I'm a white man age 47 and currently taking 20 mgs of Lipitor daily and 10 mgs of lisinopril.

The lisinopril is pretty cheap to buy.... but the Lipitor is expensive.

Can someone confirm to me that Zocor is as good as Lipitor and that Zocor will soon be a generic? If yes will it be a lot cheaper than Lipitor?

Thanks in advance!

I believe I pay a bit more than $300 for a year's worth of Lipitor [80mg's split 4 ways]. Check the on-line prices or Costco.

Are you buying 80 mg and splitting?

The 80mg's are very large tablets. I've been splitting 4 ways for several years. Since they cost only slightly more than the 20's or 40's there is a big savings for little effort.

University health services used to have cheap meds for students. Isn't that the case anymore?

Will Costco let you buy a years supply?

I do have a Costco account. Just a reg account tho not the premium acct

I'm going to a local two year junior college that doesn't have any group insurance

I don't even have my associates degree yet. Got to get that first

while it may be true that it is tuf to split most pills 4 ways

I would say that a med like Lipitor..a small dose variation one way or another due to the splitting..should NOT make a difference in the overall outcome...

ie..one day you may get a tad more..one day a tad less..and yes,,you may lose a tad in the powder left over..

many drugs..such as Digoxin..for instance...that "tad" could be a real problem...

bottom line...I also split my hubby's cholesterol meds(yes..also to save $$$)...

$300 a year...sure beats about $70 a month!!

Hmm...... interesting!

I just figured you couldn't begin to split a tablet four ways like that

I'll talk to my doctor

here is my dilemma:

I'm giving serious thought to quitting work and going back to college full time. I can get med insurance that coves catastrophic problems but it usually doesn't cover meds. And I'm on lipitor and lisnipril

So....I'm looking for ways to be able to afford statins out of pocket

Well I have been buying the 40 mg and splitting that for my daily 20 mg dose

How could I split an 80 mg pill four ways? Can it be done?

I get mine through a Canadian pharmacy. The key may be to have your RX call for 90 80mg tablets. Ostensibly a 3 month supply.

My suggestion would be to ease off the drugs entirely and make some real serious diet and lifestyle changes.

Yes, we have done this and it works. Fortunately we have a naturally inclined Dr who has worked with us through the years. Find a Dr who will work with you.

1. Get rid of all unhealty fats, especially the hydrogenated variety. Yes, that means your microwave popcorn and margarine, fast foods and french fries etc.

2. Eliminate all the grocery store type oils such as canola, corn, soy etc. Instead use Extra Virgin Olive oil for your salads (not for cooking) and coconut oil for cooking. Also organic cream or butter.

3. Eliminate the sugars and refined flours and use the natural foods around the outside of stores rather than the packaged stuff. Real met and veggies and not the tinned or frozen stuff.

4. If that doesn't bring the numbers down enough then you might want to add some Omega 3 oils such as cod liver oil and/or some Policosinol.

As long as the ratios are good a total cholesterol number around 200 is perfectly healthy according to my Dr. He doesn't like to see it as high as 250 though.

Drugs have so many side effects that I always try everything I can do to avoid them.

My brother has had very high cholesterol, about 250. He does many things to keep it down and much of what Belle writes in the previous post.

He has found cinnamon to be a very good supplement to get his numbers down. You might also want to look into policosanol. My husband uses this with good effect. We get is from Source Naturals in a product called Policosanol Cholesterol Complex.

Fish Oil is also reported to lower cholesterol

Warmly,
Arrow

Check this site out on policosanol.

https://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshel...,10127,00.html