Author: Admin (---.vnnyca.adelphia.net)
Date: 10-10-02 10:56
Lipitor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Zocor, Lescol, lovastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin, atorvastatin, fluvastatin and cerivastatin
These cholesterol drugs (called Statins) have been shown to cause Lupus and pneumonia and they may exacerbate other immune diseases (like sarcoidosis). Take a look at KaitlynK's experience. But they have also been proven to cause generalized muscle pain and failure.
Most Sarc patients have elevated LDL Cholesterol levels and decreased HDL levels.Click here to read how this is a byproduct of the Sarcod inflammation itself. Some Doctors treat elevated LDL Cholesterol using a class of drugs called "Statins", and because the cholesterol levels do not fall, may increase the dosage.
Dyspnea (pain while breathing) is one of the problems caused by these drugs. They also cause generalized muscle pain, everywhere in the body. But a sarc patient might confuse the Dyspnea symptom with being from the sarc, while it is actually from the Statin. Please spread this information around, as continued use of statins will cause continued muscle damage.
The Scripps Mercy Hospital website (click here) explains the muscle weakness/failure on separate pages for Doctors and Patients. Make sure you print out the information for Doctors and send it to Doc so he/she has time to read it before your next appointment.
The American College of Cardiology issued a health alert on this topic. You can read it by clicking this link.
In my opinion, any sarc patient on Statins who is experiencing any muscle problems whatsoever should INSIST on being given a different therapy, preferably ARBs. The Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs) are safe drugs known to have a significant cardioprotective action, and you should suggest that your Doctor considers these. Our research has already reported significant improvement of Sarc symptoms using frequent dosing of ARBs. You can read about it at this link.
Cervistatin has now been taken off the market because people have died from muscle failure caused by it. Researchers are now finding that all of the statins can cause muscle failure and weakness, leading to pain and weakness in the muscles throughout the body.
Although the risk of muscle damage from the Statins is not very high in the general population, the list of drugs that make the effects worse include just about every drug commonly prescribed for sarcoidosis patients. That is why I am raising this to 'Alert' status - IMO, sarcoidosis patients are at extreme risk of serious complications.
I expect that nearly every sarc patient is going to experience pain as a direct result of taking Statins. This is because the rate of myalgia starts quite high (7%-14%), and the pain is exacerbated by all the common sarc drugs.
In particular, the following sarc drugs make the Statins more likely to cause problems
1. Prednisone and Steroid Inhalers
2. Methotrexate and Imuran
3. Antimalarials such as Cloroquin and Plaquenil
4. Thyroid preparations
The full list can be found in the table halfway down this page
Make sure you give Doc copies of the papers referenced in the Cholesterol and Sarc thread that explain how Cholesterol almost always measures high in Sarcoidosis. It is most likely that you do not need any statin treatment at all. Discuss this.
Although Statins are not yet recognized as a major problem in the USA, my personal opinion is that this is because doctors in the USA tend to overlook and ignore pains and muscle problems without investigating them. The World Health Organization reports a level of complaints (worldwide) 100 times greater than that reported in the USA, even though the one of these drugs was taken off the US market because of deaths due to the muscle failure.
..Trevor..
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