Statins cause dangerous neuropathy
 

When researching information on peripheral neuropathy I found this information:

“For susceptible individuals, the use of a statin drug can interfere with proper functioning of peripheral nerves. Researchers assume that the build-up of statins in the body causes neuropathy in some individuals. If left undiagnosed, neuropathy can lead to deterioration of the muscles and paralysis. This can lead to problems swallowing, breathing, and complications of the heart – as these all involve muscle groups. In the extreme case, severe neuropathy as a side-effect to statin use can lead to death.”

I took Lipitor/statins for two years and suffered a life-threatening adverse drug reaction last year. I was told to stop the drug after a blood test showed my cholesterol level had gone down dangerously low to 4.mmol/L. I first reported a horrendous pain and pricking sensations in the upper back, could hardly talk, felt 'nervy' and had difficulty writing. I checked these symptoms on the internet and found 'statins and ALS-like syndrome' which fitted my symptoms. But I now believe these symptoms are autonomic and peripheral neuropathies caused by the statin drug which are very similar to the 'ALS-like syndrome' description. So perhaps the label 'ALS-like syndrome' is wrong and the correct diagnosis is actually peripheral neuropathy. There is an on-line petition to the pharmaceutical companies from hundreds of people who have suffered peripheral neuropathy caused by Lipitor/statins. Dr Ralph Edwards, Director of the Drug Monitoring Centre of the World Health Organisation has been carrying out research on hundreds of serious reported cases of 'ALS-like syndrome' caused by statins but I believe the correct diagnosis is peripheral neuropathy - a very frightening, disabling disease caused by many other drugs as well. I almost died of cardiomyopathy and neuropathy as a result of the statin-induced toxic/chemical poisoning but was never admitted to hospital/intensive care for investigations and treatment and have been left with irreversible damage. The GPs and hospital doctors concerned are in denial refusing to admit that the statins have done this and have refused proper investigations and treatment that could have reversed the damage. I read my medical records recently and discovered record tampering to cover-up the medical disaster and have been struck off two GPs registers because of it. In the referral letters they said I was on the drug for three months (to deliberately mislead) when I was on it for two years. The GP who prescribed the statins refused to report the emergency ADR to the MHRA so their statistics are grossly unreliable. I was housebound and extremely ill for four months and on a home visit the GP refused to authorise an ambulance to take me to hospital. I have reported the malpractice and sub-standard healthcare to the appropriate health authorities. I have read about adult stem cell treatment that may be able to treat the muscle wasting and blood vessel damage which seems to be the only hope of a possible cure? One clinic said they hear many statin horror stories like mine and have treated patients successfully with these conditions. Lipitor/statins is an extremely dangerous drug and Pfizer should be forced to withdraw it from the market immediately. It is a fraud and those responsible are putting profit/greed before patient safety. Statins don't save lives - it severely harms and kills thousands of patients around the world. It is a 'disease' invented by the pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment is in cahoots with this money spinning sham. I never had any heart problems before I took statins and it has been a horrific experience. It's a terrible state of affairs, and very scary indeed, when I can't trust my own doctors now to tell me the truth and care for me. No wonder people who've been on statins have suicidal thoughts.

hi and welcome
I moved your post to its own thread as the other is on a different topic

Hi Minnine,
Thank you for the information. I'm so sorry you have been going thru this. I have rsd so know what you are talking about. The autonomic system is deeply affected by rsd.
The swallowing part is scary isn't it. And I have personally been thru' the doctoring' of records by a Doctor. It was actually my mothers Dr. adjusted his records to try and escape from responsibility of her death. It didn't work. My mother died at age 46 because of him and he was found 100% responsible in the court. Yes, people lie to get out of responsibility. I'm going to do some research on statins and if I am talk to my Dr. about it. Thanks again, loretta

New research is showing that statins affect the mitochondria
in the cells. Damages them.

If you search "statin" in this forum, you will find many many posts. I have been very vocal on this subject for years.

To help reverse this damage the following supplements may help.

Acetyl-l-carnitine up to 2 grams a day
CoQ-10 -- a high absorption type, up to 300mg a day.
Vitamin C
Alpha lipoic acid or the more potent r-lipoic acid

This is a very interesting paper...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1001093033.htm
The DHA refers to a type of Vit C and not the DHA which is a fatty acid derived from essential fatty acids and present in fish oil.

While this is a paper about chemo treatments, it addresses mitochondrial damage... and that is also what statins do...damage the mitochondria.

If you search here, I have other papers that were recently published showing mito damage from statins. This topic is evolving now as patents expire on the last two Brand name drugs out there (Lipitor and Crestor).

I had problems with Lipitor (torso & back severe muscle aches, kidney pain, leaden legs, terrible burning in feet), and switched to Zetia (Mrs D's recommendation) about 4 yrs ago.
Symptoms improved upon stopping the statin.
Won't take them now.

Hello,
Taking Zocor about five years ago led me to find great helpful folks that post here and on other Neuropathy forums. Right now Iam in the process of breaking in a new doctor about PN that I see at my VA clinic.:winky:
Lanny

zocor caused my neuropathy
 

Hi Minnie.
Ten years ago i also took a statin called Zocor. within 6 months i had the most severe pain i could not imagine. I have a post in the stickies telling my story and what i have done to help myself.

George

The statins vary in their ability to enter fatty tissue ..
Since the brain and nerves are composed of lipids (fats), the more
lipophilic statins will have a larger impact on nervous tissue.

Zocor is very lipophilic and enters the brain.
Lipitor is a moderate lipophilic type.

I've taken statins since I was 26 when my cholesterol came in at 437. I have genetically high cholesterol as does my father and brothers. I'm now 47 and suffering from neuropathy in my legs and feet. I'm on crestor 40 mg and zetia 10mg and my cholesterol is now 205.

Statins causing neuropathy ....
 

Ever since my neuropathy started in January and a rheumatologist I saw told me to stop Zocor immediately after being clinically diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome (that can cause peripheral neuropathy), I would come back in my mind now and then to statins as THE cause of what happened to me. However, have been see-sawing more recently between Sjogren's and idiopathic.

I was on mostly Zocor for 12 years, and never once read in the literature provided with the Rx about nerve damage - just muscle weakness and liver damage, which never happened to me thank goodness.

However, after reading all the responses to this thread, and especially MrsD's, am now convinced that the statins damaged my mitochondria and am afraid that the small fiber sensory is now too far gone to respond to anything, even though I recently started supplements that include R-alpha lipoic acid, B12 as methylcobalamin and B1 as benfotiamine. I will now add the CoQ10 and L-carnitine although I was tested for them and the results showed normal.

For those of us who were on statins, maybe those of us who weren't :)on them for too long will get lucky. I hope so.

Best wishes,

Sheltiemom

Why is it that statins don't list neuropathy as a possible serious side effect? Neuropathy is pretty serious in my book--at least my case is!

I didn't know what a statin was, so I looked it up. It said that it was to lower cholesterol. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/statins/CL00010) I am wondering--is that it? Or does that include medicines for high blood pressure as well?

My mom is on lisinopril for high blood pressure. I also used to be on it, but that was for a short time and was a few years ago. She wouldn't stop taking it, anyway--because I've warned her about some things that can cause neuropathy that she is doing... and she hasn't stopped those. I'm just curious, though. Maybe high blood pressure medications are totally different--but high blood pressure and cholesterol seem to go hand in hand (not always, but sometimes).

My cholesterol is 205, and they keep trying to push these statins ON me...I think I am fine. I already HAVE PN.....more of it, I don't need.

My hubby is on statins, and his legs are now skinny and he lost his leg hair.

Statins probably have their place, but not in the drinking water!

I wouldn't take them for 205 but for 437 it seemed wise, especially with my family history of heart disease.

statin induced peripheral neuropathy
 

Hi - My name is Jude and i found this site a few days ago .
My nightmare started 5 yrs ago after being on Lipitpr ,Crestor and Simvastatin for years .
I just woke up one morning with a feeling of "creepy crawlies " under my skin but everywhere from head to toe ,also thigh muscles jumping/twitching and poor mobility ,walking like a 90 yr old . Eventually after extensive research i realised that the symptoms could be due to statin side effects ( i am a nurse so surprised it took me so long to figure it out ).I had numerous visits to GP who had no idea what it was and after about 2 yrs sent me to Neurologist .Interestingly my CK levels where elevated but no-one took any notice. The neurologist diagnosed PN but clearly was,nt really interested in my case , he told me "a good neurologist would,nt get out of bed for a CK at my level (375)and "to live with it ". I am on Pregabalin 100mgs tds but still have symptoms although not as severe as they where. I do believe the damage done is permanent and all i can do is continue the meds ,including , q10 etc and celebrate the good days .

statins and my experience
 

I used Lipitor for a long time and then when I was on a special diet to check if I was gluten intolerant I went off the meds for cholesterol. I was only eating lean meat, fruit and veggies for three months. The doctor and I realized at that time my real issue with my PN was blood sugar issues that fluctuate with what I eat. Anyway - when I went back on the Lipitor I could see within days that the increase in pain in my hands and feet were from the drug. My cholesterol is only in the low 200's and after meeting with a general practitioner at the Mayo Clinic - she said that unless your cholesterol is over 300 they don't prescribe Lipitor for people (that is my experience please check with your own doctor without making any changes) So I no longer take Lipitor. My original family doctor told me when I approached him about the pain from PN and Lipitor - what do you want a stroke or pain? That is why I no longer see him.

Check further with your doctors if you have "high" cholesterol as we certainly don't need more pain -- or in some people as has been listed it causes them to have neuropathy!!

I am so thankful for all of you and the info I have learned here -- in fact, that is how I found out about Lyrica a few years back and it really made a difference in my life. :winky:

What about getting off the statin, Simvastatin, in my case, and using red yeast rice instead?

Red Yeast Rice contains a statin....if you are vulnerable to any statin, the lovastatin (Merck's Mevacor) and its congeners in the Rice will have similar effects.
For many years, the FDA blocked the sale of the Red Yeast Rice products that were the most effective. Not all Red Yeast Rice products are equal. Some are stronger than others. PN damage is a cumulative effect of all statins, and once a person has symptoms of PN, it is best to avoid them all IMO. But it is your choice in the end. We've had people here decide to continue statins, even when in terrible pain. I provide the information that your doctor probably doesn't know about, and it is up to you to balance it all for yourself.

I'd really suggest going all statin free if you are expecting any improvement or want to halt progression of PN at this point.
If you decide to do Red Yeast Rice, you will have to continue with the CoQ-10 as well. Since the enzyme the Rice blocks is the same one that Big Pharma's statins block.

My doctor wanted me to take statins due to borderline numbers. I said no. I stay away from a lot of the wrong foods like red meat and my numbers have gone down. My cardiologist suggested I up my fish oil. On a side note, ever since open heart surgery for a aortic valve repair in 2007, my heart beat was irregular. I read about fish oil and how it can regulate a heartbeat. My doctors disagreed. However my heart beat is no longer irregular and the scary night pulpatations are gone. I actually use Krill Oil. My current cardiologist agrees and seems to be more in tune with supplements.

If doctors don't understand, we have to teach them. My main doctors are experts with supplements, but every other doctor has to be taught, sad.:mad:

This is an appropriate time to put this link up again.

Dr. Cohen and others did a study on doctors and how a large number may ignore side effects from statins. I find this pretty alarming!

http://www.medicationsense.com/artic...cts012108.html

I thought there were studies that suggested that some statins were much more likely to be toxic for people with PN then others, particularly Simvastatin, which I had been taking.

If possible, I would prefer not to go off all cholesterol lowering meds. Am I wrong on this?

Some statins are more lipophilic (soluble in fat) than others.

Simvastatin is one of those. But all statins, are implicated in the side effects profiles. Simvastatin was chosen for the early trials for MSers, with the thought it would enter the brain, and help there. This was totally a failure, and the studies were stopped.

All statins block the enzyme in the liver that makes CoQ-10.

It is your choice. But if you don't stop the statin you will never know if your PN is because of it.

Given the tiny percentages of benefit that are now being quoted for them, I don't see people remaining on them once the push from the drug reps ends. Almost everything doctors and patients know about these drugs was Big Pharma driven until just recently.

Interesting. How about for someone, like myself, with cardiovasular disease. I am fit, am a vegetarian, at the correct weight, but have had two stents implanted in my coronary arteries.

With the statin, my cholesterol is low off the charts, but am concerned that if I go off the statin completely, it will go up. My cardiologist put me on the statin.

I really would like to eliminate the statin as the cause of my PN.
Wha do the latest studfies show.

You will have to look around the web, for your answers.

I will say this, there have been failures with most of the interventions for heart disease. Diet... The original Ornish diet was really big at one time, Dean Ornish, had 10 cardiovascular patients he put on his very vegan restrictive low fat diet. This diet was the cat's meow. It was heavily promoted.
And they started to die. Now he recommends a modification of that with flax oil and some salmon.

Heart disease is multifactorial. Inflammation, high C-reactive protein, high homocysteine, are just some of the other high risk factors. These inflame the insides of arteries, which then start to collect cholesterol as a patch. This will continue even if your cholesterol is low as is recommended. In fact there are studies showing elderly people die faster with lowered cholesterol.


This is Dr. Kendrick, again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SSCNaaDcE
You can find other older videos there with elaborate but unproven theories of how lowering cholesterol protects against heart disease.
On YouTube is a multi part video of a lecture Dr. Kendrick gave in Leeds, Britain: part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPPYaVcXo1I

I've been reading for over 10 yrs and have watched this drama change and go on and on. The subject is very huge today, and there is no short cut to answer your question. Some doctors are very concerned about statins, and you'll have to spend some time reading them and their opinions, in order to decide for yourself.
There is no guarantee your statin will protect you from further heart disease. There is no guarantee that low cholesterol will protect you. People with low cholesterol have heart attacks too.
There are studies showing low cholesterol levels increase non-cardiac mortality:
from 2000:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10870365

more from 2008:
http://www.wellnessresources.com/hea...nd_death_risk/
(BTW Vytorin in the article contains simvastatin + Zetia)

Dr. Golomb MD is one to read to answer your questions.
She specializes in geriatric medicine.

Your situation is complex. And with 2 heart attacks behind you, I can understand your concern. It boils down to benefit vs risk in the final analysis. I could spend days, searching for you. I have already spent YEARS doing so. But in the end you will have to do more homework before deciding.

Thank you for your very informative response. Just to clarify, I never had a heart attack. The first stent was put in when my cardiologist went in to check my valve and found blockage, the second after I experienced angina, but no actual heart attack. I suppose I build up plaque because of genetics.

In any event, I will do the research, as you suggested.

IMO people who need stents are on the road to a heart attack.
It is only a matter of timing. So you are then in that medical pool when seeking doctors. The process is the same.
Scientists are still researching why
this happens only in some people and not others. There are many risk factors that are biochemical coming to light today therefore, besides cholesterol.

The only way you can decide is by reading what experts have to say. I've given you the names of doctors who appear to be independent thinkers, and reliable. And you also have to understand BigPharma too. How they operate and create a need for their drugs.

It happened with estrogen replacement therapy, it happened with fluoroquinolone antibiotics, antipsychotics and antidepressants for small children, Cox-2 NSAIDs Bextra and Vioxx, just to name a few. And it definitely is happening with statins. Newsweek even had quotes several years ago, in a summer issue from "experts" stating that statins should be in our drinking water, they are so safe. That comment is totally reprehensible! Well that quote is now thrown around when all the toxicities are being discussed today as a result.

So BigPharma works very hard to convince the public and doctors to use their drugs. We no longer are safe in that respect, and really should learn a bit about the subject in order to navigate this medical minefield. Our lives are very technologically complex. A consumer today has to know a bit about computers, in order to repair them and maintain them,
we need to know a bit about automobiles in order to understand
repair estimates--lots of fraud in car repair--- we have to know a bit about lots of things before we pursue a course of action and repair. Medically now, this had joined that concept. At least we have the internet, and can with some effort and time find out
the details that doctors keep from us or don't even know about!

And if your original cholesterol numbers were over 300... then you probably will need a small dose of statin. That is the bottom line nowadays. But not very many people who come here have been that high. Many are borderline, or normal. Dr. Jay Cohen in his cholesterol book, suggests starting at very low doses. And there are now studies on PubMed that with Crestor, 5mg 3 times a WEEK lowered cholesterol substantially. This is a far cry from what is typically given to people today.

http://www.amazon.com/about-Statin-D.../dp/0757002579
I read this book, and found it very helpful for myself. It is not expensive. So you might want to get it. It discusses very low dose therapies.

Here is a link, not sure if it has been posted. Dr. Mercola.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...-revealed.aspx


My OBGyn tried to give me the synthetic hrt to me. Gosh, no way. Thankfully I have experts that know about Bio Identical hormones and that is takes more than just estrogen and progesterone. My bio identical hormones help every part of the body, including stopping my many years of migraines. So good for eye health, brain etc. I am so thankful for doctors that actually do know how to heal, and safely!

No I never had HRT... I refused it. I knew what was going on from reading European studies showing terrible things with estrogens.

Here in US, Ayerst took their drug--Premarin-- with few users and within a few years it was #1 in sales. (just like statins are today). To keep it on top they ran studies endlessly and paid for them, to show estrogens prevented heart attacks (which they don't--they actually caused them) and prevented Alzheimers' and what not. When the independent HERS study was finally done here (based on the European studies) it had to be stopped before it ended due to deaths and other nasty things.

That was the end of HRT as we knew it for almost 2 decades!
It is still around highly modified... but I do not trust any of it, I am sorry to say.

Yes, synthetics and Premarin are awful. I would not touch that stuff. Horse pee, no thanks. The body does not recognize that stuff.

I have done a ton of research and had Dr. Sergey Dzugan and Dr. Rozakis as my doctors. i have thier book also. Dr. Rozakis is known for his research about eye health, macular degeneration and bio hormones. Dr. Dzugan is an expert on bio iden. hormones (and supplements) and more and more doctors are recognizing how compounded estrogen, progesterone, 7 Keto DHEA, testosterone, pregnenalone, thyroid, vit D etc. all work in every area of the body.

Just no comparison with the old stuff, I would not use that. I will never stop using my hormones. I get tested to keep them balance twice a year. It is just like being low in B12, D etc to me but everyone has that choice. Eye health is really important to me. I want them to stay healthy so I take supplements and hormones for them.

mardonna
 

My story is almost like yours,but not quite so severe, my Dr."dosen't know what is causing the neuropthy,but dosen't believe it is statin related" They are all in the drug companies' pocket.