hypothyroidism and statins

[aeroguy]

I've just read in several places that people who take statins are at far greater risk for myopathy (muscle and joint pain) if they also have hypothyroidism.

Even though I have endured such side effects from every statin I've ever taken, I just assumed that because I take levoxyl every day, I am TECHNICALLY not hypothyroid because the synthetic replacement makes me balanced.

Now I wonder if my thinking is correct. Does anyone have an opinion or info on this?

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who is hypothyroid and has used statins for high cholesterol, either successfully or otherwise. Thanks.

[David Staup]

aeroguy,

following is an excerpt from Golomb's statin adverse effects study concerning hypothyroidism as a risk factor for statin adverse effects... note how
"Statins have rarely aggravated hypothyroidism – produced loss of stable control on thyroid medications, with control restored on statin discontinuation"



full excerpt:
Thyroid disorders, hypothyroidism, – Thyroid hormone is critically involved in regulation of oxidative phosphorylation (mitochondrial
including unnoticed or asymptomatic function), and thyroid pathology, even if treated, may signal metabolic vulnerability because of the
hypothyroidism[36,94,164,181,223,354,381-383] importance of triiodothyronine (thyroid replacement focuses on thyroxine)[384-390]
– Thyroid problems alone are a risk factor for rhabdomyolysis[223]
– Statins have rarely aggravated hypothyroidism – produced loss of stable control on thyroid medications, with control restored on statin discontinuation.[391,392] One case involved amiodaroneinduced hypothyroidism.[392] Since both statins and amiodarone produce AEs through mitochondrial toxicity,[288] we suggest thyroid dyscontrol on statins may occur in cases of hypothyroidism linked to mitochondrial or energetic impairment

there is also a study showing statins can cause symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as hyperthyroidism and hense may cause hypothyroid tests to be skewed towards normality... see link below:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/139691.php


in my case I was (mis)diagnosed as hyperthyroid and my thyroid was nuked making me hypothyroid and was originally put on a synthetic t4 replacement, however every time the doctor upped my dose to bring my tests up to "normal" my muscle symptoms worsened and I would demand a reduction...I functioned with the least problems at a dose which put my test results just below the low end of normal...

I have since changes to a natural t3 +t4 and most recently tried to up my dose again only to have the muscle symptoms again increase dramatically...I've been back down to my normal dose now for about 1 week and the muscle symptoms are abating ... I have been off statins for 3 years now..

do not, I repeat do not listen tothe doctors about cholesterol lowering and let us guide you to the truth about cholesterol and your body...If you post a bit more about yourself and your health, age, diet, etc. we can lead you to info that you should know when seeing your doctor...

David

[aeroguy]

David--

I really appreciate your detailed response.

Info: Age 62. I was diagnosed hypothyroid in 1996, and have been taking 150 mcg Levoxyl ever since. I get a thyroid test done every six months, and have never had to change dosage.

I will have to do a little more research to be able to understand much of the writings of Golomb.

But based on what you wrote (especially the first Golomb paragraph you called to my attention), I gather you are saying that even though my bi-annual thyroid tests are normal and my dosage has never fluctuated, you still think that taking statins does put me at higher risk for muscle and joint pain than if I had not been diagnosed hypo?

Thanks again.

[David Staup]

Aeroguy,

an excerpt (note the sentence between the emoticons):

Second, use of statins in hypothyroid patients is dangerous. Although the biochemical mechanism of both hypothyroid myopathy and SIM remain unclear, hypothyroidism increases the risk of SIM.3,4 With respect to the mechanism of hypothyroid myopathy, some have hypothesized that defects in glycogenolysis or impaired mitochondrial oxidation are responsible.6 Theories for the cause of SIM include reduction in small guanosine 5’-triphosphate–binding proteins and reduced cholesterol synthesis causing skeletal myocyte membrane instability.10 :cry: Presumably, these mechanisms are synergistic when statins are prescribed to hypothyroid patients. :cry: Generally, myopathy is more likely to occur at higher statin doses.11 Other lipid-lowering medications, such as fibrates and even ezetimibe, an inhibitor of intestinal cholesterol absorption, can cause myopathy.

full report:
http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2007/mar/vol53-mar-currentpractice-casereport.asp

David

[aeroguy]

Great post, David. Whether the info you post is 100% correct or not, just the fact that a responsible researcher felt the need to write about the subject is good enough for me.

I tried a fibrate a while back (Trilipix) and had to stop after four days.

However, I just now (two weeks ago) began a prescription for Niaspan ER 500 mg, which I take every other night.

Since this is not a statin, I have to think that this might be safer, not only for folks with hypothyroid, but everyone else as well.

[valgators]

Hello Aero:

I was just curious what your cholesterol levels are if you don't mind saying. My hunch is they are probably not that high; the medical profession makes us paranoid about anything over 190!

I was diagnosed hypothyroid in 1993 and took Synthroid for years. Was switched to Levoxyl due to insurance issues. Myopathy problems started shortly after I started on statins. But like you, with the supplementation I assumed I was balanced too. I've been statin-free for 2 years and as long as my cholesterol readings are below 300, I'm okay with that. No, my muscle problems have not gone away, but with Lyrica I am coping much better.

Good luck. Valgators

[aeroguy]

valgators--

On Dec 30, 2009, I had a cholesterol panel done:

total 185

LDL 92

HDL 41

trigs 259



I am 62, a vegetarian since 1990 (including no dairy), and walk briskly for 45 minutes most every day. I had stents put in two blocked arteries in Nov, 2005, so despite my good habits, I am considered a high risk heart patient.

My trigs have been high for twenty years. Best reading was 193 in Dec, 2008, after three consecutive years on Lipitor.

I tried other statins with bad side effects, but then stopped them. In June, 2009, my trigs had shot up to 322 and LDL to 104.

[David Staup]

Aeroguy'
a few things you should look at:

"http://www.ourhealthcoop.com/pauling.htm

and

"http://www.health-heart.org/Why.htm

and

"http://www.spacedoc.net/chelation_heart_disease.htm

also this excerpt"

Among the elderly the effects of low serum total cholesterol and low LDL-C were found to be deadly. In a study on residents of northern Manhattan, NY, 2,277 subjects were followed for 10 years with results reported in 2005. Two-thirds were female and 1/3 of the total were Hispanic, African American and white. Subjects were 65-98 years old at baseline, mean age 76. The chance of dying was twice as great in the lowest quartile of total cholesterol or LDL-C levels, while HDL-C and triglyceride levels were not related to all-cause mortality in this age group.

Women had higher baseline total cholesterol and LDL-C levels (206 and 124) than men (191 and 117), yet the women lived longer. Men with the same total cholesterol and LDL-C levels as women lived as long. Of the subjects, 1/5 were taking statin drugs to lower total cholesterol and LDL-C, which would have pushed them into the lowest quartile.

from here:

"http://www.spacedoc.net/cheerios_fda

David

[aeroguy]

David--

I read all of your URLs. The FDA is a real piece of work, huh?

Between you and Dr. Graveline, I've decided to put to rest any thoughts of ever using a statin again.

[David Staup]

Aeroguy,

good thinking!

YES the fda is not a good thing these days

you might be interested in knowing that the whole cholesterol is bad theory (the lipid hypothosis) was first widely publicized by Kellog in the late 1800's (to sell more of his products) and that heart desease exploded since then and only slowed when B vitamins were added to "enriched" flours in the 60's. in the late 50's ancel keys made it (bad) science with his 7 country study....data he culled from 22 countries to prove his theory...see this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8WA5wcaHp4

honor is in short supply, hubris and greed drive our society today or this could never have happened!

David

[ronni]

There is most definitely a link. Hypothyroid patients are more likely to suffer statin damage. Please see below for a response that Ray Holder sent me. The link helps show the connection.

[i]Hi Ronni

If y ou go to the Washington University of St Louis , neuromuscular website, there is an index of many problems. via the index on the home page, click on Lipid Lowering Myopathies and follow down to HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, statins, and hypothyroidism is there, or directly go to :

*http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/msys/myoglob.html#lipid

This is a genuine university medical site, although the data is in a very shortened form.

Ray[/i]

You can gain some additional information if you follow the thread of this post started by CJ Brooks on Feb. 14 2008.

[aeroguy]

Ronni--

Excellent URL. I appreciate your post and the link.

[chipg90630]

Hello .... my name is henry and im new to this site and was shocked to find out about the lipitor that my doctor prescribed for me. I have hypothyroidism and take 137 mcg daily for about two years. About six months ago my doctor looked at my lab results and my cholesterol was 240 and prescribed lipitor. At first i resisted and told my doc to give me a few months to see if i could lower with diet and exercise. I had heard about side effects of lipitor and wanted to check into it. After talking to a couple coworkers who take it who said that they have no side effects i got lazy and called my doctor and told him to call in the prescription. I am 47 yrs old and in good shape i was running a little and work out with weights five time a week. I have a fairly physical job working on aircraft in closed confined spaces..... i had been on the lipitor for 4 mos when my back started to ache a little at first, i attributed it to my job and the bending and crawling i do. So i thought i would take a few days off at the gym to let myself heal. While working out i started experiencing shooting pains in my lower back and stopped my routine. I woke up the next morning and could barely get out of bed. I was having cramps and spasms that i never had before. So i was placed on light duty and have been for three weeks. I had a follow up after the first week of pain with my doctor and asked him if he thought it might be the lipitor and he said no to continue to take it. After seeing a chiropractor and not getting any better i started researching and found this sight and after seeing so many similiar symptoms with different folks i discontinued the lipitor and got some of the supplements ive seen here and each day i feel better. I will never take a statin again as i was amazed at how fast it literally crippled me. I would appreciate any advise from anyone concerning hypothyroidism and high cholesterol. because you have hypo does that necessaraly mean you'll have high cholestoral? Man hasnt the red flags went up about these drugs with the FDA?

[aeroguy]

chip--

I've been hypo since '96, taking 150 mcg per day levoxyl.

I never drew any connection between the statin side effects being brought about by being hypo, but several good folks at this site have shown me how wrong I was.

I'll repeat what I said in my first post. I figured that even though I'm technically hypothyroid, the fact that I was taking 150 mcg made me normal, and not vulnerable like someone would be if they just said to heck with the hypo meds.

The things I've read, both at this site from bloggers like David and Allen, and at other places, leads me to believe that if for no other reason than being hypo, I should not be taking statins.

Of course, that is but one of MANY reasons, but in my case, it is perhaps the most important one.