How DUMB...I trusted my doctor! Took off of Lipitor...Scared

[nascarmom42]

I'm 55, my cardio put me on Lipitor almost a year ago. I have mitral valve prolapse,right branch bundle block and a fib, plus some leaky valves. My cholesterol was 219, which it has stayed at for years. My former GP said it wasn't high enough to take meds.

My cardio recommended the Lipitor, I trusted like a fool.I had some leg weakness, which did go away. I'm just sooo VERY tired, and developed severe pains in left shoulder.Blood tests in October were within normal range.

Had blood tests done again a few weeks ago, GP says STOP LIPITOR NOW!!! My ALT was 141 , my AST was 65. I've researched and researched, my memory is just about gone. I'm on Metoprolol , Xanax, Lexapro and one aspirin a day.I'm confused & scared. GP says 'Wait 3 months and we'll take another test'.. I'm scared!!!! HELP!!!!!

[cjbrooksjc]

nascarmom: First you must know I am not a Dr.; only a fellow sufferer. What I am about to recommend to you are supplements - products that occur naturally in the body but are reduced by statin usage. Begin a regimen of CoQ10 200Mg with each meal and L-carnitine 500Mg 1/2 hour BEFORE eating - that's a total of 1.5grams of L-C daily. The CoQ10 you can get from **epic4health.com. Get the Q-Gel version in 200Mg caps. You can order the L-Carnitine from **gonsi.com. Order the product labeled Acetyl L-Carnitine HCI & Acetyl L-Carnitine Arginate. You should begin to feel a difference in a few weeks if not immediately. If you notice some lower bowel discomfort, lower the L-Carnitine by 5ooMg. These are supplements that most of the subscribers to this forum are taking to recover from statin damage. Remember: I AM NOT A DR. and this is not a prescription. What I am telling you comes from personal experience. PLEASE stay in touch with the group... this affliction can make you feel very isolated, and we are always here.

Kind Regards,

Brooks

[Allen1]

Hi there nascarmom42,

sorry you had to come to this forum under the circumstances that you have. I am pleased you GP had the good sense to get you off the statins and you should find that your memory will improve over time, take a look around the site and see what other folk are taking to help ie L-Carnitine and Co-enzyme Q10.

My heart problems are different to yours, but there are folks on this site who have had valve problems and/or operations to fix them. I am hoping someone will shed more light on this for you shortly, this note is just to let you know that people are reading your message and will answer as soon as they can.

Please try not to make yourself worry too much, the memory problems and pains are one of the most frequent things that this rubbish does to people and in time a lot of the symptoms should ease and some may go away. I have been off Statins for a year now and there has been a vast improvement in that time, so please try and keep your spirits up as you are amongst people who can help you to try and get your life back.

I will leave this for now, I wish you a quick recovery. People all take different lengths of time to get some sort of normality back and a lot of folks do get almost 100% better but it takes a while.

All the best,

Allen.

[SusieO]

Nascarmom I took Lipitor and I also have mitral valvel prolapse. My cholesterol was about the same as yours, my problem was very high triglycerides.

I take most of the supplements the others on here take, plus I go to a wellness doctor and I have a healer come to my house. This lady got me back on my feet and walking and the pain is gone. The wellness doctor is helping to restore and repair the damage to my cells.

Go on the Lipitor thread and read "Lipitor wont take my life" and you can read how to find a healer in your area.

In my opinion your cholesterol was not high enough to be given a poison statin. I hope you will feel relief soon!

[nascarmom42]

Thanks all for the sweetest welcome to this group. I've never felt so alone & clueless about what to do. It's only me & my teenage daughters and they worry about me a lot.We have no other family besides our pets , but they are awesome.
So many questions bother me: Doc told me to quit cold turkey, now I read that your platelets become sticky and I'm already at risk for stroke having a fib.OMG when will this nightmare end??? I just don't understand, for almost a year, my tests were ok, my last one was bad....so help me...any doc better not try to give me a statin again, he'll be chewing his prescription pad
The supplements sound great. I'm trying to eat all healthy, as much organic as possible,apples, broccoli, all natural bread etc. As soon as I can get some money together I will get as many supplements as I can.
God Bless You All for caring. I'll never trust a doctor again. This was my cardioligist, a man I trusted..Ha ..never again.
Will my liver heal on it's own? Will my heart heal? I mean I've had unending stress for the last 4 years, my girls and I just got to a point that we were getting ourselves together, now this.

So good to know I'm not alone. My name is Debbie and my girls are Cami & Charley. They are worriers.If you want to leave them a note, I'd appreciate it. They have been carrying too heavy a load for a kid.

Thanks again & Lipitor and it's makers: I'm out to get you

Huggs & nice meeting you all!

[Allen1]

Hi there Debbie, Cami & Charley.

I see that you are worried about sticky platelets, you should maybe ask you GP for advice about that, but you are taking aspirin and the reason for that is probably to stop your blood from becoming sticky and clotting and to help prevent strokes and heart attacks etc.

Have a google about aspirin and what it is used for in the way of heart patient treatments, I have put a link to one below (shame it goes on about cholesterol lowering at the end though)

*http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23068679/

It is easy to say don't worry, but the reality of it all is that what you and everyone else is and has gone through with this "Wonder drug" is very frightening. I am pleased you found out and know what the cause of you pain and memory problems are. Here in the UK ASDA now sell q10 at just under £3.00 for 30 x 30mg caps (about 1 weeks worth at 120mg per day ie 2 x 60mg doses) this can be increased as needed until you find out what dose works best for you.

Brooks knows his stuff and he has given you some sound advice in his post, it is cheaper to buy supplements in bulk but with Asda/Wallmart having q10 on their shelves it would give you a chance to see how they work with you before spend a lot of money and possibly find that they don't agree with you. The amount of q10 needed differers from person to person and some folk need quite a lot.

Money is always going to be a problem for most of us and starting off on a manageable amount of q10 and slowly increasing it till you find out what does the job, is in my mind a cost effective method. You could then simply buy the size of capsule that is closest or over the value that works best for yourself, some people have had to increase their dosage as time went on but everyone is different.

I still can't believe that this poison is still being prescribed

Take each day as it comes and don't let this rubbish control your lives.


All the very best,

Allen.

[nanato3]

From one Debi to another, welcome. I read your post and realized, besides name, you and I share something else...we both have 2 daughters! I know this seems overwhelming, but there are so many here, with knowledge and understanding of your situation, who are willing to help. I also understand how expensive supplements can be. I saw an add today at our local Walgreens and they have supplements , buy one get one free. This could help you get started until you are able to buy maybe more expensive ones. I buy mine from Swansons Vitamins online. I believe they are of good quality at both places, I have never heard any one say to the contrary . I hope this helps in some way. I have been on lipitor for over a yr and 1/2. The year 2007 I spent the whole year in pain thinking I was just getting "old" when my neck, back and left shoulder hurt. Saw my chiropracter more than I cared too. In 2008, I found this site and someone else here had the exact same symtoms I was having along with short term memory loss and foggy thinking. I cut my Lipitor in half, within 3 days the pain diminished by at least 80%. One week ago today, I got the flu, I felt so bad I didn't even bother taking the Lipitor. I have no pain, no memory loss and I feel great. My only worry is going back to my doctor in may. I changed my diet to lower my triglicerides, cutting back flour and sugar. I hope to eliminate it totally, but I am a carb addict, so this is how I need to handle it for now. We will see what happens. wishing you and your girls, health and happiness.....another Deb

[Cat Mom2]

Welcome aboard! We are an select group here, some of the "few" who suffer the side effects they are denying. Read everywhere here and learn, check out ALL links and sign up with your side effects everywhere you can. Someday, your posts could save someone else what you and all of us have been through There are links everywhere on here. I too and a FORMER lipitor user, been off for almost 2 years and this place saved my life. I am still suffering.

Remember this.. We were denied the choice to make and INFORMED DECISION as to rather the side effects out weight the banidits of taking statins. A full disclosure was not made of the side effects and they still deny them all. We were denied the chance to grow old as nature intended and now have to question every ailment as natural or statin induced. The time it stole from my life, I can never get back. Haven taken this drug, I wonder if this will shorten our life span... only time will tell.

[nascarmom42]

Heyy Deb~~~ thanks for the great welcome...I'm dealing day by day....and Cat...thanks for being so sweet. You guys feel like the family that me & my girls don't have....thanks so much for being here for us..I ordered COQ10, could only get the 100 mg. gel caps.Now I'm unsure what to do with them. Will they react with the meds I'm on?? Metoprolol,Xanax,aspirin and Lexapro.Brooks ...I need you!!
Since I've been off the stupid drug I've been SOOOOOOOOO tired, and pale...no energy at all. Maybe just worry.IDK..and hair loss. This started a month after I started the stupid drug, has anyone else had this?? My GP did blood tests in Oct. , all fine, still hair falling out.....doc ignores it.Oh well, there's always hats & wigs...hehe This dang drug took a year off of my life. I was never in this shape. I could work, I was happy. It stole my life

[cjbrooksjc]

NASCARMOM:

1. Try this link to find drug interactions:

**http://www.healthline.com/druginteractions?utm_medium=google&utm_source=drug_interaction_checker&utm_campaign=drug_checker&utm_term=drug%20interactions


2. My hair began to shed at about 1/2 yr, and it is still getting thin despite the supplements.

Brooks

[cjbrooksjc]

nascarmom: Also, the supplements you will take are naturally occurring substances in you body; including CoQ10. CoQ10, by improving heart function, can lower BP. If you don't have low BP and are not taking BP drugs, you shouldn't have the problem. The only other thing to watch for is a dull headache - that may be a sign you are taking too much CoQ10. Take 200Mg of Q10 after eating (two pearls) three times a day. Swallow them whole, puncture them and add the content to juice, or bite them and spit the gelcap out.

This (800Mg to 1G Q10 daily) is my usual regimen. I am NOT prescribing, only suggesting. If I have not told you before - I am not a Dr.

Best,

Brooks

[nascarmom42]

...I'm on Metoprolol,generic for Lopressor,a bp med that is also used to slow the heartbeat down so I have less chance of going into a fib.

Whatcha think???

*Thanks!!!*

[Ray Holder]

nascarmom,
metoprolol is a beta blocker for Blood pressure lowering, so monitor your blood pressure if you can, as Q10 will normalise your heart action, and the beta blocker will go on lowering BP too far. Try one Q10 a day for a few days, checking your BP if possible, but if not, be aware that you may get a bit dizzy if BP goes too far down.
I take my BP twice every day, I was able to drop 2 of my 3 BP meds when using Q10, but you will probably need more Q10, a little increment at a time, to get the real benefit, so it would pay you to get a BP machine to see what is happening, and if it gets too low, think about stopping the beta blocker, best with your medic's consent.

Ray

[Ray Holder]

nascarmom
Your post came while I was sending mine. It has been reported that q10 works well to deal with arrythmias, and thus should be effective for your problem, again, proceed with caution, a little change at a time, and try to get your doctor onside, mine was very helpful, but that is not always the case.

Ray