I have been taking Lipitor for around 10 years., they gave me lipitor when my cholestral was borderline back then but I was also diagnosed with diabetes., I take no meds for diabetes my A1C is always within normal range but sometimes my glucose test is 140 to 160., but that is not often., but they say I am diabetic., they tried me on the glugophage but it made me so ill , I refused to take it since my numbers are low., but they said it would prevent it from getting worse . I take 2 blood pressure medicines and I take singulair and zyrtec for allergies. Within the past 10 years they raised the lipitor to 20 mg when my cholestral went above the borderline range. It seems like my muscle pain has only increased some recently., especially in my arms.
I told the neuro this about arm muscles hurting and arms heavy but he didn't feel it was associated to MG., he advised it would start with swallowing, etc., he felt the limbs would not hurt as when you touch some of my muscles on my upper arms they indeed hurt.
He suggested no other tests , but seemed to try to keep everything to the ocular and not generalization, like I said he did minimal strength tests 5 minutes of it. My vision is not as bad as it has been., it seems to be worse at evening time., but originally when I first noticed bad vision it was terrible., so it seems to have lessened somewhat.
Maybe all these aches and pains in my arms are from Lipitor? I am thinking of going off of it till I see my GP the beginning of May., I get my blood work for my GP this friday. And then the tests for the Neuro Monday and see him on Monday.
I read this one article online that kind of inferred that statins can cause mg., has anyone else heard that? Mostly everything I have been reading states it makes it worse.
What exactly is a EMG test? He didn't feel any of those were necessary as he felt the blood work was sufficient, and having my chest muscles and gland checked was the most important. I got the impression that felt every ache and pain should not be attributed to mg., and advised me not to dwell on all of this, as then you will make yourself worse.
So .........I will pick up my meds today and start taking them.
and go from there., in some ways I think I am more confused...........
Thanks for your help
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnnieB3
I'm glad your appointment went okay but I can see why you have lots of questions. I have some too.
First of all, so many problems are caused for MG patients by not having ALL the appropriate testing right away, including the EMG's. Why? Because other neurologists may later question the diagnosis. Most of them see the EMG's as the "gold standard" for diagnosing MG. And the drugs people with MG take, make the antibodies disappear and the EMG's normal. So if you go to a new doctor and he sees that you only had the antibodies done, he will probably want to do a SFEMG. At that point, you'll be on who knows what drugs, have to withdraw from them for the EMG to be accurate which can make you feel really horrid and is potentially dangerous and the test may or may not be positive. So I'm an advocate for having ALL the MG tests done right away. If your antibodies are that high, chances are that your EMG will be positive, no matter what your neuro "sees" clinically.
Lipitor is a horrid drug for people with MG. It can make MG much worse. How high was your cholesterol? Was it minimally high like in the low 200's or way high like in the 400's or higher? The 200's can be adjusted with diet, etc. Get that evaluated by a primary doctor!!!
Your neuro sounds pretty good. I can put up with bland personalities if I know I have a very good doctor. As long as he is giving you the information you need and answering your questions.
You should know, in case you don't, that there is Mestinon syrup too not just the tablets. I take the syrup due to not having stomach acid (it digests better). The syrup goes to work faster too. There is the issue of carrying liquid around with you but I don't have a problem with it. And you can titrate the liquid in smaller increments than you can with the tablets, which I like. Just an FYI.
I'm glad you have an answer to what you've been suffering with. That's half the battle. I think a discussion about treatment options would be good for your next appt. Don't automatically think you have to have Prednisone. Doctors have these "algorithms" for what they give patients and in what order. Not every patient is the same so only go by what you want for yourself!
Good luck Wed.
Annie
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