coq10

[pops]

It's been 2.5 years since I took statins one month. Initially the pain was in my legs. I rated the pain a 9.5 out of a possible 10. Over the years the pain migrated from my legs to my back.

But, I'm not sure it's connected.
I decided to try coenzyme q10 for the back pain. Nope. It either made it worse, or it was the same.

Which implies, but doesn't prove, that the back pain is not from damaged mitochondria, but from something else - maybe something that would have developed whether I took statins or not.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
pOps

[David Staup]

Pops

you're going to need to be a bit more specific. "back pain" tells us very little!

If it's back muscles that are hurting it's one thing, if it's spine (disks or vertebrae) it's another, if it's arthritus it's yet a third.

in any case I would try the low dose benadryl treatment I have described.

David

[lars999]

pOps,

I agree with David about need to be specific. I have had "back pain" issues much of my life.

One source has been multifidi muscles that ceased to do what they are supposed to do -- keep your spine sturdy when stressed during physical activity -- and I only learned of this a couple of years before I quit Lipitor. I can state with confidence that this goes back about 18 years previous -- well before Lipitor -- when I had a major spasm that left me crawling (literally) for a couple of weeks and in bad shape for months afterward. I still have to take active control of my multifidi muscles on one side now and then. IF these multifidi muscles fail to do their job, my spinal cord bulges against some nerves and becomes a "no fun" pain and a big limitation on what I can do physically.

I do have a pain and spasm issue in major lower back muscles since well before Lipitor and Lipitor made it much worse (only understood after I quit Lipitor and this problem regressed back to its much less severe state). Ointments like aspercreme were useless against that pain then but are now effective again.

I do have to carefully and frequently (more like constantly) exercise my lower back and core (abdominal) muscles moderately or less, with attention to not overdoing it. If not, I pay in pain and constant threat of debilitating spasms. Big negative for someone accustomed to being active.

Arthritis, bone spurs, buldged or herniated disks, crumbling vertebrae, non-functional multifidi muscles, even pyroformus muscles in pelvis, and perhaps others, are all possible sources of severe back pain.

For me, CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) was effective in increasing my energy and improving function of various parts of my bod (I got colour vision back in badly degenerated right eye, for example). I never felt that I could connect decrease in muscle pain and takng Ubquinol, perhaps because massive loss of energy and stamina were my major adverse effects of Lipitor. I do suspect some relief of joint pain by Ubiquinol.

Regards,
Lars

[pops]

Thanks David and Lars.
David: I'm assuming diphenhydramine acts as a muscle relaxant. But I don't know that for sure. Please expound.

Lars, yes, I had a bad back on and off all my life. Before I took lovastatin I had it under control; almost no pain. 33 days later all heck broke loose and my back and legs hurt severely. The legs have gotten better mostly, but the back gives me problems. Which makes me wonder if statins caused it or if it would have happened without statins.

Coq10 didn't help this time. It did in the past, which makes me think the mitochondria have healed and all that's left is pulled muscle and connective tissue - statin related or not.

I'm sorry I said Yes to statins when my doctor prescribed them. But I think it saved my life to find out early. Had I taken them when I was 70 instead of 62, I think they would have literally killed me. They affected my heart muscle just as they did my legs. I was unable to exert myself as I had before. Fortunately that ability has returned. They are a scary "medicine." I know one poster here admonished me when I called statins poison, but if he would have felt what I felt, he would have said the same. Put it this way; for those who can't tolerate statins, they are a poison. I'm one of those people.

Have a great day guys. I hope you both continue to get better.
pOps