documentation needed - normal CK tests, but still a problem

[shihtzumom]

Can anyone direct me to documentation that I can take to my physicians to show that Crestor and muscle-wasting can still be the problem even when CK tests are normal?

[xrn]

shihtzumom:
Can anyone direct me to documentation that I can take to my physicians to show that Crestor and muscle-wasting can still be the problem even when CK tests are normal?

xrn:

First thing, shihtzumom, is to tell your medic that Crestor is thought to be similar in action to the now withdrawn Baycol, that had appeared to have a propensity to induce death in the patient. First link is from a lawyer and is worth reading for the simple explanation of the issues.

The following links all pretty much say similar things, about the four case series where muscle damage was detected despite the CK value being normal. The final URL is an FDA drug advisory notice for Crestor.

shihtzumom, I am not usually given to advising people but in this case I would suggest that you don't need to take statins because you are female and statins have not been shown to confer any benefit on women.

Crestor (rosuvastatin) is particularly problematic if it is chemically similar to the so-called super statin, Baycol (cerivastatin), and the FDA did not grant Crestor a licence for the 80mg dosage. Serious side effects have been reported with Crestor.

All URLs need to have the asterisk removed from before the 'http://.....', before pasting them into your web browser.

Good luck with your medic.

*http://www.lamblawoffice.com/Crestor-rhabdomyolysis.html
*http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/137/7/581?ck=nck
*http://www.impostertrial.com/histopathology.htm
*http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/26/4/74/5/
*http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/449790_7
*http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/crestor.htm


Kind regards,
xrn

[shihtzumom]

Thank you for your response.

I was posting because of my husband's problem with these symptoms. Sorry I didn't mention that.

Also he is only on 10mg of Crestor (about a year now) and 10 mg Zetia, so he is on a very small dose, but still has severe symptoms even though none of the tests show anything. That's why the doctors keep telling him that it can't be from the Crestor.

I took a large packet of information I printed out, to the family doctor today. and when he told me that the CK test was normal, I replied with "that doesn't matter. It can still be the Crestor." He did tell my husband to discontinue the Crestor and the Zetia and come back in 2 weeks. My husband had a bad muscle reaction to Lipitor years ago and even though he stopped it, he never regained the muscle strength, etc that he had before the Lipitor. I am really hoping that we can find a way for him to come back from this last problem as he is now close to being crippled. He is hobbling around with a cane, because he "has" to move or he will completely freeze up again. But he is still in a lot of pain and on Percocet, Valium and Medrol since this past Saturday. Without the pain meds, he is in a wheelchair. We had to get the wheelchair to get him home from the hospital ER on Saturday. They said he was just dehydrated because the CK test was normal.

[xrn]

I see. I am sorry... I had just assumed you were the person taking statins.
I would suggest that the medics not only could be wrong, but most probably they are wrong in this case. There is likely to be a lot of under-reporting of statin-induced problems because the oftentimes vague and general sounding symptoms could well be something that occurs with increasing age. General tiredness or weakness of muscles may well be ascribed to the aging process by medics who are unwilling to admit that they may have got it wrong.


At least the family medical practitioner must be considering some sort of adverse reaction to the medication if he has asked for you to withdraw it for a couple of weeks. My own intuitition (without knowing very much about medicine or your husband's medical history) is that 2 weeks may not be a long enough time period to see an improvememnt in your husband's symptoms. Sometimes the adverse reactions can be quite refractory to management strategies and a longer term withdrawal may be required. I offer this as an idea to be aware of rather than as a definitive statement about medical conditions that derive from statins.


Once again, shihtzumom, without a comprehensive medical history and also the specialist medical knowledge, it is very difficult to be definitive. What can be said is that the withdrawal of statins should be mandatory especially where your husband has already had muscle problems from a previous episode of statin therapy. There are many possible scenarios and individual responses will vary greatly.

If your husband has not had a heart attack and does not suffer from coronary heart disease... in other words he is being treated because he has been determined to be at risk of getting coronary heart disease, then there is no good reason for him to be taking statins. They have not been shown to beneficial in male populations that have not had a heart attack. He may have other pre-disposing factors that favour statins and familial hypercholesterolaemia is considered to be important.

My own simplistic view is that the natural corollary to life is death and we all know it. I would rather die a natural death when my body decides that the time is right, than live one extra week under the regime of a pharmaceutical company deciding for me what risks I should live with and when they should intervene to run my life. I have no wish to be crippled by the drug companies and I will not let the madness that is the sheer unnecessary prescribing of statins that has gripped the global medical profession, rule my life.

All of the independent research has shown that low cholesterol is associated with early death. Much research points to muscle weakness, depression, suicide, ALS, cancer and other unpleasantness. Some telling research has shown that 71 people would need to take statins for 3~5 years for one of them to be 'saved' from having either a coronary event or a stroke. Years of expensive and dagerous medication for such a small benefit does not appear to be such a good deal for the 70 people whom statins will most definitely harm.

The harm is done because statins inhibit the production of cholesterol very early on in the mevalonate metabolic pathway and thus inhibit some process that are essential to cellular life. As it happens, cholesterol is a substance that is essential to life and it can be found in every cell that needs to respire (so all human cells) and the body regulates its own cholesterol to suit the need. Cholesterol levels are unaffected by dietary intake of cholesterol.


Sadly, you will find many medical people who make these idiotic statements, with very little knowledge of that which they speak about. The pain ought to subside when the statins and Zetia are stopped. You will find a wealth of information about various recuperative regimes on this website. Consider using CoQ10 which is depleted by statins and L Carnitine. Others here are far more knowledgeable than me and you only need to ask these questions in the statins forum.

Kind regards,
xrn

[JL]

Shihtzumom,
XRN has gone thru great lengths to tell you that STATIN DRUGS ARE DANGEROUS FOR ANYONE WHO TAKES THEM INCLUDING ANYONE WHO HAS HAD A HEART ATTACK OR STROKE Male or Female.
Lowering cholesterol is the last thing you want to do to your body after your body has been traumatized from a heart attack or stroke. We need our cholesterol. It strenghthens our immune system and does a multitude of other good things for us. 50% of those w/normal cholesterol levels still have heart attacks so lowering cholesterol to "normal" levels won't keep you from getting a heart attack.
The key to protecting us from a heart attack or stroke is to follow the PROTOCOL FOR REVERSING HEART DISEASE and use your good common sense in assessing the situation. ANY DOCTOR PUSHING STATIN DRUGS IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED!!!!

[harley2ride]

Have your doctor contact Dr. Phillips at Scripps Memorial in San Diego, CA, or he can check out his website impostertrial.com

[Brian C.]

Statin associated myopathy with normal creatine kinase levels :

*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title%20Word&term=Phillips%5Bauthor%5D%20AND%20Statin-associated%20myopathy%20with%20normal%20creatine%20kinase%20levels.

Brian.

[SusieO]

After taking Lipitor for several years and stopping it on my own (I was only on 10 mgs and cut that in half on my own) I tried to take Lopid as well as some over the counter products i.e. Niacin and Cinnamon that are supposed to lower cholesterol and triglycerides - to no avail each time the problem became worse after shorter periods of time.

It sounds to me like your husband is unable to take any type of cholestrol lowering meds and he needs to stop them for good (just my opinion from personal experience).

[SusieO]

I also wanted to tell you each time my CPK tests have been in the "normal" range, too, yet I still have a lot of serious side effects and walk with a cane at times.

[Cat Mom2]

2 weeks? Get off for 2 weeks? That will prove nothing! I have been off for almost a year and I am getting worse! It continues to do damage long after you get off of it.

I did have immerdiate results when I stopped taking them in some areas. The horriable knee pain stopped immediately, the head fog/memory problems/confusion cleared, indigestion/acid reflux, sudden frequent urges to go to the bathroom, squeezing feeling in my chest.. A whole long list of ailments that required medicines, vanished. But it is still attacking my joints, horriable crippeling pain that moves from joint to joint and it has settled in my right shoulder and has been there for almost 2 months so I have limitted use of my right arm.

They claim we are but a small number of people who are hurt by these drugs but you will learn as we all have, the more people you talk to, the more you find that suffer the same things and just don't connect it to these drugs.

[Dee]

Catmom...I assume you are referring to Dr. Phillips advice about the two weeks? I too have a problem with that. He, above all people, should know that many of us DO NOT get better in 2 weeks, if ever!

I was so excited when the cardio that was evaluating me as to why I could not walk told me to quit the Pravachol, and I would be better in 2 weeks. What a disappointment! Over 3 YEARS later, I still can't walk. Like you, some other problems improved, and some even vanished...but I am still pretty messed up! Two weeks, HAHAHAHA!

[harley2ride]

I know that when I actually saw Dr. Phillips a couple of years ago, he did tell me that it takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years for the symptoms to clear up sometimes, and even then, some people don't get much better.

[Dee]

Harley,

Then he, as an expert, should reflect that on his flow chart for doctors, under Physician Information > Evaluation of Muscle Symptoms in Patients on Statins.

The flow chart indicates that patients should go back on statins if no improvement in 2 weeks. What a disservice for doctors and patients alike. (No doubt that's where my doctor got his info, good thing I did my own research!)

What about those that aren't better in 2 weeks?

I have corresponded with Dr. Phillips and very much appreciate his research, but I will never understand why he gives that advice on the flow chart.

[vipergg22]

When I was taking those d___ drugs my cpk's were always normally but they destroyed all the nerves in both feet anyway . If I had only known at the time . If I had bill Gates money I would sue the you know what out of the lipitor and zocor makers ...