My experience with statin drugs

by **CJV** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:00 pm

I recently discovered the hazards of taking Statins. I have been on Lovastatin since 2/05 with blood tests every 6 months, and I noticed none of the stated problems till about 2 mos ago. I noticed I was losing the ability to open simple jars and bottles. My muscles felt weak. I began having sore muscles down my inner thigh, feeling like a pinched nerve. My hips hurt when I slept, even though we have a Select Comfort bed. Then I broke out in a rash on my arms, legs and back of my neck. The itching was terrible. Because of these difficulties I forgot the statin for 3 nigts and I then went back to the dr. She x-rayed my hips and told me I had arthritis in one hip, to take tylenol or nsaids for the pain and discontinue the statins till I could see my regular dr in 2 weeks. He had me do more blood tests then told me no more statin, and prescribed Zetia. I am to return in 3 months. That was almost a month ago and I am 500 miles from home at our winter home. Since then I have had so much hip and leg pain I can't sleep at night, again on a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. The pain doesn't subside unless I sit in a recliner or some other soft seat. I read about others with muscle problems who are on Coensyme Q-10 so I bought the 300 mg size and took one for the first time today. I can't believe the pain I am experiencing and the blase' way the doctors don't tell you about the potential for so much pain. Will this eventually get better? I am a 64 yr old retired trainer, used to being on my feet and walking rapidly and that seems a thing of the past now. Each step is miserable. Can someone out there offer any other help?

by **Darrell** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:30 pm

Stop the Zetia!

My initial problems were with Zocor, but starting Zetia a few months after stopping Zocor sent me into a total relapse of all the symptoms. Muscle problems are listed in the Zetia patient information sheet.

Consider taking the 300 mg of Q10 twice a day and, if you don't get major relief in a week or two, consider trying some L-Carnitine.

by **Dee** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:05 am

You say your doctor ordered blood tests and said no more statins......did he give you the test results? If not, you should request them. Dee

by **CJV** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:30 am

Thanks, Darrell & Dee, for your replies. Darrell - what do you recommend to take in place of Zetia? I did re-read the drug sheet again and it reads almost like the warning for Lovastatin. Dee: I will follow thru with asking for more info on the blood tests, but I am not a medical person so I can only rely on what the medical staff interpret. Any further suggestions?

by **Darrell** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:54 am

I suggest that you forget about lowering cholesterol until you get your Lovastatin/Zetia side effects stabilized or eliminated. Maybe forget it forever. Look around this site for alternative approaches to cardiac health such as low-dose aspirin, fish oil, B vitamins, vitamin C, etc. There's evidence to suggest that the arterial plaque problems start with inflammation, not cholesterol.

by **Dee** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 2:09 pm

You should request a copy of your labs and take notice of anything out of the norm, usually indicated with a H (high) or L (Low).

Specifically you are looking for the results for:

CPK - creatine phosphokinase (Be aware that many with statin damage have "normal" CPK levels.)

"A CPK is a blood test that measures creatine phosphokinase (CPK), an enzyme found predominantly in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. When the total CPK level is substantially elevated, it usually indicates injury or stress to one or more of these areas."
[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003503.htm]

Elevated Liver enzymes:
ALT (alanine aminotransferase)
AST (aspartate aminotransferase)
(I think they look for 2X-3X normal when looking for a problem)

With the CPK test, it has been proven that those with "normal" levels can have statin damage.

I had a CPK test about 2 years BEFORE starting a statin and it was 47. The day I stopped the statin it was 123, completely normal by "lab" standards, but high "for me", especially considering that I was very physically active when getting a reading of 47, and almost totally INactive (due to statin damage) when getting the 123 reading.

Doctors generally look for a level of 10X normal before they would say you have a "problem" like rhabdomyolosis. Depending on lab standards normal would be 80-100, so 10X would be 800-1000.

3 months after stopping the statin, Pravachol in my case, I went to a neurologist, who referred me to another neurologist in his department for a muscle biopsy. One of the blood tests he did was for Aldolase, which came back a little high, and he said that indicated my muscles were "leaking".

The biopsy showed nerve damage and lipid deposits within the cells, both consistent with statin damage.

You should be able to have your lab results faxed, so you can see them immediately. If not, insist that they be mailed to you PRONTO. Then please let us know what you find.

I find it interesting that your doctor took you off the statin after seeing the test results, that seems to indicate he found a possible abnormality in those results. Dee