Statin Drug Side Effects
Search for statin side effects on the internet and you will find hundreds of people reporting serious problems from the use of drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor. Statin drugs are commonly prescribed to control cholesterol levels and do a good job in lowering them but at what cost?
Statins lower cholesterol levels by blocking the creation of mevalonate and therein lies the problem.
Cholesterol, Co-Q10 and Dolichols are the three end products of the mevalonate pathway. All three have important functions to perform in the body. Cholesterol is vital to forming cell membranes, Vitamin D, scar tissue which is the body's repair substance, serotonin and is the main constituent of brain cells. Cholesterol also helps produce all hormones in the adrenal cortex. Without cholesterol, neurological activity cannot take place.
Co-Enzyme Q10 or Co-Q10 is also critical in maintaining cell membranes and the formation of elastin and collagen. You will find Co-Q10 being advertized as a primary ingredient in many skin care products. Co-Q10 is essential for the heart. Without it, heart failure can occur due to wasting of heart muscles. Co-Q10 deficiency also leads to weakness and rupture of tendons and ligaments.
Dolichols work in cells by ensuring that cell proteins are used for their proper uses according to DNA programming.
By inhibiting the production of mevalonate, statin drugs remove not just cholesterol but other vital substances required by the body to function physically and neurologically.
It is therefore no wonder that websites such as medications.com contain testimonial after testimonial from patients about the horrendous side effects. Currently there are 1,200 side effects posted against Lipitor alone on medications.com. Here are some of the comments:
" I haved been on Lipitor for a number of years
with many of the side effects posted here. I have had Heart Failure for
a year now and the best doctors could not help me....Statins deplete
th heart muscle of COQ10 a natural enzyme in the Heart Muscle.
This depletion over time can caused Heart failure due to weak walls."
"I am 53 years old and was almost 4 years on Lipitor and started experiencing periphial neuropathology that was horrible! I had a keen neurologist who took me off after doing several tests for Lyme, Lupus, MS, etc. She said she sees more and more of my symptoms 3 to 8 years plus on Lipitor"
"Here are some more side effects that I encountered during my ordeal with Lipitor. A week after I started the medication, I started experiencing blurry and decreased vision, this used to go away and come back sometimes, I could swear I always had 20/20 although I never went to eye doctor, but I never needed glasses all my life, if fact any type of glasses will blurry my vision and make me dizzy. I had my first eyes exam a couple days after I discontinued Lipitor, guess what? I have 20/20 vision.
More details about the back and right arm pain, not only the pain was unbearable, I felt my muscles sagging and they did not have any strength, this thing sucked the life out of my muscles, it made me very tired and easily irritable. My first victim was my little baby ( my beautiful 4 year old), her daddy couldn’t hold her anymore, I even avoided staying close to her, because anyone who touches that right arm will make it feel like another deep stab to the arm deep into the bone"
Even though there are so many testimonials on side effects as a result of using Statin drugs, patients are still not advised by their doctors. In fact in a study conducted by the University
of California, San Diego, it was found that doctors generally ignored or dismissed patient claims of side effects from statin drugs...even going so far as to tell them that muscle pains cannot be caused by statins. Here is the article on the Washington PostIs Your Doctor in Denial?Survey Finds Physicians Often Dismiss Complaints About Drugs' Side Effects
It goes to show that patients need to be proactive about their health and glean as much information as possible about the medications they are being prescribed. Before using statin drugs such as Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor, try and control cholesterol with diet and lifestyle changes. Herbs such as GUGGUL and GYMNEMA are also very helpful in cholesterol control and being natural and beneficial to the body, have no side effects.
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