Insidious Side effects

[Jo Ann]

I am a 52 year old female. My cholesterol readings have always been in the 200s, since my first blood test at age 26. As a practicing chiropractor I have always been health minded, with a great aversion to prescription drugs. I have taken supplements and vitamins since my teens and have always been active and healthy. I am rarely sick and it’s been over 10 years since I took any antibiotics. In 2002, my MD prescribed 40 mg pravachol to lower my cholesterol (total 279), since a 30lb weight loss, exercise and other natural methods failed to lower my cholesterol numbers. I also took CoEnzyme Q-10 concurrently, hoping to avoid the known muscle pain side effects of statins. I thought I had manageable side effects: such as burning urination at first, which subsided. All was well, or so I thought. In 2004, I started getting high blood pressure numbers, like 140/95-again I was still at 135 lbs and exercising almost daily. I was shocked and dismayed. My MD prescribed lisinopril for the blood pressure, which I took for 3 months and then switched to Diovan in early 2005 because I had the dry cough side effect. In the fall of 2005, my cholesterol numbers were still in the 250s so my MD switched me to Vytorin and changed my blood pressure medication to Diovan HCTZ (beta blocker with diuretic). I had my last menses in December 2005 – the timing was such that I attributed a lot of my symptoms to menopause. During this time weight gain was relentless. The “good newsâ€Â

[Ray Holder]

Hi Jo Ann, and welcome to the forum.

Just one point from your story, carnitine deficiency is a feature of statin damage, and you mentioned your Quadriceps weakness. Carnitine is necessary to prevent muscle wastage, it is still a daily necessity for me after 6 years off statins. However, red meat, particularly lamb and beef are the best dietary sources of L Carnitine, animal fats are not the major cause of raised cholesterol, hydrogenated fats have much greater effect.

You may find that higher doses of Q10 will lower your blood pressure by improving the strength of your heart action, high doses are not harmful, I take 900mg a day, but I am 87.

Ray

[Ray Holder]

Jo Ann

I should have warned you that as Q10 may well reduce your BP, if you are still taking medications for it, they can easily take it down too far and possibility make you feel faint, so monitor your own BP if you can, but beware of any signs of low BP.

Beta blockers also can lower your Q10 supply, and negate the effects of supplementation, it's a vicious circle!!!

Ray

[catspajamas]

into the 300's too when I first went off zocor for many of the same reasons you did joann...I took fish oil, niacin, and policosanol..( there are good supplements you can get from the health food store if you like)...It took the better part of a year for mine to come down to 229(which I am satisfied with)...The major reason for my cholesteral coming down was cutting out sugar and a lot of carbs from my diet...Did you know that studies show that statins don't protect women from heart disease anyway?.....I had vasculitis too...so now I know its the inflammation not the "cholesteral" that is the culprit.....I am not a Dr..just one who has suffered nerve and muscle damage from statins and since then have read so much about cholesteral I probably know more than the dr's too...Take the good advice here

[Jo Ann]

Thank you Ray and catspajamas for your kind and informative replies. My current BP med is an ACE inhibitor/diuretic combo (not a beta blocker as I wrote in my original post), so I will increase my co-Q 10 gradually and monitor my BP. How much do you take at a time, and do you take it in divided doses throughout your day?

I did lower my carb/sugar intact to virtually nothing for several years 2001-2004, while I maintained my 30lb weight loss. With menopause came the cravings...

I will also investigate adding L-carnitine to my daily supplement routine. I see there is a forum and information about it on this site.

Again, thanks for your insight.

[Ray Holder]

I take 300mg of Q10 three times a day, with breakfast, dinner and tea, but I need a lot to keep my heart working at my age. !00 mg 3 times daily would be a good starting point and add another hundred if you think it is helping to either of the doses, and watch the results, if you get to a plateau, don't waste your Q10, try a little more later on if you thnk your BP is tending to rise, but don't try to control it on a day by day basis, watch the trend over a week or so at a time. If you can get your doctor onside, so much the better, but people have varying experiences in that regard.

Some people are able to dispense with some of their BP medications when using Q10, I now only take 2 of my previous 3 BP drugs

Ray