My Father has an appointment to see a Neurologist

[Gman]

Hi
first post here my Dad was prescribed Pravastatin, after having chest pains and tests for angina, his doctor thought he should go on Statins and beta blockers as a preventative as no heart conditions were found,more he fit a certain risk profile.

He is also on various other medication for Ulcerative Colitis.

Anyway after about a year on them he came off after doing some searching round the net as he was feeling very tired,heavy feelings in his legs and tremors down his arms, even though he went to the doctor about his tremors the doctor advised him that the statins should help with the tremors (without diagnosing the cause of the tremors).

He has now changed his doctor who was happy for him to come off the statins
he has been off the statins now for around 2 months but the tremors have continued
and is taking 100 mg of Co-enzyme Q10.
His new doctor has booked an appointment with one of the top Neurologists in the area but I am having no confidence in the doctors in the UK,I don't think for one minute they are going to connect the tremors to Statins.

What should we be asking at the appointment and what can we expect,the doctor who made the appointment thinks it may be Parkinsons disease

[cjbrooksjc]

Grman: What happens to those of us who are susceptible to the negative effects of statins has much to do with Mitochondrial Dysfunction. The way to better Mito health can be found in the link below, an excerpt of which reads:

"All the molecules involved in mitochondrial function are re-cycled. There is another essential element which is magnesium. If you think of glucose and short chain fatty acids as the fuel of the engine, acetyl L-carnitine and Co-enzyme Q10 are the oil and magnesium is the spark plug"

<ALL LINKS REFERENCED BELOW HAVE LEADING ASTERISKS (**). EXCLUDE THE ** BEFORE YOU PASTE THE LINK ADDRESS INTO YOUR BROWSER>

This is the link you should read which includes the above paragraph:
**http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/article.cfm?id=381

The link refers to Chronic Fatigue Symptom. Don't be confused - it is still relevant to us at the mitochondrial level.

********************************************************

Now, to your current problem.

These are the supplements your father should take to address the Statin issues:

* CoQ10 at least 300mg/daily (get a good Kaneka brand of CoQ10) - This is what I use:
**http://www.epic4health.com/

* Acetyl L-Carnitine. This is what I use:
**http://www.gonsi.com/products/product-detail.cfm/sku-835003002429

* D-Ribose 5 to 10 grams daily. This is what I use:
**http://www.webvitamins.com/product.aspx?id=25950

* Magnesium and Zinc at twice the RDA (available at all these sites)

I can't offer you any information relative to Parkinson's symptoms.

There is MUCH to learn. Welcome to the forum )

Best,

Brooks

[Gman]

Thanks from what I've read the neuro damage maybe irreversable

[cjbrooksjc]

Gman: Vitamin D. I forgot about Vitamin D. The following is from a paid PubMed site (you can't print it otherwise) relative to Parkinson's.

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LOW VITAMIN D LEVELS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PARKINSON"S DISEASE


Original article

Evatt ML et al. (2008) Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in patients with Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol 65: 1348–1352 PubMed

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with several chronic diseases, including autoimmune disease, cancer, heart disease, and now, according to new research, Parkinson disease (PD).

Vitamin D is known to regulate processes involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as PD, and elderly patients have an increased prevalence of both neurodegenerative disease and vitamin D insufficiency. Evatt and colleagues, therefore, investigated whether vitamin D levels differ between patients with neurodegenerative disease and healthy individuals.

The team analyzed data on 300 individuals from the Clinical Research in Neurology (CRIN) database, comprising three equally sized groups: patients with PD; patients with Alzheimer disease (AD); and healthy controls, matched by age, sex, location, race, and APOE genotype. Vitamin D levels were evaluated by measurement of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations; insufficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D level less than or equal to30 ng/ml) was observed in 55% of patients with PD, 43% of patients with AD, and 36% of the healthy controls. The lower vitamin D levels in PD compared with AD (mean 31.9 ng/ml vs 34.8 ng/ml) could not be explained by duration of disease, which led the authors to speculate that vitamin D insufficiency might be unique to PD.

Evatt et al. were unable to ascertain from their results whether vitamin D deficiency is a result of having PD (owing to the fact that associated mobility problems reduce exposure to sun), or a cause of PD. Further studies are required to determine the role of vitamin D in PD and whether correction of vitamin D levels might improve symptoms.

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HIGH doses of Vit D are not harmful. I casually pop 20,000 to 40,000 units. The body STORES Vit D if it is not used immediately; one of the very few elements the body hoards. It is actually much more than a vitamin, and lower levels are most common in northern climes such as the UK due to the lack of direct sunlight much of the year. Do NOT use a Vit D/Vit A combo capsule as high doses of Vit A ARE sometimes harmful. Do a search on 'Vitamin D' on this forum. There is much information here on the subj.

Best,

Brooks

[Brian C.]

The D3 version, cholecalciferol, is the one best assimilated. I take 5,000 IU daily. Best protection against the 'flu too


Brian.

[Gman]

Thanks once again.
Brian I see your in the UK where do you get your supplements from?

[Brian C.]

I import the D3 from thewayup.com, the CoQ10 from iHerb.com and l-carnitine from bulknutrition.com, taking care not to exceed the personal import limit - though this is difficult now with the pound low against the dollar.
However, no trouble so far......touch wood.


Brian.

[Gman]

sorry what is the personal import limit

[Brian C.]

Eighteen Pounds.

So far keeping cost below 30 dollars, excluding shipping, has been OK.

If one triggers the threshold not only does one have to pay VAT to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs but also a fixed administration charge of 8 pounds to Royal Mail.


Brian.

[cjbrooksjc]

Gman: Another bit of fluff that may be interesting and perhaps useful to you:

**http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/06/can-ldn-really-help-multiple-sclerosis-rheumatoid-arthritis-and-other-autoimmune-diseases.aspx

Exclude the ** before you link.

Best

Brooks