Bottle of Zocor for Sale, Slightly Used

One 120-tab bottle of Zocor for sale, 20 tablets used. Patient no longer needs this prescription.

Just kidding. I think it's illegal to resell your Rx's. The good news, though, is that I no longer need this medication.

Over summer vacation I read the great book, Skinny Bitch. I had read the rave reviews of it in the NYT and looked forward to reading it. I say it's a great book with one caveat: there is a huge amount of unnecessary profanity in it. I'm not sure if the two NY gals who wrote it just talk this way naturally, or if they felt the need to insert it to keep the book from being too clinical. Either way, it was a tad annoying but not so much so that I couldn't read it. We were in the Smokey Mountains and I was glued to this book. In the car, on the cabin's front porch, in the laundry (yes, I wash clothes on vacation. Rarely can we take a real vacation. )

I had little idea at the time what a life-changing book this would be. The detailed account of visiting chicken slaughter plants. The tale of the two FDA inspectors (now fired) who were paid off to approve Aspertame, better known as Nutra-Sweet. (Thank goodness I gave up Diet Coke a couple of years ago. I can only hope the 5,000 I drank before that won't kill me.... )

The single most compelling statement for me was that a calf grows from 90 pounds to 225 on cow's milk alone.

I have been a vegetarian, mostly, for 14 years. During the anti-carb craze I ate meat for 2 months, until I was so disgusted with myself I finally returned to my veggie ways.

But during those 14 years I ate eggs and dairy: cheddar omelets (with 3 eggs); sour cream; cream cheese; and Ben & Jerry's, a pint at a go.

In the process of reading this book, something clicked for me.

I went vegan.

My own doctor asked me this morning, "What exactly is vegan?"

It's a way of eating that includes no animal products. None. Zip, zero. None.

In the eight-and-a-half weeks since reading the book, I have dropped 25 pounds. My cholesterol has dropped from 176 to 147. Triglycerides from 189 to 109. LDL is down to 66. 65 is considered the base amount that your own body creates; optimal range is from 65 to 100.

Along the way I have also ditched refined sugar products and almost all alcohol. I have a cup of herb tea before bed instead of the glass of wine. I'm walking 2 to 5 miles a day.

My blood pressure today was 100 over 70. The doctor allowed me to discontinue my diuretic, but I must continue my BP meds until I can document this level of blood pressure for 2 weeks. At that point, I can call the nurse. We will drop the BP meds with frequent checkups to ensure my health.

When you have high blood pressure you have to have checkups every 4 to 6 months to be sure (a) the high blood pressure isn't killing you and (b) the strong chemicals in the bp medication aren't killing you. If I can ditch this unnatural medication, I will not have to have checkups several times a year. I will not have to spend over $1,000 a year on medication (that's just the part BCBS doesn't pay.)

I have lost a total of 25 pounds and crossed a major landmark in my weight today. The sad part is when you weigh 200 pounds or more, you can drop this much weight and nobody notices. That's just a sign that you weighed entirely too much to begin with. I believe in 10 or 15 more pounds, people will really notice. So between the weight and the blood pressure, I am highly motivated to get even more exercise and continue this plan.

The best news of all? I feel GREAT.

So, Zocor for sale. Slightly used.