Traditional red yeast rice products contain a variety of bioactive chemicals. The one identical to lovastatin is normally present in much smaller amounts than was found in the companies' illegal supplements; so yes, the FDA concluded that these products were adulterated with the prescription drug lovastatin. As noted here and recently in another thread with respect to many Chinese herbal products, a variety of supplements have been found to be adulterated with prescription drugs, to the point that their effectiveness is thought to be on the basis of the added drugs rather than the herbs. In the case of lovastatin, these supplement markers are essentially supplying a drug dosage and promoting their products as being effective for lowering blood lipids and heart conditions; therefore they're not really selling supplements under the law, they're marketing drugs. Consumers don't know they're getting drugs, and are unable to protect themselves against possible side effects and drug interactions (some of which are possible with red yeast rice itself, but which pose added hazards with the adulterated red yeast rice). From PDR Health: "PRECAUTIONS The use of red yeast rice for the management of hyperlipidemia must be medically supervised. Those with a past history of liver disease and those who routinely use alcoholic beverages should exercise caution in the use of red yeast rice. Lovastatin and other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors occasionally cause myopathy. This is manifested as muscle pain or weakness associated with elevated levels of creatine kinase. Rhabdomyolysis with or without acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria, has been reported rarely and can occur at any time. Those using red yeast rice should report promptly to their physicians unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness. Bleeding and/or increased INR values have been reported in a few patients taking warfarin concomitantly with lovastatin." Users of either prescription lovastatin or red yeast rice also need to get their liver enzymes checked before and after starting on medication, to make sure they are not causing liver damage. So while supplement makers and their defenders try to convince us that this is a "health freedom" issue, it's really about the FDA protecting us from unscrupulous and/or careless companies who put their profits ahead of patient safety.

Kay,Thank you for the advice.I had not even thought of ice on it.I have never had a problem with my knees at all. well,I guess I have had them get a little sore from being on my knees,planting some thing, but after a few hours,its ok.This started yesterday evening and is no better 24 hrs later.I am going right now to find my ice pack and fix it. Thank you. VAL: Thanks to you, too.I have took antiinflammatory meds today, too b ut it hasn't helped anything. RITA: Thank you.I hope I better tomorrow too.Inner Vision was so pretty today with all them almost perfect blooms.But, Nothing beats WONDER OF IT ALL. Jean

"Hang with people who've already had chickenpox" Great way to get shingles. You get chickenpox when you are young & it stays in your body, then it can get reactivated if you touch kid with chicken pox, touch money that mom pays store clerk after she touches her kids sores from chickenpox telling them not to rub them. My niece gave me a big kiss Christmas Eve 1 year as she loved what I got her. She had a nice pox sore on her lip- I got shingles about 7-10 days later. I was going to paint, noticed a 50 cent size raised spot on head just into hairline didn't think too much about it got the paintbrush & drop-cloth down & got on ladder when I felt like I was being electrocuted, instead of painting I called the dr. I had planned on painting for & told him what was going on & went right down. By time I got in his exam room my eyebrow was itchy & red. He really got worried & said I could go blind so I got a shot, cream & pills, some were Corticosteroids,cream & pills for sure as he said I was facing going blind & he had to pull out all the stops. I went home & couldn't really do anything. Second the electric shock happened your hand shot up as it hurt so bad but by time you got it touching it it stopped only to happen over & over again. There was no waiting, I had felt the raised area about 8 & by 9 I was in his office getting checked out. GF had uncle who had shingles for rest of his life which was about 20 years, he became very deformed. My mother gets them often around her waist but I am careful not to touch her if I know she has them & I wash my hands often when I am there caring for my dad who had a mild stroke but has to use a wheelchair. So 1 of best ways to avoid shingles is to stay away from kids who have chicken pox, wash hands often with hand sanitizer while out especially after buying something, use hand sanitizer cloths at grocery stores to wipe down handle on cart, your purse & your hands (you can also improve your own health by using them-kills e coli etc) If they don't have them yet(our grocery stores do) take some with you or get some nice hand sanitizer from Bed, Bath & Beyond or someplace like that. They smell nice! Don't like cheap stuff. Anyway don't mess with shingles, a raised area, sudden sores, oozing,burning or electric shocks, odd shaped patches of red sores that are raised are all signals that need to be checked out.

Oh boy, did this thread ever hit home. I'm 55 and I suppose I've gone through menopause already but I don't really know. Had a hysterectomy (ovaries were left in) when I was thirty. I've never had hot flashes, I've always cried at everything, my joints have ached for a dozen or more years which I just figured came from running a ranch, riding horses and gardening and just plain age. I'm not a social butterfly, never have been. Prefer my own company thank you, and please don't knock on my door unless you've called first. And Lord help any solicitor that comes to my door. Sometimes I'm civil, sometimes I ask for their address so I can come knock on their door when they don't want me and some times I just slam the door in their face. I go crazy when a salesperson follows me around a store asking if 'I need help' every 30 seconds. I tell them, nicely the first time 'No Thank You' but when they start coming back every 60 seconds or so I tell them 'if I want your help I'll tell you!'. My children tell me that is rude, then for a second I feel bad, then I don't give a carp. I don't want to join any clubs and most people who know me have just given up on asking. Thank goodness my neighbors are not social butterfiles either, a hi and a wave is usually sufficient. I'm also not the type of person that can lie just to make it easier on myself, mostly because the lie only holds so long and then their back. I have told neigbors in the past that I'm just not a social person and that's usually all it takes. Don't get me wrong most people think of me as a friendly person. And I am. Just as long as you stay out of my space and don't intrude on my life. I could relate and understand all of your posts but it was jarielle's that really had me saying "Me too Me too!", oh that and sameboat's remark about the " Go Away" welcome mat. I got mine at Wally World. It makes me smile everytime I walk in the front door. Thank you all for allowing me to vent and to realize I'm not the only one out there, because I did. Alexis