I've been on Simvastatin 20mg for about 8 years. On this medication, my total cholesterol level has always been between 165 - 190. I started questioning the side effects and what it was doing to my body. So, I decided to go Cold turkey (with my doctor's OK) and see what happened to my levels. After 45 days with no treatment, my levels increased to 205. Then I started taking Now Red Yeast Rice 1200 mg twice a day (once in the AM, once in the PM). After 90 days, all of my levels (HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and Total) were improved. My total cholesterol was 191. With these results, I am very pleased with this product and highly-recommend it for anyone looking to lower the cholesterol numbers "naturally"