| outrider 2005-05-06, 8:47 am |
| http://pharmacy.king-online.com/Pha...50420/index.php
Patients Find Statins Can Have Side Effects
Guidelines for cholesterol control recently have become much more
stringent. For millions of Americans, achieving the new targets
requires strong medicine.
Over the past decade, prescriptions for statin-type
cholesterol-lowering drugs have soared. Such medications are extremely
effective at getting the numbers under control and reducing the risk of
heart attacks and strokes.
As good as these drugs are, though, some people can't handle them. We
have heard from many readers like this one:
"My husband and I were both put on statins, one on Lipitor and one on
Zocor. With time, we both experienced serious side effects. My husband
had severe memory problems and confusion. Once he could not find a
warehouse that he has been going to for years. Another time he got lost
coming home from the VA hospital, even though it is a well-known and
rather simple route. I thought he must be getting Alzheimer's disease.
"I also had problems with my memory, often forgetting what I was saying
but more often not being able to retrieve ordinary words used in
everyday conversation. In addition, I had problems with my balance,
bumping into walls and staggering when I walked.
"Both of us had muscle and leg pain. Neither of us associated our
memory loss, confusion or loss of balance with statins. We knew that
muscle pain could be a side effect, though, so when the pain became
intolerable we weaned ourselves off the statins.
"To our surprise and delight, our other symptoms began to diminish. It
has taken a full year, but I can finally carry on a conversation
without feeling that I'm losing my mind. Neither of us will ever use
statins again.
"In talking with people we know, we have heard other stories that sound
similar. I am extremely concerned that serious harm is being done to
the health and well-being of many people. The health-care industry is
pushing statins even for people who do not have high cholesterol. I
fear that the damage done may make the problems with Vioxx,
hormone-replacement therapy and fen-phen look small in comparison."
No one should ever stop cholesterol-lowering medicine without
consulting a physician. Some doctors, however, have a hard time
believing that these miracle medicines could have unacceptable side
effects. Another reader reported:
"I have been on cholesterol-reducing medication for some time. I had
been telling my doctor that my medication was doing something to my
muscles, and he would not believe me.
"I changed doctors, and the new one discovered that my muscle enzymes
were 800 (normal is 200). He took me off the medicine, and my enzymes
came down, though they are not yet normal. When I went on a different
statin, they climbed back up again."
If you would like to learn more about the dark side of statins, you may
be interested in a radio interview we conducted with several physicians
who have studied such issues. To order a CD of this one-hour
conversation, please send $15 to: People's Pharmacy, CD-523, P.O. Box
52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Physicians know that lifesaving drugs like penicillin can sometimes
cause life-threatening reactions. It's time to recognize that even
great drugs like statins can cause some people serious harm.
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in
medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their newest book is
"The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies" (St. Martin's
Press).
=A9 2005 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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