(NaturalNews) If there is a super star in Big Pharma’s list of money making drugs, it may well be the group of medications known as statins. The New York Times reported last year that statins are, in fact, the biggest selling drugs in the world. Their names, like Lipitor and Crestor, are familiar from countless television and magazine ads and almost everyone knows someone taking a statin. Promoted widely as safe, they are actually known to cause a litany of potential side effects. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) web site notes that about one in 1,000 of those taking statins suffer from muscle pain. Usually, these aches go away. But not always. And now new research shows that in some people statins cause serious structural damage to muscles.
The study, just published in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal) suggests that patients who are taking statins and who complain to their doctors about muscle tenderness or pain could well be describing severe muscle problems due to the drugs. Although muscle damage is usually associated with elevated levels of an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase, the CMAJ research shows that’s not always the case. And it may take muscle biopsies to show that underlying structural injury has occurred.
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Related:
The Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs (Statins), Cholesterol and Health
I turned 67 this July 28. Seven years ago I had, and used weekly, a fitness club membership. I went Kayaking, camping, fishing, walking, played volleyball, and hosted/attended a variety of writing/poetry venues. When I was 60, my PCP got a borderline high cholesterol result from my blood work and put me on a 20Mg maintenance dose of Lipitor. I trusted; I took it. In six months I had such severe acid reflux the Rx was switched to Zocor 20 Mg. Within six to eight months following the switch to Zocor I felt a heaviness in my legs, was getting tired frequently and had lost my vigor for and interest in any social activities or writing venues. My cholesterol rose slightly again in a few months and my Rx was bumped to 40 Mg of Zocor; now the fun began in earnest.
I began to perspire at the slightest exertion and could not stop perspiring even when I stopped exerting myself; I literally dripped with sweat. I perspired so much at night I would wrap my pillow with towels. At the same time I developed a night thirst that was disturbing in its intensity. I began keeping water by my bed and gradually drank at least a twenty two oz. bottle during the night, every night, and began to pass copious amounts urine each night as well. I could only sleep in two hour stretches, awakened by cough; thirst; a need to urinate; a strange feeling of mild, total body vibration; or a deep sense of foreboding accompanied by rapid heart beat and palpitations. My eyes crusted over during the night so badly I often needed to soak them with a damp cloth before I could open them. I was also experiencing dyspnea, a shortness of breath, especially when I lay down to sleep, and my legs twitched uncontrollably. I had eye-popping fits of coughing that often climaxed with vomiting. I seemed unusually susceptible to viral infections and caught colds easily. These colds always became something more serious and twice resulted in my being treated for Viral Pneumonia. I also experienced a painful bout of severe stomach flu that lasted for a week; something I have never had before and hope never to have again.
During the day and night I was treated to breath-taking episodes of cramping, in my feet, hands, calves, stomach, neck, and back . My arms and legs next began to burn and ache and occasionally would pain me sharply. My hips and feet hurt so much that walking became a chore; stairs an obstacle to be overcome; I walked like a ninety-year-old. The exhaustion was growing debilitating, and though I kept complaining, my PCP could not determine what was wrong with me.
I was now sleeping much of the day and couldn’t keep up with simple chores around the house. I began losing my train of thought or the thread of a conversation and would avoid engaging in conversation If I could. My memory was getting spotty and words I knew were in my vocabulary simply were not to be found in my mind. An avid crossworder, I was accustomed to speeding through at least the Thursday, New York Times crossword puzzle. At my worst during this ordeal, I could get through Monday, maybe, and Tuesday, if I worked on it all day. It was so frustrating to feel so damned diminished when I knew myself capable of so much more. I became irascible and withdrawn.
Next, my skin began to grow dry and scaly; the underbelly of my forearms looked like crepe paper. My hair turned dry and brittle and began to thin at an alarming rate, I grew bumps on my forehead and scalp; skin tags began to appear around my neck and on my abdomen. I developed eczema on my face and cold sores in my mouth, and, much to my horror, I ballooned from 212 lbs to 252 lbs.
My PCP diagnosed ‘tennis elbow’ for my painful arms, and I underwent five or six agonizing sessions of ointments and therapeutic massage. I was then sent to a sleep center and diagnosed with Apnea. I declined the contraption that went with the diagnosis; I knew I was suffering from something other than Apnea, but what?
Finally my PCP recommended a full body MRI. Now, totally frustrated, I went “out-of-network” to a D.O. Physician my family have known and trusted for years. I described my problems to her, and one of her first questions was: “Are you taking any cholesterol medication?” I outlined my Rx regimen, and she, using a physician’s desk reference, explained the side effects of Statin drugs. Now, I had never heard of Statin drugs, didn’t know I was taking a Statin drug, and was astounded, based on my symptoms and what I was reading, that I had been mis-diagnosed for so long. She ran a magnesium absorption test on me and I failed miserably. I took magnesium shots for two months and began to improve slowly, and I repeat, slowly.
I engaged a Cardiologist, Dr. Peter Langsjoen, who, following heart echo and EKG exams, determined I had statin-induced diastolic dysfunction. This particular condition is much improved following a heavy CoQ10 regimen for one year.
I am now sixteen months off all Statins and have, for the past year, been taking CoQ10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Acetyl L-Carnitine, B6, B12, Folic Acid, Omega 3 Fish Oil, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, etc., etc., to (hopefully) reverse the damaging effects of the Statin drugs. I have experienced some improvements in my complaints, but I am by no means 100%.
However… today, I know exactly what Statin drugs are, how they inhibit CoA reductase in the liver by restricting the same productive enzyme mevalonate pathway (CYP3A4) used to supply CoQ10 (an absolutely essential amino acid required for proper function by the mitochondria in every cell of our bodies), HEME, and Dolichols, and how this is hurting some of us. I’m no longer a ‘trusting soul’, I am still unwell, and I am very determined to make these dangers known.
Ultimately; on balance, I am not saying there is NO viable application for Statin drugs, only that, notwithstanding any “dirty dollar” motivations, there has been a total breakdown in the dissemination of accurate information from the manufacturer – to the pharmacist – to the doctor, and finally – to the patient concerning the safe and reasonable dispersal and application of these medicines, and as a result they are injuring, even killing people, and no one is taking responsibility or acknowledging the facts.
The summary of bad effects of Zocor by Mr. Brooks, describes my 3 1/2 year of discovery of what this poison did to me. It turns out that I started using a heart gym after my wife had heart valve surgery at the same time I started taking Zocor(generic). I noticed my gradual physical slide because of my performance at the gym. By the time I caught on to the side effects of Zocor(generic), I would park in the nearest parking place for disabled and would be begging
for the electric shopping cart in the front of a store. One of the effects, I often described was that my muscles were in rebellion or on strike, when I tried to walk. I am sure that all of the effects described by Mr. Brooks is correct as I have been there too, and have suffered similar side effects. If anything, his claims may be the understatement of this century. I wonder whether these side effects represent some permanent damage or damage which takes a long time to recover, or both. I could write a book on the multitude of apparent side effects I have experienced and others claimed to experience. The problem is that as people get older, they start falling apart and it is difficult to distinguish drug side effects from the effects of aging or other causes, but in my personal opinion when one stops taking a drug and there is almost immediate improvement (but not full recovery), one should assume it is the effects of the drug.
In science, most conclusions from any study is based on assumptions, and assumptions become the mother of most screw-ups. Having been educated in the scientific method and believing very strongly that it is the best thing we have for scientific investigation, there are natural weaknesses in the method caused by people. That is why it is so hard to make progress. Biological systems are very, very complex!!!! We cannot easily place blame on drug companies for honest research when we later discover bad side effects. But, we can hold these companies responsible for covering up or understating side effects after they become well known, just for the sake of the dollar. Statins are not the magic bullet some physicians think they are, and cholesterol has not been absolutely proven to be the problem (there are those assumptions again!). I also refer to a book on “How to Lie with Statistics’) However, I prefer to die naturally. I am not a physician, but I can dig out information from the internet and try to judge “information” generated by “experts” who are indeed experts, quacks, hypochondriacs, people who are selling something, etc. I also have access to scholarly publications, and I dare say that I understand most of this information better than most medical mechanics who are forced to work under 15 minute patient schedules and are overworked (by order of the insurance companies), simply because of my training, skepticism, time available and my training. From a life-time dedicated physical scientist/Ph.D.
These two previous replies, while being a terrible report the damage statin drugs can do – also make me want to strangle someone. There is absolutely no need for patients to suffer in this way because of drug side effects. Statins are known to cause these problems. I myself suffered severe cognitive issues, muscle issues, digestive issues etc through being presecribed a multiplicity of cholesterol lowering medications. When one was not giving the doctors the desired results they simply added to the cocktail of drugs they were prescribing to me. In the end I did my own research, found Doc Graveline and others, and decided to come off the drugs. I have never fully recovered. Doc Graveline explains that statins damage the mitochondria causing (in some cases) mutations. Mutations will never revert back to what was once a healthy cell.
I do not subscribe to the diet heart / fat is bad hypothesis. I would suggest all people do their own homework before allowing yourself to be dosed with these drugs. GOOGLE Doc Graveline AKA Spacedoc GOOGLE Stopped Our Statins for a comprehensive infomative website. Read some of the articles at my own blog…. but don’t be fooled into taking this medication.
Thank you so much to the above 3 contributors. IF ONLY this became common knowledge………but the lies continue and the ignorant (by design) people continue to believe those who have the sacred responsibility to first do no harm. I have very little respect or use for the medical mafia because of what I’ve observed for the past 38 years; it’s only gotten much worse.
Landed here because I was recently prescribed statins and am doing research about them. So far all I’ve read are negative stuff. Here’s another article in detail about statin drugs: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/26/think-twice-before-using-statin-drugs.aspx
I’m still contemplating on whether to follow my doctor or not