Statins and vitamin D deficiencies

[valgators]

I am new to this site so I am not sure if this has been discussed. I have been enduring muscle/skeletal pain for years and have made the rounds of countless doctors and had many tests. Nothing conclusive ever showed up. Lots of speculation but no answers. Then in December I had a blood test for vitamin D deficiency and it was extremely low. This perplexed me because I have lived in Florida most of my life and get plenty of exposure to the sun. Then the light bulb went off and I guessed there might be a connection to statins and vitamin D deficiency. I researched the internet and found we are in a near epidemic state of vitamin D deficiency (according to the experts) and if you are taking statins, the situation is much worse. So, that convinced me to stop the statins; and I am now on a prescription dosage of vitamin D for 12 weeks. I do have days when I feel much better but I still have plenty of weird muscle pain that moves around but is always constant in the ankles and shoulders. So, I think a vitamin D deficiency test is another key to the puzzle since vitamin D is essential to muscle and nerve health. Official test is called: 25 hydroxy vitamin D.
Would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this.
Thanks.

[pgrimm]

Dear Valgators, I am new, too. My boyfriend Bill is the one who is suffering from his use of lovastatin. Like you, he has muscle/skeletal pain which began at the end of December '07, when one of his VA doctors prescribed mirtazapine, an anti-depressant that induces the effectiveness of lovastatin. He went from having a 24-7 migraine headache, which a month later became pain all over his body. Come to think of it, he has had shoulder pain for about a year, unexplained by the doctors, of course. His VA doctors have prescribed a total four lovastatin-forbidden medications in the past two months! This I also found out on the internet, they didn't seem to have a clue. He describes his pain as a "12", and says if he has to live this way, he won't want to live. He's been off his lovastatin for four days now, and on the coenzyme Q10, and wants to know when he will get any relief.

Your information about the vitamin D deficiency is fascinating. His CK level taken at the ER on Friday was normal, as were past tests of his blood for liver damage, ultrasounds, MRI's, CT scans. We just keep coming up empty. Here is Bill walking with a cane now, with no test saying there is anything wrong. So now, I'm thinking I want them to run this test on him, too. Thank you so much for your post, I'm sure it will be of good use to lots of people.

Bill took some comfort from your description of your pain matching his experience, with it "moving around", that has really puzzled him, always wondering what he has done to cause it. His is all over, but more often in his shoulders and legs. I hate these doctors that so coldly ignore what this drug is doing to people! This should be a felony! I have called our congressman, and he has responded, asking first for a release of information. I am hoping that he will be successful in getting the VA to cover tests done by doctors outside the VA system. I'll let you all know how that comes out.

Pam

[cjbrooksjc]

pgrimm: Someone (adec?) introduced a vitamin D link back in 2007 that was informative to say the least; I've been taking it since. If you search on vitamin D, I'm sure you can turn up the original note.
Thanks much for your post. It is v useful and encouraging.

Regards,

Brooks

[Darrell]

Pam, normal CK levels are not unusual with statin damage. I had normal levels too. Read this:
*www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/137/7/581

My other bloodwork came back normal too. All that means is that the things tested do not include anything relevant to the statin damage. Damage to the mitochondria inside the muscle cells does not necessarily manifest itself in the bloodstream at all, let alone in one of the limited number of tests.