As I have mentioned here, I work in a business that deals with the pharmaceutical industry. I have also mentioned my Asawa has a couple of bad ankles. This entry is about how his ankles and the pharmaceutical industry combine when they meet up with doctors treating symptoms instead of the cause.

My hubby’s right ankle is degenerating or falling apart. That actually isn’t the bad or problematic ankle though. His left ankle is the one that gives him the greatest number of problems. The permanent injury he somehow managed to sustain, while getting a glass of water from the kitchen, has a bone in his ankle sliding back and forth rupturing a blood vessel inside of his ankle. The daily swelling and blood leakage is what causes him the most discomfort. He doesn’t take meds or pain killers. He just listens to his body and knows when to slow down and what to do. It hurts me more than him sometimes.

But when he went in because of his snoring, the doctor got him to take a standard blood test and his cholesterol was rather high. So the doc put him on one of the generic statin as is the normal practice to reduce the cholesterol. After it has taken long enough to build up, the statin is now in full effect. He is feeling all of the side effects of the drug.

You may be wondering why I am bringing up these two unrelated medical items. Well, it seems they are highly related because the doctor made the error of believing “common medical knowledge” and not looking at the last 15 years of research on cholesterol. From the Dr. Mercola website, cholesterol is found to NOT cause heart disease.

Instead, cholesterol is found to be an important part of repairing the cells in your body and in particular the lining of your arteries. That damage is often highlighted by what most would call swelling or inflammation.

To quote from another article on the same website:

“Cholesterol is a necessary component of every cell in your body. So if your arteries somehow become damaged, your body will get to work trying to heal the damage, and one of the ways it does this is by multiplying cells. Each one of those cells, of course, needs cholesterol, so your liver produces more and releases it into your bloodstream. It is doing this for a reason — so that your damaged cells can be replaced with new ones.

Now, if your arteries are being damaged on a chronic basis, your cholesterol levels will remain chronically elevated. Again, this is not the problem in and of itself; this is your body’s natural and purposeful response to healing.

What IS the problem is whatever is causing the damage in the first place.”

For my hubby, the problem is already known. It is the routinely ruptured blood vessel in his ankle. His body is always trying to repair the damage. His father had similar issues with his blood vessels in his legs and ankles.

Lowering the cholesterol doesn’t address the main cause. All it does is line the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies. I think I do not have to say what is going to happen with the prescription that is making him worse.  Now, pass the malunggay and eat healthier para mahaba ang buhay!  (from Goryo hehe!)

Thank you,

Anah