Some patients who complain of muscle aches and fatigue when taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be having a reaction to the therapy despite tests that find no sign of muscle damage.
Statin drugs are the most widely prescribed medication in the world, and are taken by 15 million Americans to lower their cholesterol. All statins have the potential to cause muscle damage, which can lead to a fatal condition called rhabdomyolysis, in which the muscle completely breaks down.
Bayer's statin drug Baycol was taken off the US market in August 2001, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received at least 52 reports that people taking Baycol had died of rhabdomyolysis. Another 50 have since died.
Researchers studied patients with normal creatine kinase levels by taklng samples of their muscle tissue while they were taking statins and also during an 8-week period when they were taken off the drugs. The first four people studied, all had muscle tissue abnormalities that are rarely seen. These four patients also were very weak in stair-stepping and hip adductor strength tests.
When the patients went off statins, they felt better, they were stronger and their tissue samples looked normal again. The researchers believe that the currently recommended muscle enzyme test may not detect muscle damage in some people who take statins.
The researchers developed a web site, to report updates of his findings, and to seek input from statin-takers who are having muscle aches.
Annals of Internal Medicine October 1, 2002
As the study indicates, this problem is serious. There are currently 15 million Americans who are on statin drugs to control their cholesterol. Of these it’s likely less than 5 percent who need to be on the medication, as that 5 percent have a genetic defect called familial hypercholsterolemia and even on optimized diets they have a cholesterol of 350.
In my own practice (where I’ve seen over 10,000 patients), only 3 patients are on these drugs to control their high cholesterol as a result of resistance to diet therapy.
Fortunately there are other options, as my clinical experience strongly suggests. The eating plan works by reducing grains and sugars, which in turn lowers insulin's effect on cholesterol production by the liver.
It’s amazing how rapidly and effective this simple strategy works, especially when combined with an effective exercise program. It rarely fails. Many people are concerned that they can't follow the eating program and their concern is valid.
Fortunately, we now have the energy psychology tools like EFT to radically improve the likelihood of success by helping to reduce the cravings and all the anxieties that are typically associated with following the program. You can look at the free report or consider contacting a trained EFT therapist for assistance.
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