Rhabdomyolysis - renal failure in NZ on LIPEX

[derriaghy]

In 2002 my husband Brian Barker age 54 was healthy and fit. We had a good diet and he did lots of walking each week. He took some medication for mild hypertension, but otherwise showed no sign of any heart trouble. He did have a family history of heart disease. A cardiologist gave him a treadmill test and he passed with flying colours. His cholesterol was well within normal limits at 5.1 (200mg/dl).
As an extra precaution the cardiologist put Brian on 20 milligrams Lipex (simvastatin) per day. After several weeks his cholesterol had dropped to 3.4 although his bp had gone up.
Two days later Brian began shaking and he complained about being extremely cold. His legs felt weak, his complexion turned grey, his speech became incoherent, and his eyes became glassy. I tried to warm him up but no success. 20 minutes later he started to vomit. That continued for the rest of the day. I was really frightened but thought it might be bit of food poisoning. The next few days were a nightmare. Brian became garbled and feverish, couldn't keep liquids down, and had difficulty trying to urinate and it was a liquorice colour. His condition continued to get worse. We had 2 visits to the local doctor and some blood tests.
The doctor rang the following evening to say that Brian's test results indicated he should drink four or more litres of water that night, and told me "he must keep drinking. Brian was dehydrated. Later the next day he was hospitalized with acute renal failure. His CK was not excessively high although he had not been given blood tests prior to starting Lipex or during the 7 weeks he was on it.
First we went to one of Auckland's hospitals and I was told about the renal failure. Brian wasn’t aware of too much except the lights bothered him. Next day he was transferred to another hospital with a dialysis unit. Brian's heart and lungs were struggling to work properly, leaving him highly likely to have a stroke, heart attack, or coma.
He was suffering from rhabdomyolysis a condition in which muscle tissue rapidly breaks down, flooding the bloodstream with muscle protein, which puts a strain on the kidneys.
We were told it was caused by Lipex otherwise known as Zocor or Simvastatin. A few weeks into the dialysis he had a stroke. It is now 2006 and 4 years after the ‘event’. I am really angry to find there are still people, (pharmaceutical companies, doctors and members of the public) who believe these pills are a miracle.
Brian has been medically retired from work. He has some cognitive problems, frequent muscle and joint pain, high bp and fatigue which means he sleeps for a few hours every afternoon. We are really grateful he has survived and has made such good progress. Fortunately he is no longer on dialysis – it did save his life at the time. However we are hopeful there is some source of information ‘out there’ which we don’t have access to in New Zealand. For example he has developed Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis DISH and can find no relief for the stinging sensations he gets around some joints and muscles. I have started him on Q10, Omega 3 and Cardioprotect. There are very few people in New Zealand who have ever heard about rhabdomyolysis or how to achieve long term care for someone like Brian. Feel free to contact us at the *derriaghy@hotmail.com address as we would welcome any positive comments.

[derriaghy]

My husband has continued to have a multitude of muscle pains throughout his body although it is almost 10 years ago since he had rhabdomyolysis and renal failure. The national insurance company in New Zealand called ACC has recently tried to suggest his symptoms which still include cognitive loss, bladder control, fatigue etc must be all age related or symptoms from 'before'.
I urge anyone who is on a medication to be vigilant, and get symptoms logged with your health professional. We have become disheartened with the lack of knowledge some doctors seem to have and wonder how this can be possible with so much alternative information available now which isn't supplied by the pharmaceutical companies. Each day remains a battle. I had an earlier posting in 2006 but have since updated my email address to *heatherandbrian@xtra.co.nz and welcome feedback.

[Allen1]

Hi there Heather and Brian,

I hadn't seen your first post until now and what happened to Brian in such a short time is horrendous and the worst that I have heard of especially as it still has such strong symptoms after all this time. My problems were not as severe as Brian's but its taken 5 years since stopping Zocor for me to be able to think a lot clearer and not get so easily fatigued, its still hard going though as something else seems to comes along just when you think its getting better. Take no notice of what the insurance company thought up, the problems are the result of taking the Lipex. I know that I am incapable of working mainly due to weakness and memory problems, it was Zocor and then the cheaper generic Simvastatin that got me and I must admit that nothing has been right for a very long time after taking statins, you just don't know why you feel so bad, till its too late with this poison.

Take care and I hope Brian's symptoms get easier or at least more bearable as time goes by.

All the best,

Allen.

[cjbrooksjc]

You should Google slco1b1+statins or slco1b1 alone. Some people have a predilection to Statin AE's. There is a test available.

Best,

Brooks