Beware of statin drugs! (bleeding, doctors, heart, eyes)

[flu189]

Six years ago when I lived in another state I had a pretty straight forward doctor who initially put me on Lipitor and Zetia. After a few months with no appreciable results he advised me to get off of them. I have always had high cholesterol since my 20s and despite being active and adjusting my diet the numbers never varied by much. Some of us apparently through genitics are predisposed for high cholesterol and the risk that statins pose, especially liver and kidney failure is just not worth the risk. Anyway, the doctor I was referring to had a colleague in his office who was always chummy with the drug reps and even started using statins himself only to result in his own kidney failure.

[Laura707]

flu189-...The doctor DIED of kidney failure!???? That is terriable! Your doctor took you off of them after only a few months because your cholesterol did not come down? I was on them for 2 years before it even touched mine. At the end, when I quit, it had gotten down into the 160's but I was in such bad shape that I was all but nonfunctional. Now I keep mine in the 250's and am feeling great! (except for the ailments, but now I can remember the way home and drive again)

In Lipitors own ad they say a 36% reduction in heart attacks*. That * goes on to explaine that out of 100 people on placebo 3% had heart attacks and on Lipitor 2% had heart attacks. So, 100 people have to take their drug forr 3 years to prevent 1 heart attack. But at what costs to the rest of us? In most studies done mortality rate is still the same. On their web sight they HAD but since removed, that it has NOT been proven to prevent heart attacks or strokes and I am told it is still on Crestors web sight.

DanBev- That is exactly how I described my knee pain, feeling as being hit in the knees with a sledge hammer! Both knees at the exact moment..BHAM! (never had any hint of knee problems before that.) Researching it on the internet recently my symptoms fit the list for patellar tendonitis. Had that start the second week into them and it lasted the entire time I was on them and went away as soon as I got off of them, have not hurt me since but it had moved to my shoulder and has been there for 13 months and I been off the statins for 20 months. It has also effected my achilles tendon. Overnight, and I mean went to bed feeling fine, woke up with it in my shoulder and without any prior pain or problems there, MRI showed arthritis, tendonitis, burscitis and a bone spur. NO treatment for it has helped.

Dr. Golomb at USDC is doing a statin side effects study and I think she is still doing it if anyone would like to participate. Here is her study on Cholesterol if you have the time to watch it (The address for the study if you want to participate is in her video) YouTube - SIRA: New Views of Cholesterol; Statins and Heart Attacks
She mentions it lowering tostorterone levels and I and being treated for a infection I have had for the last 8 months with no success that is caused by low tostosterone levels... and I had not connected that to the statin drugs until then. Here I am a 60 some year old female and the ob/gyn wants to put on tostosterone?... and several years ago, I went to my PCP and told him to check my hormones, that I felt like something was "off" with them. He did and everything came back fine, I am wondering if that was checked or just the female ones..

Anyway, Dr. Golomb, we are hoping will get the results we believe she will and that survey is very detailed and the truth come out. She also mentions there has not been but one study of statins on women and that showed they were of no benifit to women and the segemnt on CBS news says ONLY middle aged men should even be on them. I know in talking to people about my experience and listing my side effects, you get that stunned look that shows they have connected problems they have been having to statins. I get that in 4 out of 5 people that I talk to.

My gripe is we were denied the right to make in informed decision as to rather the benifits outweighed the side effects for ourselves by them hiding the full range of side effects and continue to deny them. I was cheated out of growing old the way nature intended and have to question EVERY sudden ailment as natural or a statin side effect.

(note, I will be away for 3 days starting in a few hours, have to go out of town)

[DanBev]

I posted earlier on this site.I just googled memory loss lipitor and it was shocking.An astrounaut with NASA proved to doctors the truth.I would not take it for one minute.The reason I am back is our daughter who suffers from schizopharnia.She takes a hand full of meds and among them is lipitor.She was stabilized and then stopped taking meds.She is back on them and one person said she was confused and standing in middle of road.They thought the worst,yesterday we said we would visit and mentioned how tornado started by post office and ended up in Baker county where she had worked awhile back.Her comment what post office,where is Baker county,this is only tip of iceburg.They told us today that her memory and forgetfullness is getting worse.They had to let her go from job here in Lake City.I only now have put one and one together.Lipitor acts like alzeimer and they can now prove it on living person,before autopsy.They can see it.Beware.It crippled my wife and I till we went off of it.

[Laura707]

DanBev- I know what your daughter went thorugh with the memory loss. Mine wasn't as bad as hers and I didn't get fired but the time was coming that I would have been and it wasn't that far away. The terriable SAD truth is, the doctors just don't believe that is one of the side effects. DanBev, as little as it is, there is good news.. NOW YOU KNOW! Spread the word, tell your story anywhere and everywhere you can. Talk to friends, strangers, co-workers, anyone who will listen. You may save someones life.... or from going through what a lot of us have gone through..

Isn't it SHOCKING and so terriably SAD that we have to go to the internet to learn these things? Spacedocs web sight, I feel, saved my life. I think I posted a link to his web sight in one of my earlier posts and someone said not to take his web sight to heart.

[sapphire]

Thanks for posting all this info. I took Lipitor for about a year with no known side effects. I lost my insurance for a while, and went off the meds. Of course my cholesterol went right back up. Fast forward to a month ago--my dr. prescribed Crestor 10mg, which I began taking immediately. I have never felt worse in my life. I am no longer taking it, effective tonight. I have chest pain and burning, severe back and neck pain, weird memory issues--I can't remember what I am saying to someone mid-sentence at times throughout the day (I'm 43, not senile) and just generally feel like crap. I blame the Crestor.

My cholesterol was at 264--my good cholesterol is good, but the bad is really bad. Triglycerides were great. I am making serious diet changes.

[Laura707]

sapphire- How are you doing now?

[suetta]

I worked in statin research. the study methodology is flawed.. lowered my cholesterol, triglycerides simply by cutting out all intake of high fructose corn syrup.

[grannynancy]

You resurrect a 2 year old thread for post #1?

Why not just start a new one and have something other than a non-verifiable statement?

[Laura707]

I am glad it was brought back up. I had forgotten I posted this here but in seeing it, I now have a time line.

suetta- They are finding more and more they were wrong about statin damage and the testing that is needed for the damage they do. They are making new discoveries all the time and more and more that they are looking at the wrong things. I have no doubt that one day they will make the announcement that we all have been duped on this whole cholesterol thing. It is coming out more and more that just as many people died from heart disease with LOW cholesterol as with high. ATTITUDES are CHANGING!

Threads like these are helping and in the 2 years since I posted this, I have seen attitudes change about statin drugs and seen more lives ruined by them. I have continued on my quest to tell my story all over the internet and in the 2 years since I posted this, I am seeing more and more people ask what can they do to lower it naturally without these drugs. They are reading these posts on the internet and wanting to avoid what a lot of us have been through and taking control of their own health without drugs!

A update on me is I have continued on with my healthy lifestyle and have lost 50 pounds that I have kept off for these 2 years. Last cholesterol check I had, it was 225 and as I posted before, I feel better when mine is in the 250 range so I added a tad more fat to my diet. My doctor is happy with my cholesterol in the 225 range (I am not) and odd as it sounds, my daughters doctor is happy with hers being in that range too. My doctor has learned to quit even mentioning statin drugs to me.

MY shoulder still bothers me but I am functional, able to keep my job, live alone, drive and pretty much do anything I could before with just a little care. ONE thing I want you all to know is about my colonscopies. Just prior to going on statins mine came up clean, nothing found. Shortly after wards I got on statins and 5 years later, I had 5 precancerous polyps.. I was STUNNED, even thought the doctor had mixed up my samples with someone else's and I kept asking "WHAT HAPPENED? HOW'D THIS HAPPEN!".. Less than a year later I quit the statin drug because of the loss of quality of life. SO, 3 years later, I had another and guess what! Only 1 small one was found that was clean. I DO look forward to the next one in 5 years to see what that one turns up.

I am not here to argue with anyone, just telling what happened to ME and asking people to educate themselves BEFORE taking these drugs (or any other drugs) and possibly save yourself a lot of grief. I wish all this information was out there before I took them.... it wasn't in those days. A lot has come out about them since 2001!

Also to remind people, a lot of your health issues could be corrected at the dinner table. You ARE what you eat. I am helping 2 men I work with to adopt a healthier life style of eating (since I am the cook, that's easy!). So far, one has lost 48 pounds, is no longer needing his medication for his type 2 diabetes and has lowered his statin drug from 20mg a day down to 5mg. Guy #2 has the lowest BP than he has had in 10 years (NO medication), sleeping better and lost 20 pounds so far. Even SMALL changes help your health!!

[MIKEH2010]

wow.i have my own story to tell here.i had just turned thirty back in 2005 when i started having some angina pains.anyway i went to a cardio doctor who then sent me to do all these tests on my heart including the treadmill test.anyway about a week later i was told i had high cholesterol and given prescription for lipitor.anyway something scared me about the scrip and i put it in the desk drawer and pondered my next move.i decided to do some studying online about all this and then i got more scared.i started reading all the horror stories and how it was causing bad muscle pains and it lowered the coq10 in your body.i then read about alternative methods and went and bought fish oil plus coq10.i decided while i was at it to get a multivitamin too.i was already having panic attacks too all the time and between that and the angina i made too many ER visits.right after i got on this regimen i quit having angina and rarely have panic issues anymore.after these experiences i don't trust doctors like i once did.they could've told me about these things but like someone else said they are too busy hawking pharma drugs.not all but sometimes certain issues can be solved by diet changes and adding a few vitamins to your everyday life.stuff like fish oil,coq10,magnesium,vitamin C,D,etc. will help.