32 yrs old, can't find Dr. that will help. Need advise!

[redheadedmary]

I have been reading many posts on statins here and most everybody seems to be a lot older than me. Some people have mentioned that maybe its "their age" that could be causing some of the symptoms. Please don't think that just because you are in your 40's 50's or even older that its your age, you should feel good and I truely believe its the statins causing people to feel so crapy. Well I just wanted everybody to know that I am 32 years old, very skinny 110 lbs and I took lovastatin for a month and a half for my high cholesterol. It caused the same thing for me, muscle weakness and pain and other symptoms. Its a horrible drug and I wish I had never taken it. I have been off of it for 2 months and I am still having trouble with the muscle weakness and pain. I have to take a tramadol (pain pill) as soon as I wake up in the morning. I am trying some of the supplements that have been mentioned here and they do seem to be helping a ton. I just hope this goes away soon because it really has made my quality of life not so good. The doctor wants me to start taking it again too! Thats what I don't understand. Maybe she just dosn't believe that it caused these symptoms but I know that it did. If it can do this to some one my age then I bet it makes someone 30 or 40 years older than me really feel crappy. I am going to try to just do excersize to lower mine whenever my muscles heal. Its kinda weird but the lovastatin somehow has prevented me from doing any physical activity. Anybody have that happen too? When I try to do any activity I get very weak and my muscles start to burn, something that never ever happened before. Does anybody know how long the muscle weakness lasts anyway?

[sos_group_owner]

Hi "redheadedmary"

See my reply at this link (your second post):
http://www.spacedoc.net/board/viewtopic.php?t=552&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=25

Fran

[Ray Holder]

Hi
The most important supplements for you are Q10 and Carnitine, Q10 because the reduction of that by the statin is the primary cause of these problems, and Carnitine is also reduced in consequence, and lack of carnitine prevents fat from being taken up by muscles for energy. It is also necessary to carry the "combustion" products away from muscle as otherwise pain is caused by something like lactic acidosis.

It is unwise for a woman of child bearing age to take a statin. tests on animals have shown up birth defects from statins.

I have suggested that the lowering of Q10 by statins produces an addition to your actual age of 10 years for every 8% by which cholesterol was lowered. It would be wise for you to take plenty of Q10 to ward off further loss of natural body production of it.

Ray

[redheadedmary]

Here is another strange thing that I have not posted yet. I lost muscle mass in my arms and in my legs. Even my husband noticed that my arms and legs were skinner and is really worried. I should have read up on the side effects before I took the lovastatin. I just did not think twice about it. The coq10 and the L carnitine are helping me. I just wonder why the doctor did not know to tell me to take these two supplements. She just wants me to take the lovastatin again. I would never take it again, its the worst drug that I have ever been exposed to. I wonder how long the muscle weakness will last anyway. Thanks for your replies!
Mary

[Ray Holder]

Mary
I had a lot of muscle loss from a statin, but as I had polio 55 years ago, it seems that statins are more prone to cause loss in this way. However, muscle wastage is a side effect of statins anyway, among the other dreadful happenings, and your doctor could give you a CK blood test which may be above normal, and if so, is conclusive proof that muscle wastage is occurring, but in many cases, CK is not, and if you are taking carnitine that have brought about a fall in CK anyway.

[b]Note. Use L carnitine for muscle loss[/b]

My muscles grew back in a few months, so hopefully yours will follow suit, but keep off the statins.

Ray[u][b][/b][/u]

[Ray Holder]

Sorry, but the bold type didnt work and came out as [b] and not always in the right place.

Ray

[redheadedmary]

After staying on a healthy diet and really trying to stay away from high fat foods for the last year, I have in the last couple of weeks said "what the heck" and started using real butter, cheese and some other fattening foods again. I have eaten cake, a few bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream and lots of Christmas candy. I am just lovin it too! My muscles are still weak and ache and in some twisted way I thought maybe the fat that I am eating will make me feel better. I have noticed a little bit of weight gain every few days but I control it very well by eating healthy for the next day or two after I eat the fatty bad for me foods. And my weight goes back down. Hope everybody has a good Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate and thanks for all the good information. The supplements have helped some.
Mary

[sos_group_owner]

Hi "redheadedmary",

Re: real butter, cheese (organic is best for both) and some other fattening foods again.
These are good choices and not unhealthy as the medical establishment continues to misinform the public. Both organic butter and virgin coconut oil are excellent sources of saturated fats. I saute veggies (onion, asparagus, green peppers, etc) in equal amounts of both butter & VCO, then scramble eggs. Serve with fresh fruit for a yummy, stick to your ribs breakfast.

Re: I have eaten cake, a few bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream and lots of Christmas candy.
These are some of the foods that cause spikes in blood sugar levels, cause elevated triglycerides and can eventually lead to type II diabetes... The white foods (especially sugar), flour, rice, bread and potato should be replaced with stevia, sucanat or honey as sweeteners; buckwheat, spelt or coconut flours; brown or wild rice; breads made with sprouted grains and sweet potato.
I just started to bake with coconut flour. It's quite different from both white and wheat flour. Baked goods made with coconut flour satisfy the sweet tooth, don't need much sugar in the recipes and are high in fiber. Bruce Fife. ND, has written a very good cookbook titled, "Cooking with Coconut Flour."

Sources of Carnitine (which helps to repair muscle):
* Supplement - L-Carnitine or Acetyl L-Carnitine
* Red meats

Good Sources of Omega 3 (reduces inflammation, decrease platelet aggregation, and good for overall heart health):
* Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, halibut, etc
* eggs (yes, the whole egg)
* Avocado
* Walnuts

Happy Holidays,
Fran

[redheadedmary]

Fran, thanks so much for your wonderful information. I am going to try to find some of the foods that you mentioned. I have no idea what stevia is but I will find out. Anything that taste good and helps me stay healthy is great. I am going to try to find the coconut flour. I stopped making sweets, such as muffins and other things because I was trying to stay healthy and lower my cholesterol and keep my weight down. Its very hard to stay on a healthy diet around the holidays. I love this website!!!!! I have learned more useful information here from everybody. Fran, you sure are smart with knowing what to avoid and what to eat. Thanks for sharing this information with me because I am really trying to learn what to eat and what to avoid. Talk to you soon
Mary