What does everyone think about adding Ezetimibe vs. increasing the statin dose?
Just a little medical history, I am a 37 year old male, usually around 175 lbs/5' 9", hover around 13% to 15% body fat. I got a family history of cardiovascular disease on my dads side. My LDL/ApoB/Triglycerides have always been high, even after a year of focusing on low fat diets this was the lowest I could get my numbers:
Total Cholesterol: 216
Triglycerides: 152
HDL: 36
LDL: 169
ApoB: 134
I decided to try 10 mg/day Ezetimibe before a statin, and it helped a little bit, lowered my LDL to like a 115 range. After another year I decided to add in a 5 mg/day statin (Rosuvastatin), and the combo helped a lot:
Total Cholesterol: 118
Triglycerides: 113
HDL: 35
LDL: 62
ApoB: 64
After I got these results, I decided to stop the Ezetimibe and see if just the statin was enough, since neither Rosuvastatin or Ezetimibe were covered by my insurance this was getting to be expensive to pay for medications. Unfortunately my numbers went up pretty good on my most recent blood test (only on 5 mg/day statin, no ezetimibe):
Total Cholesterol: 187
Triglycerides: 120
HDL: 43
LDL: 124
ApoB: 99
So that leads me to today, I am just wondering what most people recommend when it comes to adding in Ezetimibe vs. increasing the dosage of the statin? My statin dose is still pretty low (and I haven't had any negative side effects), would it be better to try increasing the statin first? Cost wise I believe the statin is a bit cheaper than Ezetimibe was for me.