How to alleviate muscle problems caused by statin drugs

What’s Your Problem?

A muscle that aches is a muscle problem.

A muscle that aches and won’t stop aching isn’t a problem – it’s a crisis.

On the web site for Lipitor – the most widely used cholesterol-lowering statin drug – you’ll find a page that discusses side effects. And two of them are featured as “serious side effects”: muscle problems and liver problems.

The web site states: “Lipitor can cause serious muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure.”

Yeah, I’d say that would qualify as a “problem.”

The site also states: “These side effects usually go away if your dose is lowered or Lipitor is stopped.”

You’ve got to love that casual “usually” – like it’s no big deal, really. Just stop taking the drug and everything will be okay. Usually.

But what if you stop taking the drug and everything is not okay? In fact, it’s the opposite of okay. That’s what an HSI member wants to know.

Hoping to be normal again

I recently received an e-mail from a member who said she felt as if she’d been poisoned by statin use.

Here’s her story in a nutshell

Her doctor puts her on 80 mg of Lipitor per day. After four months her liver function test shows sharply elevated enzymes, so her doctor takes her off the drug to see if the enzymes go down. Two months later, the enzyme level is mostly unchanged, but eventually the numbers begin to drop.

Meanwhile, she has developed the telltale weakness common to muscular myopathy. She even has trouble climbing steps and getting up from a kneeling position. She begins a regime of regular exercise, but improves her strength only slightly after several months of walking and lifting light weights.

Doing some research on her own she finds that statins deplete the body of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) – an essential nutrient for heart health. She starts taking 900 mg of CoQ10 daily, along with 1,000 mg per day of L-carnitine. Weeks later, she still hasn’t seen much improvement. She asks: “When, if ever can I expect to have back the strength that I had before I started on this Lipitor?”

Obviously this is a job for our Nutrition Physician – HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D.

Tough one

Dr. Spreen began his response with two words: “Tough one.” But he added that he believes she can probably overcome her problem.

Dr. Spreen: “I’d increase the l-carnitine to 1000 mg 2x/day and make certain it is not taken with meals; I’d continue the CoQ10; I’d add milk thistle (silymarin), highest adult dose of a standardized extract (doesn’t matter which, if reputable); and sublingual (under- the-tongue) B-12 in the specific form of methyl-cobalamin. Ideally, she should find an alternative health doc to monitor and oversee her progress. He might also be able to give her injectable B-12. (She can look for alternative docs on the web site for the American College for Advancement in Medicine – acamnet.org.)

“Then, you keep your fingers crossed. Once she gets a response she can lower the CoQ10 by 2/3rds, which will lessen the expense of the mix quite a bit from the current cost of 900 mg.

“I wish her the best of luck, my condolences, and Good Health.”

Anyone coping with a serious drug side effect should talk with his doctor or a health care practitioner who’s familiar with his personal medical history before starting a new supplement regimen.

Not so rare

“Rare but serious” is how the Lipitor web site describes the muscle pain side effect. But for a rare condition, it’s surprising how many HSI members have experienced this adverse reaction.

These comments were posted by different members on the HSI Healthier Talk community forums:

• “Does the muscle pain ever go away? I have been off for about 1 week and it is a little better but still hurts.”
• “It took about 5 or 6 weeks for those pains to fade. Statins? Pure poison.”
• “I had muscle pain while taking statins. After I stopped, the pain SLOWLY went away.

Also my liver enzymes got elevated from taking them.” You can find further comments, along with suggestions for non-drug methods to lower cholesterol, at this link: http://www.hsionline.com/ealerts/ea200501/ea20050121.html