatory system. Bile is made largely from cholesterol, so these drugs work by depleting the body's supply of cholesterol.
Side effects: constipation, gas and upset stomach.
Brand names: Questran, Questran Light, Colestid, WelCho

Fibrates: reduce the production of triglycerides and can increase HDL cholesterol.
Side effects: upset stomach, diarrhea, temporary dizziness, temporary blurred vision, anemia, gallstones, muscle pains.
Brand names: Atromid, Tricor, Lopid

Note: You should avoid taking other cholesterol-lowering drugs and anticoagulants. Also, you should not drink grapefruit juice and limit fresh grapefruit consumption while taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, as it can interfere with the liver's ability to metabolize these medications.

WARNING
Statin drugs can impair the production of certain proteins involved in muscle metabolism and function. This can result in muscle pain and tenderness — a condition known as statin myopathy. If you notice moderate muscle aching, stop taking your statin medication and contact your doctor. Muscle aching usually goes away within a couple of weeks after stopping the statin drug.

In severe cases, statins may cause muscle cells to break down. This rare but potentially life-threatening side effect is known as rhabdomyolysis. The most common signs and symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include:
-- Severe muscle aching throughout the entire body
-- Muscle weakness
-- Dark or cola-colored urine

The higher the dose of statins, the higher the risk of rhabdomyolysis. The risk also increases if certain drugs — including cyclosporine and gemfibrozil (Lopid) — are taken in combination with statins.

If you have signs and symptoms of rhabdomyolysis, stop taking your statin medication immediately and seek medical treatment right away. If necessary, your doctor may take steps to help prevent kidney damage and other complications.