Doctors playing russian roulette with patients lives

[samiam]

My mom started taking Vytorin about a month ago. She took the medication for one week and two days. In that length of time she went from being fully functionable person and in good health except for a little high blood preasure to not being able to get out of bed by herself and me having to bathe her. She worked as a home care giver for elderly persons that need the same kind of assistance that she is in need of herself now. She can't work now. She can't even pick up a plastic cup of coffee if the cup is full.

I talked with an attorney this morning to see if there were any class action lawsuits pending. He is looking in to this for me.

I am a mother of 6 children and between being a full time mother, having a full time career, and now I am also taking care of my mother that has no medical assistance and now can not work, I am about past going.

Is this a permanant condition or will she eventially heal? Her muscles have just gone down to where she can't do much of anything. I need some advise and want to know how many other people have been affected by this.

If this drug causes this much problems and in less than a two week period of time, I believe this is a form of russian roulette with patients. The doctors have no clue which patient is going to affected in this way.

[sos_group_owner]

Is your Mom's doctor aware of her immediate severe reaction to Vytorin?

Her doctor needs to do a CPK (Creatine phosphokinase) blood test and might also need to do a muscle biopsy. Rhabdomyolysis is a very serious statin side effect that needs immediate attention. I'm not saying your Mother has Rhabdomyolysis, but for her to be completely incapacitated in such a short time on a statin drug... well, that is very serious. Make an app't with her doctor immediately.

If her doctor denies that Vytorin could cause this reaction, start looking for a new doctor stat.

Fran

[samiam]

My mother has had several test run. Yesterday she spent several hours at the Cardiologist office and had an ecogram. They have tested her muscle inzimes. Hope I have spelled this correctly trying my best so bare with me. The Cardiologist thinks that she has arthritis of the muscle. I am pushing this issue and we assumed from the beginning (Mother and I) that it was caused from the Vytorin. We were a little baffled though because she was only on it for such a short period of time.

Please keep sending information, I need to know as much as I can about this problem.

[samiam]

My mother had CPK test I believe the week that the Dr. took her off of Vytorin. They tested her muscle inzines, but I don't know if that is called a CPK test. I have contacted her Dr. and talked with her nurse to see if they have tested for this problem and I am waiting on Dr. to call me back. I plan on asking several questions relating to this topic to see if they have even thought of this as being the problem.

Is this reversable? or will she be like this from now on? or will she continue to get worse?

Please give me some idea of what I am to look forward to if this is the problem that she has.

[sos_group_owner]

Hi Samiam,

I've never heard arthritis of the muscle. Arthritis is a joint and connective tissue disease. A CPK is a blood test that measures creatine phosphokinase (CPK), an enzyme found predominantly in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. When the total CPK level is substantially elevated, it usually indicates injury or stress to one or more of these areas.
Source: nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003503.htm

Elevated Creatine Kinase (CK) or Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) Levels may indicate Statin-Induced Myopathy.

A muscle biopsy might also be required to confirm muscle damage.

Some can sustain muscle damage almost immediately from statin drugs.
I've pasted Vytorin info below. Maybe something in the literature will shed some light on your Mom's situation.

You definitely need to keep pressure on her doctors to get to the bottom of her situation and to get her the proper treatment.

Fran
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vytorin
ezetimibe and simvastatin (eh ZEH teh mib and SIM va stah tin)
Source: drugs.com/vytorin.html

What is the most important information I should know about Vytorin?
• Do not stop taking Vytorin unless directed to do so by your doctor. It may be weeks or months before beneficial effects are seen from this medication.
• Rare cases of muscle problems and liver problems have been associated with the use of Vytorin and other similar medicines. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, especially if accompanied by a fever or flulike symptoms or yellowing of the skin or eyes, abdominal pain, unexplained fatigue, dark colored urine or pale colored stools. These may be early symptoms of muscle or liver problems.
• Do not take Vytorin without first talking to your doctor if you have liver disease.
• Alcohol and Vytorin can both be damaging to the liver. Alcohol should be used only in moderation. Discuss the use of alcohol with your doctor so that the potential for liver problems can be determined.
• Do not take Vytorin if you are pregnant, could become pregnant during treatment, or if you are breast-feeding a baby.

What should I avoid while taking Vytorin?
• Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. To see beneficial effects from Vytorin avoid fatty, high-cholesterol foods.
• Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with Vytorin. The interaction could lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit and grapefruit juice with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.
• Both alcohol and ezetimibe/simvastatin can be damaging to the liver. Alcohol should be used only in moderation. Discuss the use of alcohol with your doctor so that the potential for liver problems can be determined.
• Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight or artificial UV light (e.g., tanning beds). Vytorin may increase the sensitivity of the skin to sunlight, and burning may result. Wear protective clothing and sunscreen if exposure to the sun is unavoidable.


What are the possible side effects of Vytorin?
• Rare cases of muscle problems and liver problems have been associated with the use of Vytorin and other similar medicines. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, especially if accompanied by a fever or flulike symptoms or yellowing of the skin or eyes, abdominal pain, unexplained fatigue, dark colored urine or pale colored stools. These may be early symptoms of muscle or liver problems.
• If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking Vytorin and seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately:
· an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
· decreased urine or rust-colored urine; or
· blurred vision.
• Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take Vytorin and talk to your doctor if you experience
· gas, bloating, nausea, stomach upset, heartburn, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea;
· cough;
· tiredness;
· headache; or
· insomnia.
• Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.


What other drugs will affect Vytorin?
• Do not take Vytorin without first talking to your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines:
· cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral);
· atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altocor, Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) or simvastatin (Zocor);
· gemfibrozil (Lopid), fenofibrate (Tricor) or clofibrate (Atromid-S);
· niacin (Nicolar, Nicobid, Slo-Niacin, others);
· erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Ery-Tab, others), telithromycin (Ketek) or clarithromycin (Biaxin);
· cholestyramine (Questran) or colestipol (Colestid);
· an antifungal medication such as itraconazole (Sporanox), fluconazole (Diflucan), or ketoconazole (Nizoral);
· nefazodone (Serzone);
· digoxin (Lanoxin, Lanoxicaps);
· warfarin (Coumadin);
· a protease inhibitor such as amprenavir (Agenerase), indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir), lopinavir-ritonavir (Kaletra), or saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase);
· amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacer one); or
· verapamil (Calan, Covera-HS, Isoptin, Verelan).
• You may not be able to take Vytorin, or you may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment if you are taking any of the medicines listed above.
• Drugs other than those listed here may also interact with Vytorin. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products.

[bunnylady]

Your mother should get better- but its slow- give her a lot of the vitamins recommended here- I drank a lot of the new vitamin drinks tht are out and a lot of fruit- Statins exacerbate existing conditions- if you had allergies they will grow into sore throats and upper respirtory problems- if you had an old fracture it grows sore when it hadn't been sore for years- I have daily migraines and really pray they go away soon- 3 months of this is too much to bare- hope her tests come out okay and it didn't affect her liver- my husband bought me a spa and that is really great therapy if you can get her to one-

God Bless!

[CatMom]

bunnylady... That part you wrote about allergies hit home with me and solved a puzzerler for me. I have wondered what happened to my allergies for the last month or so, they have dissapeared. I have not taken any allergy medicine since I got off of Lipitor. WOW!

[sos_group_owner]

Statins supress the immune system...
Fran

[catspajamas]

I am living proof statins suppress the immune system....my "saga" ended when I got shingles...the suppression left me wide open for the chickenpox virus to activate and give me shingles...I wonder how many other people have gotten shingles too.....

[sos_group_owner]

Hi 'catspajamas',

I know 5 people (one is a neighbor) that got shingles after starting statins.

Fran