OT - I'm Hurtin.

[Bullard4075]

Three years back I had a Heart Attack.
Minor,minor,minor, a little tiny vessel on the side of my heart collapsed - not blocked- just collapsed.
They think I was born with it. Arteries are clean!
I'm on Zocor and Coreg.
Few weeks back my joints started hurting. Only shoulders and hips.
Then my (arm) muscles started hurting, couldn't sleep at night. I'm talking ache and ache.
Doc says it's the Zocor and that it will take 4-6 WEEKS to flush out of my system.
Now I'm not doubting my Doc - a good doc and friend - I'm just wondering if anyone has had anything
like this.
I guess misery does at least like company.

[mescalero1]

I am lucky, at 57, the only thing I take is prilosec, for acid reflux.

[1886]

Very sorry about your physical discomfort. Not a doctor and no experience with any meds. but just a thought, were you bit by a tick? Hope you feel better. God Bless, 1886.

[AJMD429]

Could be the Rx. Some doctors think adequate amounts of things like Vitamin D (i.e. blood test showing a level around 60-70), Coenzyme Q10 (nobody knows the 'level' needed), and Carnitine (again, target level unknown), may help minimize the muscle inflammation. Typically the BEST statin for any given patient will be the one their insurance doesn't 'cover' (I put the term in quotes because the actual amount the insurance pays the pharmacy is NOT the 'you saved $xx.xx' number printed on the receipt). So you either go without Rx, take the one causing side effects, or fork over and take the 'right' one - great choices, thanks to socialized medicine. Some theories are that the statins only act potentiate vitamin D anyway (which would explain the reductions in cancer seen with statins, otherwise unexplained by the known HMG-CoA inhibition), but you can't just take loads of vitamin D without measuring levels - it can be toxic if you get too much.

[fordwannabe]

AJDM is a DR and I am just a nurse, but I agree with him. I have seen several people who have the same reactions you are describing on one statin and when switched to another it was better, maybe not 100% right, but better. Good luck. Tom

[rjohns94]

sorry for your pain. prayers up and I hope that you feel better soon

[redhawk]

Bullard,
I was on Lipitor several years ago and got extremely ill; liver enzymes went very high. The Dr. took me off statins immediately. Took me a full six months to fully recover and will never take another statin. I know of people who have had bad pain (muscular and joint) with statins. Medicines are good but some are not worth the side effects.

[J Miller]

Bullard4075,

Sorry to hear of your situation. Not a Dr, just an old guy fighting his own troubles.



Others:
Is there a site that tells which meds are statins? And what is a statin?

Joe

[Griff]

Bullard,

Prayers up. And hope the Doc can find the right medicine. I'm on a blood pressure med, my doc had given me one (same one & dosage he took) that caused vertigo... severe at times... finally changed to a generic, and viola, no more vertigo. No explanation, as the generic is supposedly the same medication without the "brand name".

Sometimes, in watching those medication commercials, I think the side effects sound worse than the ailment.

[Thunder50]

Dr. put me on Lipitor, and I started hurting within a week. Knees, ankles, elbows,fingers, ect. Went off it and felt better. Put me on Zetia and I am fine with 5mg, but 10 a day starts the aches.

[piller]

As a Pharmacist, I can tell you that there is something better to help heal the liver from the damage caused by the statin. Take an herb called Milk Thistle. It does more good to straighten out the liver enzymes than anything which I can dispense with a prescription. In addition, take more vitamin D and Co-Enzyme Q10. This combination will be more likely to help you recover, and swithching to a different statin drug should help. Unfortunately, there are some people who cannot take statins---even though the need is clearly there. This is a small number of people and it is unlikely you fit in. There are other medicines for lowering cholesterol--- Welchol, Tricor, Lopid---as examples. Work with both your Doctor and your Pharmacist and it is highly likely that you will be put back to where you ought to be soon. Since AJMD429 also has a Pharmacy degree, he is one of the few Doctors who has the background knowledge on medicines to get you taken care of by himself. The majority of us need two heads working together to get the problem solved.
If your Doctor or your Pharmacist either one refuses to work with the other, dump whichever is not willing to take help. Always use a Doctor and a Pharmacist who respect and work with each other as they can give each other information which is invaluable. Don't count out Nurses either. I have known many Nurses who talk to the patient before the Doctor gets in to the room, and the Nurses obtain information which often no one else does. The reason there are so many different degrees in the medical field is that most of us cannot do it all.

[Pete44ru]

Welcome to YOUR "Golden Years", Bullard !

EVERYONE hits their own "wall", sooner or later - then, "life comes at you fast".

I hit mine several years ago, when I turned 60, but my oldest daughter hit hers this Spring, when she turned 40.

YMMV, so don't let yourself get "down" about it.

.

[madman4570]

piller, Very well said!

[BigSky56]

Bullard, those aches are from being on the east side you need to come over the divide and get in the mountains you'll feel better. I hope you get it sorted out its miserable to not get good sleep. danny

[Bullard4075]

Monday evening.

Thanks all.
Last night and today is the best I've felt in weeks, some pain but nothing like the last two weeks.
I kid you not at times I could not hold up a hardbound book to waist level.
I was tested (blood test) for muscle and liver damage - no damage- among others and all came back good.
My (and doctors) first thought was a tick bite but things overall didn't add up.
My job (Air Traffic Control) requires a flight physical equal to a Airline Pilots so I am on very good terms with my Flight Surgeon who also happens to be my family doctor and friend.

AJMD and Piller : Tomorrow morning I am on a quest for Milk Thistle,Co-Enzyme Q10 and Vitamin D

Danny: I plan to visit the better part of the state here shortly, I'll buy the beer.

And if I'm going to hit a "wall" at 54 I hope it's not a very big wall .

To all who responded ........... Thanks again.

I'll keep you updated a bit to those who are interested.
Bullard

[mescalero1]

I hit a wall at 54, a very good doctor and his WONDERFUL staff made it better.
Deleted as uneducated medical advice.

[kimwcook]

Hope things only get better from here on out. Those walls suck. Been playing with it off and on for about the last four years, since I hit 50.

[mescalero1]

Kim,
For you, stress is going to be the demon to beat.

[AJMD429]

If your Doctor or your Pharmacist either one refuses to work with the other, dump whichever is not willing to take help. Always use a Doctor and a Pharmacist who respect and work with each other as they can give each other information which is invaluable. Don't count out Nurses either. I have known many Nurses who talk to the patient before the Doctor gets in to the room, and the Nurses obtain information which often no one else does. The reason there are so many different degrees in the medical field is that most of us cannot do it all.

Super good advice. Each of us 'knows' but a slice of the 'big pie' - whether it be in health care, or whatever.

Also - don't forget niacin (has to be the nicotinic acid form, not the niacinamide or inositol forms - all three are sold as 'no flush' niacin, which is technically true, but ONLY the nicotinic acid form helps lipids). I've seen Niaspan (Rx trade name for nicotinic acid) used with other meds and actually plaque we could see on carotids GONE two years later. (Nothing like a carotid ultrasound to 'motivate' you by the way - seeing that plaque just waiting to break off and cause a stroke makes it REAL easy to quit cheating on your diet ) Niaspan will make you have hot flushes your wife will laugh about but it's "just your arteries opening up, dear "

Piller - I haven't used Milkthistle, but I've had patients who do - any idea what the active stuff in it is? (By the way if you don't subscribe to Alternative Medicine Alert, it is real cool stuff, but I've not seen Milkthistle written up in it).

[piller]

The active ingredient is called Silymarin. I learned of the Milk Thistle in Pharmacy School. It was the one and only natural herbal which was taught to us as being effective. I didn't keep my notes from most of my classes due to several moves. From what I remember, Silymarin simply triggers the liver to go into a regeneration phase. The liver can heal itself, as AJMD429 will agree, and if left alone without ingesting large amounts of fat, alcohol, et.c., it will heal up. The problem is that some folks need the medicine to reduce cholesterol or risk a heart attack or stroke. I have only seen 2 patients in the last 15 years who could not take even one of the statin drugs. Considering that I dispense about 200 to 300 prescriptions for them in a week, that is an incredibly low number. Their Doctors were able to find other ways around the problem, and their cholesterol levels are down. Keep working at it, and it sounds as if you are headed in the right direction.

[444Hal]

Three weeks after I went on Lipitor I started having a burning in my knees when I sat down . Three days later it turned into a cramping in my right leg so bad that I couldn’t keep my foot on the gas pedal while driving. I had to pound on my upper leg and break with my left foot just to relieve the pain. I couldn’t even sit at a table for more than a minute. Stop taking them, but for the next week it went from hip pain to crippling back pain, then back to hip pain for ten days. Back & spine x-rays didn’t show anything, but blood tests showed an elevation of some chemical, so we’re waiting a little to see if it goes away, then try again.

[mescalero1]

Why do these things get prescribed if they have these terrible effects?

[Rexster]

Prayer out for continued healing.

[piller]

Mescalero1, for most people the side effects are non-existent or mild. The unlucky people are the ones we hear about. Unfortunately, everything can have side effects. Tylenol can kill you if taken in too big of a dose, so can Aspirin, so can water. The reason that patients have to have their blood tested while on these medicines is not only to see if your liver is having trouble, but to see if your cholesterol is going down to where it should be. The routine blood tests for these medicines have nothing to do with a Doctor making money off you. One to two times a month I will have some patient who thinks that the Doctor does not need to check them as they feel fine, and they will skip an appointment and get cut off. These medicines save lives, but the reason they are prescription is that they cannot be used without proper supervision. Even Penicillin is still prescription because it probably couldn't be used properly by more than half the adult population. It seems to be a pain in the keister, but it is for our own good.

[mescalero1]

Oh,
When I had to get iron, I was one of 5% of the population that can't take it, had to do a synthetic version.

[Griff]

Mescalero1, for most people the side effects are non-existent or mild. The unlucky people are the ones we hear about. Unfortunately, everything can have side effects. Tylenol can kill you if taken in too big of a dose, so can Aspirin, so can water. The reason that patients have to have their blood tested while on these medicines is not only to see if your liver is having trouble, but to see if your cholesterol is going down to where it should be. The routine blood tests for these medicines have nothing to do with a Doctor making money off you. One to two times a month I will have some patient who thinks that the Doctor does not need to check them as they feel fine, and they will skip an appointment and get cut off. These medicines save lives, but the reason they are prescription is that they cannot be used without proper supervision. Even Penicillin is still prescription because it probably couldn't be used properly by more than half the adult population. It seems to be a pain in the keister, but it is for our own good.

I take Atenolol for my BP... I asked my doc how long would I need to take it? His answer: "how long do you wanna live?" Kinda put it in perspective.

[mescalero1]

I guess!!!!

[Old Time Hunter]

Hit the wall five-six years ago, just as I was hit'n fifty. Same thing, collapsed a small arterial capillary on the right ventrical. Total cholestrol was less than 165, triglycerides were the highest though. They stuck a stent in there and put me on Atenolol like Griff along with Zocor, I decided to quit smoking at that time. Doc said to quit my three nights a week basketball league and take up a sit'n sport, I figured knitting is not my style, so I just went shooting more often. Can't figure out how I gained 40 lbs since the wall hit, then again, my diet went down from two Big Macs to one, plus a cheeseburger on the side. So I guess it's my fault I don't want to live on 1500 calorie a day diet, or eat stuff that food eats as the primary source of my meals. Still on the Atenolol, low dose (1/2 tablet) anyways and $4 from Wally-World, got off the Zocor and buy the generic statin for $7 at the same place. Total cholstrol is now 135 and my trigycerides are in the "good" zone, blood pressure has dropped a little, down to 60-65 over 90-100 whereas it used to be always hoovering in the 75 over 110 range. Doc says that's not my problem though, he says I have some kind of problem with my arteries, the inner liner tends to seperate from the outer when my metabolism goes up so they don't want me getting excited with adrenaline flowing. That Zocor made my legs hurt after a ten mile hike though.

[66GTO]

That Zocor made my legs hurt after a ten mile hike though.

My legs would hurt to after a ten mile hike, but Zocor would have nothing to do with it!

I have been on Zocor for at least 15 years with no problems and it keeps my cholesterol under control (and I still eat what I want to, much to the chagrin of my wife who thinks it is not fair!)

[AJMD429]

Mescalero1, for most people the side effects are non-existent or mild. The unlucky people are the ones we hear about. Unfortunately, everything can have side effects.

Don't forget that the side effect of NOT taking a medication - even if you're only 'moderate risk' - may mean that you have a 10-20% chance of a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years. That's vs. maybe a 1 in 10,000 chance of something that bad happening as a side effect of taking the medication.