THIS WEEK IN THE HSI FORUM Would you be willing to risk kidney function on the promise (but no guarantee) that your heart might be healthier? In yesterday's e-Alert - "Counter Service" (1/20/05) - I told you about some of the adverse side effects of cholesterol- lowering statin drugs. One of those side effects is muscle pain. In some patients, statin use causes muscle cells to break down, which releases a protein into the bloodstream that can impair kidney function and even lead to kidney failure. Most of the reports I've read about statins describe muscle pain as a "rare" side effect. But last March I told you about an HSI Forum thread titled "Lipitor or Statins and Muscle Pain," which demonstrates that this side effect is certainly not rare. In fact, that thread is still quite active and currently has well over 150 postings. Here are just a few of the first-hand accounts: A member named Steve had muscle pains with a statin drug, and now he wants to know, "Does the muscle pain ever go away? I have been off for about 1 week and it is a little better but still hurts." Jo says she took statins for only one week. Her reaction: "Enough! Apart from the skin rash, the insomnia and twitching in bed, I had brand new muscle pains. It took about 5 or 6 weeks for those pains to fade. And about the same time for the rash to fade, too. Sleep normalized within a few days. Statins? Pure poison." "I had muscle pain while taking statins," writes Verdie.
"After I stopped, the pain SLOWLY went away. Also my liver enzymes got elevated from taking them." A member named Omie notes that most people don't realize that any muscle pain associated with statins is your body's way of saying, "Toxic!" He adds, "I let my doc talk me into statins a few years ago, tried 3 different ones and got slight muscle pains with each one." "Wow! So many people with side effects!" is Amy's reaction to the postings in this thread. She says her father took a statin drug for quite a while until his legs started buckling out from under him while standing. "Well guess you all know the culprit! We now know why it has been so hard for him to climb stairs." Members Natasha, Larry and Cher also say they've experienced muscle pains while taking statins. Jack's wife developed soreness in her muscles, along with liver problems. Dianne had pain in her joints, but most of the pain is gone, now that she stopped taking a statin drug. So given all these testimonials, if you want to lower cholesterol, where do you turn? A member named Debbie offers this suggestion: "Look for a natural product called policosanol." Here's what Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., has to say about policosanol in his Nutrition & Healing Newsletter (1/1/02): "Research is accumulating to show that policosanol is more effective than the most 'popular' (among mainstream doctors) patent medicines for lowering total cholesterol and triglyceride levels." Dr. Wright also notes that policosanol may help prevent strokes by inhibiting platelet aggregation and abnormal blood clotting, and may even lower blood pressure as well. Unlike statin drugs, policosanol has not been shown to have a harmful effect on the liver - the organ that manages the production of cholesterol. But some of the subjects in policosanol studies have experienced mild side effects, including insomnia, headache, diarrhea, nervousness, and weight loss. Even though these short-term side effects have been reported in less than one percent of the subjects tested, a doctor or healthcare professional should be consulted before using policosanol. Other topics on the HSI Forum this week include: * Glyconutritionals
* Digestive enzymes & stomach acidity
* Hernia
* Need help! Too high CRP level
* Oral chelation
* Eczema You can easily reach the Forum on our web site at www.hsibaltimore.com. Just click on "Forum," and join in with any of the dozens of discussions about nutrition and natural health care.
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