Interesting because many people who developed ALS have been on statins and among common symptoms they experiences while on these drugs were foot drop. Of course, difficulty swallowing is among ALS symptoms...

Statins are solidly tied to memory problems and brain dysfunction, among a host of other issues (e.g cancer, diabetes, erectile dysfunction), all more or less mediated by the same physiological mechanisms (such as by their impairment of oxidative metabolism, the increase in inflammation and cell destruction, the lowering of cholesterol and steroid hormone production, etc.).

(The various ways statins - and a cholesterol-lowering popular diet pill advertised by Dr. Oz - manifest their adverse effects, such as in diabetes, are rather thoroughly explained in this scholarly article: google or bing "Do Garcinia Cambogia Side Effects Boost Diabetes?")

Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. As you can see we have a great number and caring fellow members here, where you have find a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Please keep us up to date on your condition. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

Welcome Yannick.

Here is a good example of poisons from the past, used to treat
digestive upsets (pepsin) and other things. They used alot of mercury at the turn of the century (early 1900's)

Sharp and Dohme, was the precursor to the Merck of today.

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So I should throw my Nux Vomica away?

Can't hurt more than Lanzoprasole and Metoclopramide.

Dave.

Oh, just checked - still in use despite SEVERE warnings about strychnine build up.

Dave.

1 gr (grain) is 64.8 milligrams

some of these bottles shown may be homeopathic doses.

Strychnine has been in many tonics for a long time, and when used that way was considered a "stimulant".

Calomel was a common mercury containing product used medically...
more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury%28I%29_chloride

There has been an increase of ALS I'm very sure. I used to never hear about it, now I know several who died from it, people I only met once like inlaws to inlaws and the such. Glad no one closer had gotten it. But it is really weird how many get it but maybe it is me who has aged and mix more with older people and notice it more?

The doctor of my friend thinks it is fine my friend cannot walk and says it is because of obesity. But in the past he COULD walk, it was just that because his weight it made his back hurt a lot, still he could. Now he can't. Doc does not see the difference between not wanting to walk because of pain and not being able to walk. He can walk about ten steps now. Then he has no more muscle strength. Maybe it is just lack of practice, I don't know...

I'm also worried since he gotten into very bad food habits. It is like if he eats the identical thing every day at least he has some chance of recognizing what he ate. If it really becomes ingrained. I don't think it helps his case though. Not eating anything fresh or varied. It is all processed.

Before I realized he was on statins I was convinced he had Korsakoff's dementia because of never getting any nutrients. Now I don't think so anymore but if I was wrong once, I can be wrong about the statins as well. Maybe he is perfectly healthy and this is just an effect of old age (he is in his 50s).

He is starting to fall back on things he did 15 years ago, he likes them better and talks about memories from then. It is like his memory loss was only a few years back and then that span grew and grew. He feels safe in what existed 15 years ago because he remembers it. In that way maybe it sounds more like classic dementia?

But oh well, I'm not the doctor. I just cannot fathom how doc thinks his fine and family thinks he is fine that he is just lazy and nuisance but not ill. Don't they remember how he was in the past? I'm confused about how people can be so deep in denial. I'm pretty sure he does not ruin things on purpose as the family thinks he does, or just being sloppy about things. It seems like he just doesn't have the same control over his body anymore.

Sorry babbling again. I guess this forum might not be about mindless babbling, doesn't help anything, but I don't know what I can do practically.

I actually snapped at him today because he chatted with someone he found repetitive. I didn't say it clearly but I wanted to say it, that I have listened to him say the same thing day after day for about 1000 days now.

Blah sorry. Frustrated.

I have to ask... if anyone knows, can Statins cause behavioral changes? I mean, sure he lost his emotions and only displays either being overly content, or irritation and anger. But other things? He is/was a sweet man, but now, after getting a new care worker she left after just three days, scared about his behavior. He had basically showed "interest" in her, and she freaked.

He has no memory of this and says it is not true. A former care worker also left (claiming other reasons than him but I'm not sure), he verbally assaulted and then forgot about it.

No one but me thinks he actually might have said inappropriate things to this new one, he is "way too nice for that". And no, it would be out of character, still I can't see why she would be lying that everyone else thinks she is. They base it on him not remembering doing anything, but he didn't remember screaming and harassing the old one either.

So now they will send him yet another care worker. If something happens this time, I guess I will know for sure something is wrong. Should I stop thinking this is the statin and start thinking this is dementia? But then no one thinks it is, and no one thinks it is statins either. They blame old age (I guess being 50+ is old now..).

I'm back to whine.

I know I'm negative and tiresome but I'm just sitting her sighing and I don't know if I can DO something or not. I'm one of those fixer personalities and I get all whiny when things seem unfixable, I don't know what to do with my own emotions then.

My friend, the possible statin victim, his foot got worse and worse. It turned more and more and at the end when he had to get up and walk shorter stretches, he actually walked on the top of his foot instead of the bottom.

The doctors didn't run any tests far as I am aware. They just said that is foot drop, that just happens, you get a splint to wear day and night. So they prescribed that. Him being heavy put a lot of weight on it so it basically ate into his flesh. He had it looked after but they just wrapped it back up and put the splint back.

Now the wound started infecting his whole foot, I think it is part the brace and part that his nerves are so damaged he cannot feel when he hurts it. So basically the nurses who cared for his foot said enough is enough! They didn't have the ability to diagnose but the doctor didn't want to help explain why this happened in the first place.

Anyway the nurses just said this time that we cannot help you anymore. You cannot come back here because this is getting worse not better. We suggest the local hospital to take the foot off, we think this is your best and safest option.

No one ever went through his meds to see if anything could be improved, no one went through his food habits to see why he didn't heal (He refuses to take any vitamins on his own because he just takes prescribed meds because they are "safe". I know scurvy causes decreased wound healing but he thinks he cannot have it, even if he never eats fruit or veg or drinks juice). In the past, when he was himself, you could talk to him and he would take what you said in consideration. Now he just gets mad because he knows he cannot process what I said so it is better for his pride to snap at me.

His memory and judgment got so bad he is no longer allowed outside, not even with company. He had a global amnesia attack at Walmart and scared everyone so he is banned from there now. He forgot that though, he now says he is allowed there and nothing happened.

I just wonder, if he goes into hospital for the amputation, do you think they will reflect upon his meds? Or when someone goes in, do they just give them the same as always? Also, do they notice if someone refuses to eat normal food and just demands cake and poptarts? I guess they will notice when he throws the food tray at them because his temper got so bad that he does those things when he is frustrated.

It's so hard to fathom this man was reasonably healthy up to like 10 years ago. That he could take care of himself, ate half properly, had fun, did different things, was a bit active... And now he just sits and watches TV 10 hours a day and sleeps 14 hours a day. And will have his foot chopped off!

I managed to get some info about him and his doctor (the one that prescribes statins) had said that my friend does NOT have dementia, and the doc actually SAID the memory issues is a side effect! Still he keeps up the same medication.

If you read this, thanx for reading. Once again, sorry for needing to whine.