'Nocebo effect' cause of most statin side-effects, study suggests (pain, kidney, aches)
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Many of the side-effects attributed to statins could be down to the “nocebo effect”, which occurs when someone expects to experience negative symptoms – even if the drug is a placebo – a study suggests.
With few exceptions, this is something that I believed all along
The actual risk of developing muscle pain as a result of taking statins is about 5 percent or less compared with taking a pill that doesn't contain medication (placebo). However, studies have found that nearly 30 percent of people stopped taking the pills because of muscle aches even when they were taking a placebo.
A strong predictor you'll experience muscle aches when taking statins could be whether or not you read about the potential side effect.
Very rarely, statins can cause life-threatening muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis (rab-doe-my-OL-ih-sis). Rhabdomyolysis can cause severe muscle pain, liver damage, kidney failure and death. The risk of very serious side effects is extremely low, and calculated in a few cases per million people taking statins. Rhabdomyolysis can occur when you take statins in combination with certain drugs or if you take a high dose of statins.
Once again, I have to ask, "How does this crap get published?"
In the study https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2031173 they gave subjects four bottles of pills, each to be taken for one (lousy) month in sequence. Two bottles each were the statin or a placebo.
Then they recorded pt complaints each month, and found that placebo months were just as likely to induce complaints of muscle pain as real med months....Therefore, the complaints MUST be all in the pts' heads--
I guess God himself told the researchers that the real muscle damage couldn't possibly have bled over from the med month to a placebo month, nor could it take more than 4 weeks to develop.
My personal observations when in practice were that muscle aches and clouding of memory & thinking processes were way more common than is reported in the studies. Most pts using statins are older and any such changes were often not mentioned specifically because they were "expected" at that age, came on slowly over many months and not severe enough to mention.
...and you're right, Mike...the really serious damage is extremely rare.
Once again, I have to ask, "How does this crap get published?"
In the study https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2031173 they gave subjects four bottles of pills, each to be taken for one (lousy) month in sequence. Two bottles each were the statin or a placebo.
Then they recorded pt complaints each month, and found that placebo months were just as likely to induce complaints of muscle pain as real med months....Therefore, the complaints MUST be all in the pts' heads--
I guess God himself told the researchers that the real muscle damage couldn't possibly have bled over from the med month to a placebo month, nor could it take more than 4 weeks to develop.
My personal observations when in practice were that muscle aches and clouding of memory & thinking processes were way more common than is reported in the studies. Most pts using statins are older and any such changes were often not mentioned specifically because they were "expected" at that age, came on slowly over many months and not severe enough to mention.
...and you're right, Mike...the really serious damage is extremely rare.
There seem to be professional researchers who are experts in designing studies that will make the drug companies look good.
One common trick is to under-power the study -- not enough subjects, not a high enough dose, not a long enough time period.
There seem to be professional researchers who are experts in designing studies that will make the drug companies look good.
One common trick is to under-power the study -- not enough subjects, not a high enough dose, not a long enough time period.
DING DING DING
We have a winner.
Clinical trials are marketing tools to test a product. Nothing more. Product is tested in BEST possible situation on BEST possible candidates for BEST possible outcome. Unflattering data is curiously explained away or completely left out.
Clinical trials are marketing tools to test a product.
Buyer beware.
I'll agree with the "buyer beware" part, but clinical trials are demanded by the FDA as part of the approval & licensing process.
The thing we have to watch out for is (a) the industry supported research only reports the favorable trials and doesn't publish the trials that show little or no benefit of the drug tested, (b) the govt funded trials get their money from an "in group" that is subject to lobbyists &/or is comprised of "experts" in the field who have their own pet theories to defend, which means (c) you only get research funds if your work is going to agree with theirs and keep them in power. Also consider the "No Problem = No Funds" aspect of grant applications.
As always, beware of studies that report "Relative Risk Reduction" instead of "Absolute Risk Reduction." That's a disingenuous way of turning a puny single digit per cent improvement into an impressive double digit per cent improve. Eg- statins improve post-MI survival by only 2% ARR, but the papers report it as 35% RRR.
I have been on a statin for 4 years, the only side effects are me stupidly thinking I can eat whatever I want now.
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