Lescol Interacted with Citrus Water, Causing Hypogonadism

[flacorps]

I started on LescolXL (80mg timed-release fluvastatin) an athlete, and quit it a near-invalid ... and went downhill even after that from acquired hypogonadism (low Testosterone) that I blame largely on the Lescol.

I was on Lescol (with layoffs due to becoming ill) for about a year and a half until I finally became so foggy I fell and hit my head on a big wheeled trash bin and needed 25 staples to close my scalp.

During my time on the drug I had several incidents of gastrointestinal distress that resulted each time in passing black pigment stones--once I even had pancreatitis. This had actually happened once or twice in the years before I began taking Lescol (I believe while taking erythromycin and either OJ or nefazodone or paxil, none of which I tolerated well), and therein lies the tale. I amassed more than 500 pages of research from Google scholar before I was drawn inevitably to the conclusion that my hypogonadism was not genetic, or from hitting my head, or an early sign of the lymphoma that killed my father, or associated with CFIDS/HHV-6/EBV/CMV or Hep C (all viable candidates), it was in fact due to 10 years of overconsumption of Lacroix lemon and lime sparkling waters that interacted with just about every prescription I've been on in the last 10 years. To make a long story short, I believe they contain furanocoumarins that accumulated in my liver and prevented my body from clearing Lescol as it should have. The really acute effects didn't kick in, however, until I either drank orange juice (which has flavonoids but not furanocoumarins and hence won't cause the "grapefruit juice effect" on its own) or used say clarithromycin, also a potent inhibitor of P-glycoprotein like the flavonoids (as well as CYP3A4).

While the grapefruit juice effect can happen with statins that use the CYP3A4 enzyme route for clearance, Lescol is supposed to not be subject to it because it uses mainly CYP2C9. Well guess what? Bergamottin, one of the furanocoumarins, inhibits that one too, and another furanocoumarin knocks out the third supposed P450 metabolic pathway. A lot of these furanocoumarins are broken down by citric acid in juices and sodas so they're not so bad. Guess what's missing from sparkling water ... citric acid!

In short, at 80mg a day, by virtue of the sparkling water mangling my P450 metabolic pathways I was giving myself a chronic overdose that I occasionally spiked with a mega-overdose (perhaps by virtue of P-glycoprotein inhibition shutting Lescol's last escape route through the kidneys instead of the liver--my lower back really hurt during these attacks). It was "The Perfect Storm", and I'm pretty sure it damaged something (perhaps irreversibly) in the anterior pituitary or the gonads.

In short, this is less a report about a deficiency in Lescol than it is a plea to get some research done so that people understand that lemon and lime flavorings contain the half of the grapefruit juice effect that can accumulate silently in the liver, while waiting for something to come along and trigger the rest of the effect by inhibiting P-glycoprotein.

And if you're on Lescol, don't accidentally assemble the same dieteray components I did.

I have access to the myriad medical articles to back this up.

(edited 2/24/06 to substitute "water" for "soda" in subject line)

[trish]

Hi All

I guess as there's only one post this is a tough topic for everyone to discuss - however to me probably the most important as statin drugs affected me.

I never took them - in fact I had never heard about them till I met this wonderful guy three years ago. Great chemistry but unfortunately right from the start - sexual problems. I thought he didn't find me physically attractive enough - I already had enough hang-ups about myself despite being apparently slim and good-looking etc - not many women in this day and age ever think they're good enough, do they? Well add to the mix the statin problem of which I at the time knew nothing, and you have a 21st Century tinderbox.

So after going through his medicine cabinet I did some research and came up with the statin data on erectile dysfunction. Presenting him delicately with the wealth of credible info, including this site and Dr Beatrice Golomb's interview, and some heartbreaking stuff from guys about the sexual issue - I am told loudly that might be other people's problem but not his and then apparently it is my problem and there is something wrong with me. I think "cracked" was the word used.

Person in question is also having such congnitive problems he can barely remember my name and is having car crashes and going through red lights and has CFS and is scary and angry and aggressive and depressed. Also has muscle pain.

But apparently any statin side effects relate to "other people" not him.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thought I was going mad. Now relationship irreparably harmed and all because of statin drugs.

[ironic]

There is a page on the main site with some more reader experiences:

http://www.spacedoc.net/libido_statins.htm

[flacorps]

[quote="trish"]Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thought I was going mad. Now relationship irreparably harmed and all because of statin drugs.[/quote]

Familiar enough to me. Have him get a test for low-T. A lot of guys would kill for an excuse to use testosterone ... and in any case they'll want to know the number and they'll trust the number ... if their's has gone low, they'll gladly go on hormone replacement therapy.

[djo]

As the lone female, here as a former statin user I can tell you that after less than one week on Advicor my sex drive was totally gone. I took the medicine only 4 months when problems with my heart convinced me to stop. After about two weeks of being free from the medication the side effects went away and things are now normal again. So it doesn't just affect the men. I would hope that with a man the same would happen.