Statins Don't Show Benefit
Statins have proven to not be all they are cracked up to be. Read the article linked to here. You will start to wonder if they are really worth it. Not to mention, if you then go and look at the many side effects you will see there is almost no value. When you add it all up it seems better to me to try alternative approaches that might leave you with results and no damage. just a thought.
posted by Dr. Steve @ 7:46:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
About a year and a half ago my PCP (doctor) said my cholesterol was borderline high at 248 (of course it has now been lowered to around 100 to justify the sales of billions of dollars in cholesterol drugs). My recent cholesterol reading without taking medications was 135, I am now told that this is "borderline high.". My former PCP prescribed Lipitor. After approximately four to six weeks on Lipitor I developed severe muscle soreness in the right side of my back (mid back). This was soon accompanied with a burning sensation, very painful. I had done nothing to cause a back injury or such pain. Having seen the disclaimer on the use of Lipitor during this time I reported the pain to my doctor, as suggested in their commercial. My report was apparently not taken too seriously and not associated with the use of Lipitor at all. Instead, the doctor said I had arthritis and placed me on Vioxx. talk about insult to injury,I soon learned that Vioxx was causing serious heart related problems on a wide scale via news alerts, so I discontinued the use of Vioxx, as well as Bextra which had been prescribed for my wife. I again reported my muscle pain to my doctor on my next visit, he then had me checked for a rupture by a specialist, there was no rupture. The doctor still would not advise me to discontinue the use of Lipitor and see if there might be a relationship, a connection between the pain and the medication. I chose to discontinue the use of lipitor at my own volition and after several days I noticed a definite easing of the pain. Of course this (discontinueing the use of lipitor)was a severe blow to my doctor's ego, seems like questioning a doctor is like questioning God. With all due respect to the medical profession, what enters my body will be my final decision. He even asked if I would like for him to find me another PCP he was so upset by my personal decision, he didn't like my taking such an active part in my health issues. I have since gone with another PCP and he doesn't seem to be as forceful in demanding I take questionable statin drugs for cholesterol as the previous doctor. I still have the muscle pain, it becomes more severe if I do streneous work outside but will subside if I do not over stress physically. I can't seem to get a doctor to admit, or talk about the possibility of Lipitor (statins)causing my problem with the muscle pain, which I never had before the use of lipitor. My current PCP told me that my pain didn't sound statin related because the pain, if statin related, should be symetrical, across both sides of my back, that it is unlikely that the Lipitor (statin)would affect only my right mid back. I believe the jury may still be out on this assumption. The doctors appear to be purposefully avoiding my concerns with my severe muscle soreness, and associated burning sensation. Either that, or they have no research or definitive answers for these statin related problems. Other things I noticed while taking Lipitor: My short term memory was affected, I normally have an alert mind but found myself forgetting simple things frequently and losing my thought process in the middle of a conversation. I noticed unusual weakness accompanied by dizzy spells (I work out doors a lot around my property, so the weakness was apparent). These things improved quickly and substantually when I stopped taking the cholesterol medication Lipitor. Question(s): Are others experiencing similar problems while on cholesterol (statin) drugs and, what is one to do if the doctors refuse to examine a connection between these side affects and the medication? I have been left to believe I will just have to live with this pain with no medical alternatives. Maybe this is what they (Cholesterol drug sales) mean when they say in their disclaimer; "Muscle pain and weakness may be signs of a rare, but serious side effect." Just how serious is this "muscle pain, is it a continual degenerative problem, will I become worse?" How is one to get authoritative advise and help for these concerns if the doctors won't look into the issues?
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