CPAPtalk.com

DreamStalker wrote:

NateS wrote:Zocor and later pravastatin has caused me considerable damage to the muscles in my hips, legs and feet. It has gotten so bad that I am unable to step off or up a low curb without losing my balance unless I walk with a cane. And standing still or walking is very painful. I have recently been assessed by a physical therapy center to whom I was referred by my physician, and their measurements confirmed substantial losses in strength, range of motion, etc. They have confirmed what I already knew - it is not my imagination and it is not "typical aches and pains" one can expect from age. It was explained to me that part of the cause of loss of balance is due to the fact that the muscles which enable one to rise up off their heels and onto the balls of the feet have been among those damaged.

I am taking therapy, stopped the statin, and am attempting to replenish the COQ10, fish oil, L-Carnitine, etc. but no one seems to know whether the damage can be reversed. As this problem kept getting worse over the past several years, I have been complaining about it and was sent to all sorts of specialists who seemed to rule out whatever other cause they specialized in. Not one of them told me to stop taking the statin, until less than a month ago, even though I always furnished a detailed list of my medications to each doctor's office I was sent to.

Be forewarned.

Regards, Nate

The cell dmage can be reversed ... but I know you can't hear/read me so I just waste my keyboard with you. Best of luck nonetheless.

Janknitz wrote:I've read that side effects from statins go largely unreported, that's why the manufactuers can claim that there's a low rate of side effects. One reason is that the side effects can be delayed long after starting the medications, and also that the side effects are subtle and mimic aging (muscle aches and pains, memory loss, etc.).

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-manage ... RSS_PUBLIC


High-Dose Statins Linked to Acute Kidney Damage
Large study doesn't prove connection, but experts say patients should ask doctors about concerns
By Denise Mann
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- People who take high doses of popular cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may be more likely to develop kidney problems, a new study suggests.

chunkyfrog wrote:There has been some talk that taking Co-Q10 will help stave off some of the worst side effects.
Our doctor has recommended it for both of us, and periodic testing-which we do.
Since atorvastatin (Lipitor) is generic now, the Co-Q10 costs more than the RX drug.

babytalk wrote:I know this is going to sound freaky to some of y'all, but I began to add FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH to my medical regime.

VVV wrote:My lipids were controlled with OTC time-release niacin for a good many years but in the last year I could no longer tolerate the minor itching and flushing for some reason.

Sir NoddinOff wrote: WARNING DO NOT TAKE A WHOLE PILL... IT WILL MAKE YOU ITCH LIKE CRAZY. How do you get around that? I just break a pill in thirds or quarters and take a chunk every few hours. Pure NIacin is quite inexpensive and if you don't take too much you will never itch or flush again. I take anywhere from .75 to 1.0 gram a day... I don't figure it out exactly... hey, it's a vitamin. supplement.

idamtnboy wrote:

Sir NoddinOff wrote: WARNING DO NOT TAKE A WHOLE PILL... IT WILL MAKE YOU ITCH LIKE CRAZY. How do you get around that? I just break a pill in thirds or quarters and take a chunk every few hours. Pure NIacin is quite inexpensive and if you don't take too much you will never itch or flush again. I take anywhere from .75 to 1.0 gram a day... I don't figure it out exactly... hey, it's a vitamin. supplement.

I take slow release Niacin 500 mg 2x a day with no problems. I did have occasional itching issues with the morning dose, but then read somewhere that you should not drink any hot beverages, like coffee, when you take the pill as that can causing flushing. So I changed from taking it with my breakfast to taking it as soon as I get up. Coffee is upwards of 2 hours later. No more itching.

NateS wrote:

DreamStalker wrote:

NateS wrote:Zocor and later pravastatin has caused me considerable damage to the muscles in my hips, legs and feet. It has gotten so bad that I am unable to step off or up a low curb without losing my balance unless I walk with a cane. And standing still or walking is very painful. I have recently been assessed by a physical therapy center to whom I was referred by my physician, and their measurements confirmed substantial losses in strength, range of motion, etc. They have confirmed what I already knew - it is not my imagination and it is not "typical aches and pains" one can expect from age. It was explained to me that part of the cause of loss of balance is due to the fact that the muscles which enable one to rise up off their heels and onto the balls of the feet have been among those damaged.

I am taking therapy, stopped the statin, and am attempting to replenish the COQ10, fish oil, L-Carnitine, etc. but no one seems to know whether the damage can be reversed. As this problem kept getting worse over the past several years, I have been complaining about it and was sent to all sorts of specialists who seemed to rule out whatever other cause they specialized in. Not one of them told me to stop taking the statin, until less than a month ago, even though I always furnished a detailed list of my medications to each doctor's office I was sent to.

Be forewarned.

Regards, Nate

The cell dmage can be reversed ... but I know you can't hear/read me so I just waste my keyboard with you. Best of luck nonetheless.

Dreamstalker,

I appreciate your encouragement and would be even more grateful for your advice and specifics on this subject. I hear and read you.

We all have a common interest - our health - which brought us here and keeps us here.

I hold no grudges and hope you don't either. If we clashed on politics or sports, disagreements are inevitable but hopefully shouldn't get in the way of what we all have in common here.

If I have offended you personally in any way, I apologize.

Regards, Nate

DreamStalker wrote:
I have no grudges either and as for politics, I don't cheer for either side, I think both sides have a myopic view of the socio-political problem/solution. I think both political spectrums cause more problems than they fix. I see myself agreeing more and more with Orlov's version of anarchy.

Anyway, the best way to recover from statin toxicity is to take high quality ubiquinol (it is expensive at around $30 to $40 for a month supply) to help rebuild mitochondria. Eat high quality omega 3 and 6 fats and try to balance their ratio at 1:1 to rebuild cell membranes. Keep in mind that omega 6 fats are ubiquitous in a lot of our modern diet (often in ratios as high as 50:1), mostly as liquid oils at room temperature, nuts, and seeds ... so you will want to supplement only with omega 3 fats (fish or krill oil) and make sure that whatever omega 6 oils/seeds/nuts you do consume are as fresh as can be and do not cook them (or better yet just avoid them until your health is back to normal). Take high quality antioxidants such as glutathione, vitamins A, C, and E supplements to help remove damaged cell materials and free-radicals. Finally, follow a good exercise program that includes lots of low intensity, long duration walking (for rebuilding slow twitch muscle cells, dense with mitochondria) and high intensity, moderate duration resistance/weight training (for rebuilding fast twitch muscle cells) and high intensity, very short duration interval training (for rebuilding heart (also dense with mitochondria) and the overall cardiovascular system).

Forget about cholesterol numbers. The cholesterol-causes-heart disease paradigm is a bogus pharmaceutical scam. While high values of small dense LDL do correlate with potential problems of atherosclerosis, the LDL does NOT cause the atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is caused by chronic inflammation and small dense LDL is also a response to chronic inflammation. To reduce chronic inflammation, change your diet to avoid trans-fats (industrially oxidized poison fat) and liquid oils which become oxidized more easily (especially upon heating) than saturated fats ... avoid grains which are rich in omega-6 inflammatory fats. Oemga 6 fats are "essential" for health but we get way too many in our diet, so avoiding them is your best strategy. Grains also have lectins and phytates which bind to needed healthy nutrients in your gut and cause nutrient deficiencies ... not only that, some people have a bad gluten protein response to grains that further compromises nutrient uptake from the gut. Avoid all grains (wheat, rye, oats, and barley). If you are overweight, you likely have some degree of hyperinsulinism (insulin insensitivity). Other possible signs of hyperinsulinism besides being overweight include skin tags on neck areas and around the eyes and also sometimes darkening and thickening of the skin in joints areas (ie. knuckles, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, arm pits, and/or crotch areas) ... therefore you need to cut back on overall carbohydrate consumption (avoid rice and potatoes) and supplement with chromium and vanadium and "true/real" cinnamon (sp. verum from Sri Lanka or Madagaskar).

Good luck.