Fwd: what is so good about Statins?

[Guest guest]

Helping people take charge of their health

Health Alert: Oppose FDA oversight law

Introduction to Natural Therapies

Free Health Report

Free Health Newsletter

Natural Therapy Forum

Therapy Manuals

Quick Email Consulting

What are Natural Therapies?

Alternative Therapy for Chronic Illness

Natural Therapy for Cancer

Natural Therapy for AIDS

Natural Therapy for CFS

Natural Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease

Patient Empowerment

About

HealthAlert

ToxicAlert

Home Page

Contact

Lipitor - Reports of Neuromuscular Degeneration Numerous adverse side effect reports have implicated Lipitor as a possible cause for severe neuromuscular degeneration. Some people who have been using Lipitor for two years or more report symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis or ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease - in which they are losing neuromuscular control of their bodies.

For instance, in an article entitled "Life After Lipitor" that appeared in the newspaper Tahoe World on January 27, 2004, Tahoe City (California) resident Doug began having serious neuromuscular problems after taking Lipitor for two years. He began losing muscular coordination and slurring words when he spoke. Then he lost balance, followed by loss of fine motor skills - he had difficulty writing. He went from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out what could be happening. Finally one doctor suggested that he stop taking Lipitor, and the downward health spiral stopped and his health is now slowly improving.

These adverse effects have begun appearing in peer-reviewed medical journals, and numerous people have reported similar symptoms at public adverse effect reporting websites such as medications.com. People have reported "trouble swallowing, trouble talking and enunciating words, feeling fatigued all the time, neck aches," "motor neuropathy which mimics ALS," "Blinding headaches, nausea, vertigo, disorientation, memory loss, extremely dry eyes, pain and stiffness in my neck and calf muscles, abominal pain," and "Muscle pain, weakness, spasms, buzzing in right leg. Can't hold arms or head up in vertical position for 2 minutes without extreme pain and weakness."

How could Lipitor potentially cause this kind of harm to so many different parts of the body? Lipitor is a "statin" drug which inhibits the production of cholesterol in order to lower LDL cholesterol counts. By limiting the production of cholesterol, Lipitor may be indirectly causing membrane degeneration in neural and muscle tissue.

The problem is this: cholesterol is essential in your body for many functions. It forms part of what is called the cell membrane - the outer layer of every cell in your body. It helps transport the major components of the cell membrane, called "phospholipids," that are made from essential fatty acids (EFAs). Without enough cholesterol we would die, because our tissues are constantly being repaired and replaced with new cells.

Our body produces several thousand milligrams of cholesterol per day to carry out these essential functions, and each day the excess of cholesterol is supposed to be naturally recycled. If your body doesn't have enough new cholesterol each day, you cannot repair and replace your cell membranes and they will eventually degenerate.

The continual recycling of cholesterol happens naturally when you have sufficient ascorbate, another name for vitamin C. Excess cholesterol is naturally converted to bile acid and then excreted. But if you don't consume enough vitamin C (about 2000-3000 milligrams per day for an adult), cholesterol builds up in your bloodstream. It is here that doctors make a critical error: instead of telling you to take more vitamin C to recycle cholesterol naturally, they prescribe Lipitor, which may create a deficiency of new cholesterol.

If Lipitor and other similar statin drugs are in fact indirectly causing neural and muscular degeneration, this is a very serious matter indeed. There are twenty million people in the U.S. on Lipitor alone, and probably millions more on other statin drugs (Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Altocor, Lescol, Crestor, etc.). Are they all going to become victims of cell membrane degeneration and nervous system problems? There are few long-term studies that bear out the safety of these drugs. Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor, has acknowledged on their public website that side effects such as "muscle pain or weakness" could be a "sign of serious side effects," but they are classified as a reason for people to stop the medication rather than an indication of something very wrong with the drug.

What is most horrifying about this problem is that cholesterol balance can be achieved without drugs, simply and safely by taking 2000-3000 milligrams of vitamin C per day for an adult. Unfortunately, vitamin C was misclassified as a micronutrient in the 1930s and 1940s, rather than an essential nutrient involved in dozens of body processes. Our health authorities recommend that we take only 60 milligrams per day, barely enough to prevent scurvy. The pharmaceutical industry has used scare tactics to frighten people not to take vitamin C in the quantities necessary for health.

It is my hope that people on Lipitor and other statins learn that they can just take sufficient vitamin C to lower their cholesterol count and that they do not need to take these potentially harmful drugs.

For more information about the connection between vitamin C and the prevention of cardiovascular disease, see the article Natural Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease, or visit the research website of Dr. Matthias Rath.

References:

Ginter E. Ascorbic acid in cholesterol and bile metabolism. ls of the New York Academy of Science. 258 (1975): 410-421

Lipitor.com. The official Lipitor website of Pfizer Corporation. http://www.lipitor.com. rev. February 2004.

Marieb E. Human Anatomy and Physiology, Sixth Edition. Pearson Cummings, San Francisco, CA 94111 2004.

Medications.com. Lipitor Drug Information - Atorvastatin Calcium - Lipitor Side Effects. Medications.com - Your online medication discussion resource. http://www.medications.com. March 16, 2004.

Rath M, ing L. Solution to the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular Disease: Its Primary Cause is Ascorbate Deficiency Leading to the Deposition of Lipoprotein(a) and Fibrinogen/Fibrin in the Vascular Wall. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine 6 (1991): 125-134

Siig M. Life After Lipitor: Is Pfizer product a quick fix or dangerous drug? Residents experience adverse reactions. Tahoe World, http://www.tahoe-world.com January 29, 2004

Silverberg C. Atorvastatin-induced polyneuropathy. Ann Intern Med. 2003 Nov 4;139(9):792-3

Ziajka PE, Wehmeier T. Peripheral neuropathy and lipid-lowering therapy. South Med J. 1998 Jul; 91(7):667-8.

Order a Therapy Manual or Contact

©Graphics, Web design, and content Copyright 2003-2004 by L. .

[Guest guest]

Hi Jan,

Just the opposite. I've had MS for over 23 years and I try to stick to the "Best Bet MS Diet" which keeps you away from saturated fats. However your son can be speaking of the other good fats Monofats and polyunsaturated fats which are essential to our diet. Remember, no drive thru windows and keep a well balanced variety in your diet. Important: Omega 3's found in fatty fish are very important! Hope this helps. Check out the Best Bet diet on the internet, this and the right exercise will do wonders!

(SPMS)

From: BBGuillaume@... [mailto:BBGuillaume@...] Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 6:06 PMlow dose naltrexone Subject: Re: [low dose naltrexone] Fwd: what is so good about Statins?

This is interesting to me, because my cholesterol has always been low. I have had MS for 25 years and haven't walked for over two years. My son, who is a Neurosurgeon, told me that I should be eating more fatty foods. Have any of you ever been told to do this? Jan

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/28/2004 4:43:06 PM Central Daylight Time, lbaden@... writes:

Omega 3's found in fatty fish are very important!

Thanks , they are important, but he was referring to meat, dairy, etc. I'm also underweight, which bothers everyone but me.

Jan