Re: New here -- unsure about stuff!

[Guest guest]

Hi Audrey, Don't worry about what your doctor thinks if you refuse to continue taking Lipitor; unfortunately too many of them have been sold a bill of goods by the pharmaceutical industry. You've probably heard the disclaimers at the end of the commercials for the statin drugs, of which Lipitor is just one, that you should report muscle pain or weakness to your doctor as that could indicate "rare" but serious side effects. The truth is those side efffects are not all that rare but they are serious..If you read a few of the postings here you will find out you are not alone! A couple of weeks ago one of our members posted the link to an article in the January 28 edition of Business Week, "Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?" You can read it here: http://tinyurl. com/2spawz Be sure to also read another article in the same issue: In the Real World, a Slew of Side Effects from Statins There's also a wealth of information at www.spacedoc.net Many doctors now believe the real culprit is inflammation, not cholesterol. If your doctor disparages your concerns, you might want to consider changing doctors. Good luck to you! Audrey <audrey.rushing@...> wrote: I've been taking Lipitor for about a year and a half. I'm just not sure whether the symptoms I'm experiencing are due to the Lipitor or just getting older (I'm 43). My legs ache horribly when I climb stairs (which I do every day, since I commute by subway), I've had several joint injuries which I've chalked up to over-exertion and lately I've begun to feel like my fingers don't work quite the way they're supposed to. I'm on a very low dosage of Lipitor and I'm under a lot of stress right now, so I know it's possible that I'm just jumping to conclusions. I'm afraid my doctor will think I'm nuts if I tell him I'm worried that the Lipitor is causing these things. Also, without the Lipitor I do have very high cholesterol & there is a family history of heart disease (although my blood pressure & EKG's have always been normal). Ideally, I know that I'd eat

right & exercise, etc. but I've had high cholesterol even during my slimmer periods (and, trust me, being slim isn't my natural state anyway) and even though I joined a health club last winter, I keep hurting my ankles, elbows, etc. so I haven't really been going.I'm not against taking medications, by any means, I've taken stuff for asthma most of my life, but I'm not sure that there's much point to taking something for a condition like high-cholesterol that doesn't actually seem to have any symptoms. Any advice? Thanks!Audrey-----

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[Guest guest]

Audrey wrote:

>

>

> I've been taking Lipitor for about a year and a half. I'm just not

> sure whether the symptoms I'm experiencing are due to the Lipitor or

> just getting older (I'm 43). My legs ache horribly when I climb

> stairs (which I do every day, since I commute by subway), I've had

> several joint injuries which I've chalked up to over-exertion and

> lately I've begun to feel like my fingers don't work quite the way

> they're supposed to. I'm on a very low dosage of Lipitor and I'm

> under a lot of stress right now, so I know it's possible that I'm just

> jumping to conclusions. I'm afraid my doctor will think I'm nuts if I

> tell him I'm worried that the Lipitor is causing these things. Also,

> without the Lipitor I do have very high cholesterol & there is a

> family history of heart disease (although my blood pressure & EKG's

> have always been normal). Ideally, I know that I'd eat right &

> exercise, etc. but I've had high cholesterol even during my slimmer

> periods (and, trust me, being slim isn't my natural state anyway) and

> even though I joined a health club last winter, I keep hurting my

> ankles, elbows, etc. so I haven't really been going.

>

> I'm not against taking medications, by any means, I've taken stuff for

> asthma most of my life, but I'm not sure that there's much point to

> taking something for a condition like high-cholesterol that doesn't

> actually seem to have any symptoms. Any advice?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Audrey

There is no evidence that taking statins for primary prevention has any

cardiovascular benefits. Primary prevention means preventing the first

cardiovascular event. Secondary prevention deals with people who have

already had a cardiovascular event like a heart attack. So, if you

haven't had a heart attack, you are wasting your money and health on

taking Lipitor. If you have had a heart attack, there is a good chance

that you would still be wasting your money since all cause mortality is

unchanged by taking a statin, people live on average just as long

whither they take a statin or not. A statin just changes the cause of

death statistically speaking by decreasing the number of cardiovascular

events that end up in death and increasing the causes of death by other

means.

Now as to your muscle pain, you most likely are not making enough CoQ10

since statins also block that pathway. CoQ10 is needed for energy. I

would start taking several hundred mg of CoQ10 to solve the muscle pain

issues and continue taking it for many months after it has resolved.

--

Steve - dudescholar4@...

Take World's Smallest Political Quiz at

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

" If a thousand old beliefs were ruined on our march

to truth we must still march on. " --Stopford

[Guest guest]

All good advice - Audrey, many folks here, if not all of them, would say to just get off, exercise, and a drink per day or so will give you MUCH more benefit than a statin drug. I would say with your family history, if you didnt smoke, then you really are not at much risk of a heart attack. Just a sidebar, I have no risk factors for heart disease, but my father had a mild one in his early fifties. He exercises, eats right and is now mountain biking and hauling a 20 foot canoe around Maine. Because he was a heavy smoker until about age 40, I do not consider that I inherited his heart attack risk. So I have no risk factors. Kip;Steve <dudescholar4@...> wrote: Audrey wrote:> > > I've been taking Lipitor for about a year and a half. I'm just not> sure whether the symptoms I'm experiencing are due to the Lipitor or> just getting older (I'm 43). My legs ache horribly when I climb> stairs (which I do every day, since I commute by subway), I've had> several joint injuries which I've chalked up to over-exertion and> lately I've begun to feel like my fingers don't work quite the way> they're supposed to. I'm on a very low dosage of Lipitor and I'm> under a lot of stress right now, so I know it's possible that I'm just> jumping to conclusions. I'm afraid my doctor will think I'm nuts if I> tell him I'm worried that the

Lipitor is causing these things. Also,> without the Lipitor I do have very high cholesterol & there is a> family history of heart disease (although my blood pressure & EKG's> have always been normal). Ideally, I know that I'd eat right & > exercise, etc. but I've had high cholesterol even during my slimmer> periods (and, trust me, being slim isn't my natural state anyway) and> even though I joined a health club last winter, I keep hurting my> ankles, elbows, etc. so I haven't really been going.> > I'm not against taking medications, by any means, I've taken stuff for> asthma most of my life, but I'm not sure that there's much point to> taking something for a condition like high-cholesterol that doesn't> actually seem to have any symptoms. Any advice?> > Thanks!> > AudreyThere is no evidence that taking statins for primary prevention has any

cardiovascular benefits. Primary prevention means preventing the first cardiovascular event. Secondary prevention deals with people who have already had a cardiovascular event like a heart attack. So, if you haven't had a heart attack, you are wasting your money and health on taking Lipitor. If you have had a heart attack, there is a good chance that you would still be wasting your money since all cause mortality is unchanged by taking a statin, people live on average just as long whither they take a statin or not. A statin just changes the cause of death statistically speaking by decreasing the number of cardiovascular events that end up in death and increasing the causes of death by other means.Now as to your muscle pain, you most likely are not making enough CoQ10 since statins also block that pathway. CoQ10 is needed for energy. I would start taking several hundred mg of CoQ10 to solve the muscle pain

issues and continue taking it for many months after it has resolved.-- Steve - dudescholar4basicmail (DOT) netTake World's Smallest Political Quiz athttp://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html"If a thousand old beliefs were ruined on our marchto truth we must still march on." --Stopford

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