Another Lipitor Victim In Rehab.

[David Staup]

Lars and BCguy

Lars don't take the following wrong, I am not belittleing your contributions her AT ALL!

this is all so very complicated!!! there are literally thousands of combinations of potential genitic "fault"combinations (both inherited and acquired)in the mtDNA AND nDNA that can cause the dysfunction of the mitochondria and hence the muscle pain and weakness we experience that neither the extent of nor the recovery from the damage causing the pain, weakness, and fatigueability transfers from any one of us to another except in the very general sence. whew run on sentence alert!!!! the recommendations in the previous post should work for all!

I "know" from many clues, from childhood on, that my mitochondrial function was compromised at an early age (probably from the chichen pox and possibly some inherited abnormalities) which made me more suceptable to the statin damage! ie 1. I have always been skinny even though I always ate A LOT. and 2. even though I weight trained a considerable amount in 7th and 8th grades I was never able to gain much muscle mass while those I exercised with did. and 3. oh damn it I forgot what 3 was but you get the picture.

all I'm trying to say here is that what works for one of us will probably not work for all of the others. take coq10, for instance, for some supplimentating makes no noticable difference while for others it makes a world of difference (even though all should take it for its "protective" properties as an antioxident).

just for comparison go to the following "ability scale" and rate yourselves:

"http://www.spacedoc.net/board/viewtopic.php?t=1813&sid=c8fc06e27057cd6ac1979843500458fd

I now after three years of recovery rate between 20 and 30 up from less than 20.

I'm not going to be able to post now for several days, my hands were "toast" even before todays marathon of typing so discuss this among yourselves.. ...hopefully some of the oldtimers here will add their 2 cents worth.

David

[lars999]

David,
Thanks for reminding of that scale! You must have the entire contents of this site stored in memory -- statin damage or not.

I find the scale a bit ambiguous for me.

I would rate myself at 100% for "No symptoms with exercise." That is other than my lower than previously pulmonary capacity, which has now been found to be "normal" for any old man my age.

I would rate myself at 70% for "Overall functioning close to 90% of expected except for activities requiring exertion. "

IF I picked on cross country skiing in mountains, I would put myself at 40% because I only feel safe to ski two hours, instead of 3,5 to 4,0 hours. Feeling safe means not needing much if any rest next day (presumed evidence of no new damage to my mitochondria) and also feeling I can ski in full control -- I really do not like crashing into other skiers or nasty, out of control falls.

I would rate myself at 70% for "Needs to rest in day. " By 17-18 o'clock I am ready to sit on couch a bit and snooze a bit.

And, IF I compared my memory of what is on this site to David's, I am at less than 10%.

Average of these is 70% (not including comparison of memories with David).

[David Staup]

Lar

most of it is in there, the problem is pulling it out ..chuckle
I also use the search function a lot. remembering basic concepts has always been easiest for me remembering where to go to get the specifics has been a big asset for most of my life...pre statin of course

I limit myself or rather pace myself (or at least I try to) and that helps a lot...does make for a boring life. I used to read 5 or more books a week (not including texts) and miss that more than I could ever describe. I have a science fiction library of over 700 favorites all of which I've read probably 3-4 times on average. since 2000 when I started on statins that dropped to less than 1 book a month! and now, with all the research I read for pleasure maybe 2-3 per year! I now believe (not really) that old saying "life sucks, then you die" I get almost all of my satisfaction in life by helping as many people through this as I possibly can on more forums than this...you can follow and contribute to some rather heated discussions on webmd:

"http://exchanges.webmd.com/cholesterol-management-exchange

look for posts by astro dave

david

[lars999]

David,

I will peek in on that site. Not so sure I will spend much time there. I am looking for reliable information and knowledge, NOT heated arguments about the bogus subject of cholesterol management. Thanks for link.

I too read a lot, but not so much as you did. I read in spurts, when I have a supply of books on topic I am especially interested in. Sometimes I read when I should be doing a lot of other things, even biological functions. Mostly I stick to well written and researched books in Swedish -- easier. Some are historically-based novels, some purely research into historical things. This statin mess has caused me to read more books and medical articles in English than for years. I like Läkartidning for relief, especially when I see something that Uffe Ravenskov has commented on -- his Swedish is balm for an english-ravaged old brain.

Your "toasted" hands seem to have revived quickly -- or were you holding at least one finger on each in reserve?

Lars

[David Staup]

Lars,

re: Your "toasted" hands seem to have revived quickly -- or were you holding at least one finger on each in reserve?

no reserve, I'll be paying back what I've been borrowing at a very high interest rate for the next week or so, plus I've always had a high tolerance for pain! when I had surgery back in '08 for intestinal blockage I refused pain meds, had an aortal- illiac bypass in '02 and made them disconnect the pain pump in the recovery room, never used novacane for dental work including a root canal etc. most pain meds mess me up pretty good so I've just never used them much..
pretty much freaked the doctors out.

[lars999]

David,

You sound a lot like one of my sons-in-law, with your high pain tolerance and bad reactions to most pain killers. I both envy and don't envy you guys! So far I have generally avoided needs for much pain killer meds, although not by much sometimes, like a recent 3-week bowel obstruction that I managed to fix myself, no surgery -- that did get a bit nervious.

Lars

[David Staup]

Lars,

I suspect that the pain tolerance is actually a not so adverse effect of neuropathy. see this in my list of symptoms of the adverse effects of statins:

"In terms of sensory function, there are commonly loss of function (negative) "

there are two types of pain receptors, those that are short term signalers and those that are long term signalers (so to speak). I have come to believe that my long term signalers were damaged early in my life, probably by a viral infection (herpes zoster ie chicken pox) and that "loss" was exaserbated by the statins. sometimes a loss is a gain!

then again it could be something else entirely. as I like to tell people (tongue in cheek)

"I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken" chuckle

David

[BCGuy]

So many thanks for all the info and suggestions from all of you!!

I have gone back to work on a part time basis recently.( got to pay the bills..smiles)
We had a nasty emergency that came up yeaterday AM that had me hopping until 7pm last night.
Boy was I tired, and hip joints hurt a fair bit. I took my gloves off to chew some gum and noticed 3 fingers on my left hand and 2 on the right that were numb, were actually purple.
I have to figure out which of these Meds is doing this.

I stopped taking the Lipitor yesterday.
I worked again today but will check out the links I hope tomorrow. I looks like they will keep me busy :lol:

Thanks again you guys and gals rock!!


BCGuy

[lars999]

BCGuy,

Glad to hear that information you found here has been helpful to you!! This website, both Forum and all the newsletters and other articles in main part, sure got me out of a deep hole. Taking problem to doctor that prescribed Lipitor would have been a big mistake -- most likely I would be pretty much a total invalid by now.

Best wishes for continued improvements!!!
Lars

[lars999]

TO ALL,

Doubt I will add much more to this thread. My recovery from adverse side effects of Lipitor has been extensive, so much so that I now have to wonder how much of my still decreased physical capacity and abilities is because of my age and how much is from damage by Lipitor.

Like numerous previously active posters to this Forum, I have a strong desire to turn my attentions and energies to things other than recovery from this Lipitor disaster. These are things I set out to do when I retired, only to get progressively debílitated by Lipitor, without understanding why, until I found this website.

The only bright side to this is that my real-life, live medical education has been greatly expanded. Perversely, in some important regards I may be healthier now than any time in past decade or more, thanks to measures taken to counter nasty side effects of Lipitor.

My appraisal of USA's medical community has taken a major and well deserved plunge because of my Lipitor disaster. And I spread that appraisal around widely, especially to folks taking statins. I hope each and every one of you will be able to assist at least a few fellow statin victims to avoid our fates, or, at least, to recover quickly.

Thanks to all the many helpful posters to this forum!!!
Lars