Gemfibrozil and Pravachol

[dwhitbeck]

I am now 63 years of age. I have high tryglicerides, about 500, and high cholesterol, about 275. About 8 years ago when my cholesterol began creeping from 230 to 250 my doctor put me on 1200 mg of gemfibrozil per day. It lowered the triglycerides but did not lower cholesterol very much. After a couple of years on gemfibrozil he gave me a prescription for Tricor. Within 3 days, the skin began to peel off my tongue. I quit taking it and in a few days my tongue returned to normal.
He then put me on 600 mg of gemfibrozil and 20 mg of Pravachol. My triglycerides lowered to about 300 and the cholesterol to about 220. I continued these prescriptions for a couple of years. Then my toes started to go numb. I made no connection between the drugs and the numbness. About a couple of years ago, I started to feel weak and my legs felt weak. Then a little over a year ago, I noticed dark urine and quit taking both drugs. During all of this time, my liver tests were normal. I quit taking the drugs in April, 05 but after my physical in February 06 the cholesterol and tryglicerides were high, so the doctor put me on 300 mg of gemfibrozil and 40 mg of Pravachol. Within a month, the balls and heels of my feet began to go numb and I had decreased sensitivity to pressure and vibration.
I then quit both medicines and have stayed off of them. My left foot has remained unchanged and my right foot seems a tad worse.
I have decided that I will not take any more of either drug and I have been taking CoQ10 for a couple of weeks. I am going to up the CoQ10 and see if there is any improvement. I still am not sure if the combination of Pravachol and Gemfibrozil together, or if either drug alone caused the numbness or maybe it is just a coincidence but I am not going to chance worsening the numbness with the prescriptions since there does seem to be a correlation. By the way I am much stronger since April 05 when I first stopped the drugs.

[sos_group_owner]

Hello dwhitbeck & Welcome to the Forum,

High triglycerides are usually the result of a high carbohydrate diet.
The "white foods", especially sugar (biggest offender), flour, rice, potato,
pasta... all of these foods cause triglycerides to soar.
Replace the white foods with whole grains (examples):
* Barley
* Brown rice
* Wild rice
* Buckwheat
* Bulgur (cracked wheat)
* Millet
* Oatmeal

Cinnamon (spice isle variety - C. cassia) also helps to control
triglycerides and stabilizes blood sugar levels. Available in capsules.
Take 2 - 500 mg capsules daily until diet and cinnamon lower your
triglycerides, then you can try to cut back to one 500 mg capsule as
maintenance.

Also make sure you get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, protein
(including eggs - great source of omega 3) and healthy fats:
coconut oil, butter, olive oil. A fat reqtricted diet causes low HDL levels.

Statins can lead to break down of muscle tissue, which can overwhelm
the kidneys (called rhabdomyolysis) and lead to kidney failure. Tell your
doctor about muscle cramps, aches, or pains occur. Your Dr should be
alerted to signs of muscle tissue breakdown and order a blood test that
checks the level of an enzyme called creatine kinase (CK). The levels of
CK would likely be much higher than normal (at least ten times), with
elevated creatinine (usually causing brown urine) and muscle cramps,
before rhabdomyolysis would be diagnosed.

Liver funtion test is a separate issue. Dark urine can indicate kidney
damage.

Fran