The Hidden Side effects of Cholesterol-lowering drugs--

[Guest guest]

According to NDS Health, a health-care information services

company

based in Atlanta, more than 110 million prescriptions were written

for statin drugs in 2001--

 

they're expensive … and they're not without risk.

 

The hidden side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs--

 

Unfortunately, like most pharmaceuticals, these drugs usually have

side effects. The symptoms vary depending on the type of cholesterol

drug is being taken, but they include:

 

 

• Hot flashes

• Nausea

• Allergic reaction (skin rashes)

• Heartburn

• Dizziness

• Abdominal pain

• Constipation

• Decreased sexual desire

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Indigestion

• Peptic ulcers

• Gout

• High blood sugar

• Cholesterol gallstones

 

 

In addition to the above side effects, some drugs may carry the risk

of serious side effects, such as:

• Rhabdomyolysis - a muscle condition that can cause kidney failure

• Muscle pain or weakness

• Liver abnormalities

 

 

How do statins work?

 

Statins all work by the same mechanism: they 'inhibit' a

liver 'enzyme' called HMG CoA reductase that

'enables' the liver to make cholesterol.

 

The liver is the body's main source of cholesterol. But when the

liver can not make its own,

 

it removes cholesterol from the blood to fulfill your body's other

needs for cholesterol, as previously described (see " Necessary for

hormone production " ). '

 

Ideally, blood levels of cholesterol decrease, which reduces the

tendency for arteries to become clogged with fatty deposits.

 

 

Statin Hazards:

 

In a clinical advisory issued recently, the American College of

Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the National Heart,

Lung and Blood warned doctors

about possible serious adverse effects

and factors that could increase the risk of statin-caused muscle

disorders.

 

In fact, in January 2002 Bayer Pharmaceutical announced that its

cholesterol drug *Baycol* has been linked to approximately

100 deaths

since its withdrawal from the market in August 2001,

and Baycol was

recalled after it was linked to about 40 deaths in the US. Bayer is

currently facing several lawsuits from patients who were injured

while taking the drug.

 

New York Times health writer Jane E. Brody recently reported

(December 10, 2002) that last summer an 82-year-old Kansas woman

died as

a result of an undetected muscle disease caused by the statin she

had been taking for years to control her cholesterol.

 

During the entire time she was taking it, the woman had muscle pains

that doctors never attributed to the drug.

 

" She even had a shoulder operation, which did nothing, of course, to

cure the drug-induced pain

that might have been correctly diagnosed through a simple blood

test, " wrote Brody.

 

" Then she was mistreated with an anti-fungal agent for skin lesions

that actually resulted,

not from a fungus, but from the muscle breakdown caused by the

drug. "

 

It's been shown that when anti-fungals are combined with statins,

they can greatly increase the risk and severity of muscle disorders.

" Within three months, the woman's condition worsened and

she became so weak she could not stand or breathe on her own.

Two

weeks later, she was dead, " reported Brody.

 

Public Citizen Calls for Stronger Warnings on Statins:

 

Statins may also cause a liver disorder in about one percent of

patients.

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, has petitioned

the FDA for stronger warnings on all statin drugs in the wake of the

August 2001 recall of Baycol.

 

The petition asks the FDA to include a warning that muscle pain or

weakness can lead to muscle damage.

 

 

 

What's wrong with this picture?

 

Consider this metaphor:

You're flying an airplane and one of the

meters indicates that the airplane is going down rapidly and that

you're going to plunge to the ground in minutes.

You pull out your handgun and shoot the meter, destroying not only

the meter but causing damage to other electrical equipment.

 

There! Problem solved, right? Obviously not.

 

The situation with statin drugs is strikingly similar yet apparently

this isn't obvious to the conventional medical system.

 

Cholesterol is just a risk factor, one of many.

Sure, you'd like to see that high reading come down, but – and here

is the most important message of this article – you want that

reading to come down for the right 'reasons'.

 

You want your cholesterol to come down as a result of an

overall 'improvement' in your health.

 

References:

 

Vella, C.A., Kravitz, L., & Janot, J.M. (2001). A review of the

impact of exercise on cholesterol levels. IDEA Health & Fitness

Source, 19, 10, p. 48. Retrieved March 26, 2002 from Expanded

Academic ASAP.

 

Lane, Jane, " Cholesterol Conundrum, " Energy Times Feb. 1999, pg. 53.

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html