My mother has been on Statins for awhile. She has been off them for almost 3 months now.

She had an EMG done and after that she felt like every muscle in her body was twitching. Most of it was in her arms and then it seemed to go all over. Even her tongue twitches. She has been taking many vitamins and CoQ10 which have seemed to help. The muscle in her hands is gone and she has a hard time gripping things...tying her shoes, zipping her coat, etc.

Anyone else with similar symptoms? Any advice?

Thanks.

Jamie

Hi Jamie,
I posted a similar response to one of your other posts.
Fran
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Hi Jamie,

Re: I do understand that she was on these statin drugs for years and years with no real problems. Her symptoms were gradual, but now are disrupting her life.

Especially...
[I did notice that these symptoms seemed to occur after her switch to Vytorin and vigorous exercise.]

Jamie, your obervation is correct: Changing from one statin to another or increasing a statin's dose is the main [side effects] trigger for those taking statins for several years. Doctors dismiss the idea that the statin is the cause of side effects because their patient appears to have tolerated the drug for so long. Another trigger is "re-challenging" the patient with the same drug. Example: stopping the drug for a couple of weeks and then resuming the same drug again.

Your Mom's CoQ10 levels have been decreasing for the 15 years she's been taking statins. Severe CoQ10 deficiency can take awhile to correct and high doses might be required. Please read these 2 excellent articles written by Dr Graveline.

Statins and CoQ10 Deficiency:
http://www.spacedoc.net/statins_CoQ10.htm

Statin Alternatives:
http://www.spacedoc.net/statin_alternatives.htm

Fran

Thanks for the info.