The Truth About Statins

BusinessWeek And CBS News Examine Whether Statins Are Over-Prescribed

(CBS)  A new class of prescription drugs burst on to the scene over the last 15 years called statins designed to lower cholesterol. They're now taken by more than 18 million americans. And statins are a $21 billion industry. But do all the people taking them really need to be? CBS News teamed up with BusinessWeek magazine to investigate.

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As an architect, David Mullican specializes in unique designs for beachfront homes. So when his doctor told him to take lipitor to treat his high cholesterol, he had a better idea.

"I didn't want to do a prescription medicine so I was going to try to figure out a way around it," Mullican said. "I took the prescription home with me but I never filled it."

Instead, he chose to lower cholesterol the hard way - through diet and exercise, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports.

Our national obsession with cholesterol numbers has led to us to depend on statins as the easy way to fight heart disease - and why not?

It's hard to ignore ads. One advertisement is for Lipitor, the most popular statin on the market. But if you look into where this number - the 36 percent reduction in heart attacks comes from - you'll find out that benefit may not be as dramatic as you think.

The study in the ad split people into two groups. For over three years, one group took Lipitor, the other took a placebo. For every 100 people in the placebo group, there were three heart attacks; in the Lipitor group there were two. That means that 100 people had to take Lipitor for more than three years to spare just one person from a heart attack.

Statins do one thing extremely well. They lower cholesterol - especially bad cholesterol - and the science tells us there's one group of people who definitely should be taking it.

"In people with known heart disease, this has become a standard of care, that you really need to be on a statin," said Chris Cannon.

But what about the millions of people with elevated cholesterol who are taking statins but have no heart disease or other risk factors? Here's where the controversy heats up.

"We have no evidence that taking a cholesterol-lowering medication like a statin will prevent them from getting heart disease," said Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Nabel oversaw government guidelines that say don't consider statins in patients with low risk factors unless their bad cholesterol is over 160. That hasn't stopped the statin craze.

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FYI: How to lower cholesterol without medication.
BusinessWeek: Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?

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Even though guidelines say don't use statins in patients with low risk factors unless their bad cholesterol goes over 160, in the real world, many doctors prescribe statins anyway.

"We have been perhaps driven too quickly into this sort of assumption and this model, that it's all about the cholesterol number and if we can just lower that number, everything is better," Dr. Howard Brody said.

But statins have side effects and cost money. What's more, they may give a false sense of security. Statin users may be tempted to neglect other risk factors, like high blood pressure, lack of exercise, and poor diet.

"Doesn't a guy like me want to believe that I can have a greasy cheese burger with fries, extra fries, and then if I swallow this pill everything will be great," Brody said.

David Mullican's approach paid off. He lost 30 pounds and lowered his cholesterol, without a pill.

[jacobmarley3]

There''s far more dangerous information that you aren''t be told about statins.

Merck''s 1992 Mevacor Statin/CoQ10 patent

http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5082650.PN.&OS=PN/5082650&RS=PN/5082650

"Any pharmacological treatment, any drug treatment such as the clinical administration of MEVACOR to reduce hypercholesterolemia which reduces blood levels of CoQ.sub.10 and thereby reduces the energy coupling and other roles of CoQ.sub.10 can be clinically detrimental such as to cardiac function and even life itself."

[jacobmarley3]

CoQ10 helps relieve statin induced muscle pain

http://www.healthsentinel.com/org_news.php?event=org_news_print_list_item&id=124

"Merck Pharmaceuticals has been sitting on a patent for combining Lovastatin and CoQ10 in the same capsule for 15 years, and I can''t understand why they don''t launch this product. I hope that as more studies show that higher dose statins, used over extended periods, are associated with greater side effects that include carcinogenicity [ability of a substance to cause cancer] and cardiomyopathy [weakening of the heart muscle], Merck will feel political pressure to act on these patents and create a product combining CoQ10 and Lovastatin at last."

[jacobmarley3]

Statin Drugs - A Critical Review of the Risk/Benefit Clinical Research
Joel M. Kauffman, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry Emeritus

http://www.laleva.org/eng/2004/04/statin_drugs_a_critical_review_of_the_riskbenefit_clinical_research.html

"Besides cancer, the other side effects of statins listed were incomplete, and should have included constipation, myalgia, myopathy, polyneuropathy, liver and kidney damage, congestive heart failure and amnesia. Side-effects are usually said to affect 2-6% of patients. In fact, a recent meta-analysis noted side-effects in 20% of patients above the placebo rate (65% vs. 45%), and no change whatever in the all-cause death rate for atorvastatin. The PROSPER trial on pravastatin showed no change in the all-cause death rate, and increased cancer and stroke rates. Statins are commonly used at a dose to lower TC to 160 mg/dL, a level noted in the report of a NHLBI
conference to be associated with higher cancer rates.... Statins decrease the body''s production of the essential coenzyme Q-10 and dolichol, among other
things. Low Q-10 levels are strongly associated with congestive heart failure."

[jacobmarley3]

Gene responsible for statin-induced muscle pain identified
The Harvard University Gazette

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/11.29/11-statinpain.html

"Statins, the popular class of drugs used to lower cholesterol, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in developed countries. But for some patients, accompanying side effects of muscle weakness and pain become chronic problems and, in rare cases, can escalate to debilitating and even
life-threatening damage."

[jacobmarley3]

The Statin Scam Marches On
By Byron J. Richards, CCN
http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron44.htm

"Considering that tens of millions of Americans now take statins to lower cholesterol, the following headline was conspicuously absent from the major media this month: "Statins Found to Turn On Gene that Causes Muscle Damage." It''s now a fact of science; a new study shows that taking statins destroys your muscle to a greater or lesser degree. And let''s not forget that the heart is a muscle."

----------------------------------------------------
Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven''t Been Told About Popular Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines
Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/statin.html

[jacobmarley3]

Statin Adverse Effects: Implications for the Elderly
The Geriatric Times
by Beatrice A. Golomb, M.D., Ph.D.

http://www.cmellc.com/geriatrictimes/g040618.html

------------------------------
Docs often write off patient side-effect concerns
Source: Drug Safety, 2007; 30: 669-75

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20479490/

"In a survey of 650 patients, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, who reported having adverse drug reactions, many said their physicians denied that the drug could be connected to their symptoms, Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb of the University of California at San Diego and her colleagues found."

[mjennys-2009]

The one think that was forgotten is statin drugs affect the heart muscle and one should take a cq10. The cq-10 strengthens the heart muscle where the statin drug breaks down the heart

[clovisbuford]

Not that I am all that fond of the drug industry ,but seems to me jacob marley is on a roll on this coq 10 thing . Is he a nutritional supplement salesman , rival drug product? His posts almost seem of the rabid ron paul fan genre , flood the comments section ,because you obviously have the answer and eeryone else should bask in your brilliance.

[swwils]

The doc''s all get money from the pharmacy companies for prescribing these meds right!

[prinzowhales]

Just statins? Dr. Leonard Horowitz has a tape of the leading vaccination scientists of the day admitting that they knew the cancer-causing virus, SV40 was in the polio vaccines...that they brought AIDS into the country and are essentially the scum of the earth... If it were not for the calming effect of the Fluoride Americans swill in their water, dental care products and psychotropic medications the trees would probably already be decorated with the dirtbags from Big Pharma and their trained monkeys at the FDA.

The first formulation of Vioxx contained CoQ10... they took it out...show d*mn good and well they knew about the depletion problem and decided tens of thousand dead Americans would be good for the undertaking business...''help "grow" the economy...''

[godofredo29]

One word: rhadomyolysis. That "rare but serious side effect" they talk about is not that rare, especially for guys.

[godofredo29]

rhabdomyolysis

[j62kd4b]

Statins do affect women as frequently as men - muscle deterioration of the leg muscles is very common - when I realized my muscle decline, my doctor to THIS DAY says I imagined that I could not LIFT MY LEG or foot - my HDL which was to benefit from 5 different statins over 5 months, LOWERED from 41 to 31 - 3 days after THROWING AWAY ALL MEDS MY HDL was 37 and 6 MONTHS LATER I REGAINED FULL USE OF MY LEGS - yes, I used a Sports Club & swim frequently I am not a STAYABED!

[jsilver2th]

As a former Lipitor user, I believe for me it was a painful mistake, like all "medications" read the labels, warnings, and side effects.

[grazinggoat]

The doc''''s all get money from the pharmacy companies for prescribing these meds right!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by swwils at 08:25 PM : Jan 17, 2008

-I doubt it! Specialists (Speakers) do, in order to influence the General Practitioners. Obviously Pharma do clinical research, with Placebo in place. When a clinical research has been proven positive (with the active ingredient-medication) in the first significant perido of time, the study is stopped pretending harm to be avoided to those patients taking the placebo and they are given the active medication.

The initail conception of the study often needs a certain time before significant differences in trends are observed. What if heart medication were similar to antibiotics (which are developed resistence by germs), may develop a tolerence to disease, past this period of time... heart diseases being a continuous process in which the heart functions worsen with time and ageing, despite medications!

[estabwary]

If you really want some eye opening info, look up what effect statins have on the CQ10 levels of muscle. Your heart is a muscle. IMO, that''s the real untold story.

[lf1952]

There is no question that (at least some) statins reduce "cardiovascular events" - heart attack and stroke. There is very solid evidence that every diabetic fits into the "high risk" category. It is important to realize that statins show clear protection, but drugs such at Zetia and Tricor only have been shown to change cholesterol numbers and everyone "thought" that would make the same changes in outcomes that statins had - data says they don''t so far.
Most patients will muscle pain from statins can take OTC Co-enzyme Q10 ~150-200mg and get all the benefit of statin without the side effect.
The anti-inflammatory benefit of statins is likely to be the main thing that provides protection, NOT the absolute cholesterol number change. Many patients who have never had a heart attack, but have diabetes, increased carotid intimal thickness or other "markers" for coronary disease NEED to be on statin. Be sure YOUR statin has OUTCOME data that it makes plaques shrink and that it reduces heart attacks and strokes. It could be actively dangerous to stop a statin - TALK to your health care provider before even considering doing so. BTW, contrary to one post, physicians do NOT make money on drugs they prescribe.

[jerr11]

Statin drugs are a scam.

Check out "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskov. I got my copy on Amazon.

[nevadan2]

Another great read: "The Great Cholesterol Con" by Anthony Colpo (be carefule as there is another lesser book with the same title. Colpo reviews the very same published papers that are quoted to promote the cholesterol con and finds that very often the actual data/results don''t match the "Conclusion" section. It seems that very few in the medical profession have time to read anything but the "Conclusion". His book is a couple of years newer than the other good book recommended above by Uffe Ravnskov who writes the introduction to this book.

[nevadan2]

re: Why not just NOT eat saturated fats? posted by George 2221

In "The Great Cholesterol Con" Colpo presents very clear data that shows that saturated fats have never been a problem - polyunsaturated fats of the Omega 6 variety and transfats are a couple of fat culprits and these come mostly from grain based oils (e.g. corn, safflower, sunflower, soy seed oil) which are widely used in the fast food industry.

This book also discusses what the actual known causes of heart disease are: stress, high blood pressure, lack of exercise, overweight, high insulin levels, etc. Most of these can be corrected without any help from Big Pharma.

[lf1952]

Clarification to my earlier post:
If Statins give you muscle pain, try taking Co-Q10 IN ADDITION TO THE STATIN to get the benefit.
This entire issue is media created hype. READ the data, not what people looking to get their name in the news say, which may not be what you think they said. Example: There is now clear evidence that people with heart failure also do better on statins - these people may, or may not, have coronary artery disease. We know if a patient has "acute coronary syndrome" they will do better WITH a statin, than without, REGARDLESS of their cholesterol.
Eating a low fat diet and doing aerobic exercise most days WILL lower LDL and raise HDL. A statin should NEVER, EVER be prescribed in PLACE of these. A statin should be prescribed IN ADDITION TO these. We now know that narrowing in the carotid and coronary arteries are IMPROVED by achieving LDL 60. Almost no one can do this without a statin. PLEASE SEE YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE YOU STOP A STATIN!! This is as close to a cure for vascular disease as we have!!
If you have ANY vascular disease and are NOT on a statin, PLEASE see a doctor. If you are a diabetic and not on a statin, SEE YOUR DOCTOR.
These are VERY safe and effective drugs, regardless of the hype. I have prescribed statins since they were still research drugs - I have never, ever seen a dangerous side effect except in ONE heart transplant patient - one of the first ever treated with statins - and he did fine with treatment.

[lawyertom1]

Part 1 of 2. The issue is more complex than many comments indicate. Yes, you want to lower saturated fat in your diet. However, if you do not simultaneously lower total calories, the excess calories (from whatever source) will be stored as fat, thus causing problems. Exercise is good because it improves cardio-vascular health and burns calories. It also pays to increase fiber intake because fiber helps to capture bile (which is transporting various fats as it moves through the GI tract) and flush out the associated fats. Besides these measures, you should also consider taking niacin, a vitamin, but under a doctor''s supervision. The levels of niacin that help with lipids can, in some folks, cause problems (e.g., liver). So, you need to have various blood analyses run to make sure that niacin is not causing one problem while assisting with addressing another. Taking Omega-3 rich fish oil is another potential benefitial step that may help. If, and only if, all of these measures fail, then you might want to consider statins or other lipid related drugs.

[lawyertom1]

Part 2 of 2. What concerns me is that a lot of folks are popping Rx in the hope that otherwise they do not have to change their seditary and fat-ingesting life style. Probably won''t do the trick. The low fat diet plus exercise provide so many other benefits that you should not think of them solely in terms of blood lipid related diseases. There is good, but not conclusive evidence, that you will help with stroke, dementia, cancer etc. etc. There is no free lunch (e.g., popping the statin), especially if you want to live a healthy, joyous, long-term life.

[broomxx]

To FloydZepp,

You are correct that Red Yeast Rice is effective in lowering cholesterol, since it contains lovastatin, which is the generic form of Mevacor. The problem is that it contains only about 1-2 mg of the drug per dose, whereas a dose of at least 20 to 40 mg is necessary to get the LDL cholesterol down enough to have a significant influence on risk. This has been demonstrated in numerous scientific studies. I realize that many laymen have an inherent fear and mistrust of prescription meds, but this is a case of simple misunderstanding. In order to get the benefit and risk reduction, you need to get the LDL level down to at least below 100, if not lower. Many people simply mistrust, but don''t really know what they are talking about. This is my field - I''m a cardiologist.

[bjmonihan]

Your first question should read "helps" avoid a heart attack, otherwise as it is written it sounds like those who maybe at risk all they need to do is take an aspirin and they''ll avoid one.

[juwboy]

The liver biosynthesises cholesterol as an intermediate in the production of hormones such as testosterone (male hormone), estrone (ovulation hormone) and progesterone (pregnancy hormone) as well as the bile acids which assist digestion by emulsifying fats.

Any interference with these vital biosynthetic pathways (the way statins work) cannot be free of harmful side-effects.

Doctors are businessmen first and Physicians second. The incentives from Big Pharma to push these poisoned statins on the public is relentless. It is a 21 Billion dollar business just in the U.S. That''s a lot of money to pay for mistakes. 18 million Americans are paying the price. The cholesterol myth is a money maker for these carpetbaggers.

[docpeter-2009]

RE: LawyerTom1 stated, "It also pays to increase fiber intake because fiber helps to capture bile (which is transporting various fats as it moves through the GI tract) and flush out the associated fats...Omega-3 rich fish oil is another potential benefitial step that may help." The problem here is that Omega-3 fish oil is also a "fat" I realize tha you are probably considering Omega-3 as a "good" fat, but I promise you high fiber diets don''t know the difference since they are not capable of independent thinking. Know your vitamins please. H2O soluble vitamns (Bs and C) should be taken without food with H2O only; fat soulble vitamins (A, D, E, K) should be taken with meals so they are transported, with bile, across the gut and into the system. And as an aside note you do need to absorb some fats from the diet as these are precursors to the production of many non-essential viatmins as well as hormones. I.E. Vitamin D is synthesis starts in the skin using light and cholesterol

[katsue615]

Most statins have two names. The commercial name such as Lipitor, Crestor,etc. The second name is a chemical name that chemist use to describe acurately the compounds that make up the prescription drug. The chemical name for statins is 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarl-coenzyme A reductase. Try googling that chemical name and you will get L-Carnitine deficiency. One of the symptoms for this deficiency is High Cholesterol. L-Carnitine is an essential ammon acid the body must have. High Cholesterol is not a disease, but a symptom that the body is not performing the way that it should. All doctors should know this. The next time your doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol ask him to make sure your body has sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. A deficiency in any one of these nutrients over a long period of time and you will start to develop diseases.

[drscareme]

A relative has very high cholesterol. Her memory is now shot...not sure if from wonder drug, but she can''t even remember what she had for lunch, eats all the time (in assisted living), etc. SO HOW is taking statins helping her? She has no cognitive function left so can''t make good food choices. Yet Dr. insists that this med is absolutely necessary for her.
Also, another med she takes has warning now NOT to be prescribed for elderly. Dr. says, oh no, dose is low so "probably" won''t be an issue (talking potential for heart attack and stroke) so keep taking it. Drs. now only know what the glossy flyer the BIG PHARMA rep handed them says...they apparently don''t study anymore. BIG PHARMA time and time again alters the results of studies and yet the american public blindly follows whatever their Drs. say to swallow.
I have predicted that in the next 5-10 years statins, as well as lots of anti-depressants, sleep aides, so-called bone-building drugs (another HUGE scam with dangerous, long term side effects) and other drugs will be off the market.
Why does it take so long for these harmful drugs to get the boot? The FDA DOES NOT work for the good of the public. The FDA gets huge amounts of $$$$$ from BIG PHARMA...so are they going to bite the hand that feeds them?

[drscareme]

Next big scam out there: GARDASIL
THis is to be Mercks big cash cow getting ready for their 48million dollar lawsuit on FARCE-A-MAX.

I wouldn''t give that vaccine to my dog!

[jacobmarley3]

Statins not only inhibit HMG-CoA reductase and CoQ10, but also squalene and pregnenolone. Both of these compounds are important precursors to cholesterol. Squalene a powerful anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer agent. Pregenenolone the precursor to all other hormones. Without pregnenolone there can be no human hormone production. This steroid and neurosteroid conversion is the very building blocks of human existence itself.

The dangers of inhibiting CoQ10 have already been established. According to Merck''s own 1992 patent, referenced in my last post, "administration of MEVACOR (statin) to reduce hypercholesterolemia which reduces blood levels of CoQ.sub.10 and thereby reduces the energy-coupling and other roles of CoQ.sub.10 can be clinically detrimental such as to cardiac function and even life itself."

Again, according to MERCK, the depletion of CoQ10 "can be CLINICALLY DETRIMENTAL SUCH AS TO CARDIAC FUNCTION AND EVEN LIFE ITSELF." Sixteen years after this patent was approved and there is still no statin black box recommendations concerning CoQ10 depletion, and no combination statin/CoQ10 drug on the market. This is a case bordering on certain criminal negligence.

[jacobmarley3]

The direct effect of pregnenolone depletion would be an inhibition of cytochrome P450. P450 acts as the body''s most VITAL component of oxidative and detoxifying metabolism. This in turn would increase liver toxicity and overall cell death. The cell''s own powerhouses (mitochondria) require pregnenolone and CoQ10 for proper function.

Again, CoQ10 is the very conversion source of the body''s (ATP) energy requirements. The heart requires VAST amounts of ATP for proper function. So let''s add congestive heart failure to our concerns. We already seen the recent study demonstrating an activation of the atrogen-1 gene by statins, which in turn produces muscle atrophy and wasting. What researchers fail to warn us about is how everyone possesses this atrogen-1 gene.

I haven''t even mentioned how important the HMG-CoA enzyme (or cholesterol itself) is for basic human life. It''s involved in almost function in the human body: energy, metabolism, immunity, hormonal activity, stress tolerance, and general brain function. In other words, statins could be deemed a pro-oxidant, general toxicant, carcinogen, general agent of mitochondrial dysfunction, and plain anti-life. That is just for starters.

Don''t believe me? Go back and click the LAST page and read the links provided by me. They are all from credible sources, doctors, chemists, medical journals and institutions etc.

Believe me and now realize you, or a loved one, suffer statin side-effects?

http://www.spacedoc.net/board

[jacobmarley3]

FloydZepp, you are correct. Canada is the only country to currently require a black box warning on statins. And guess what? I have it right here for your perusal.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4706/statinslx8.jpg

[suprsport68]

Statins hurt the majority of people. My mom was on them for 2 YEARS! She was always going to the dr telling him how bad she was hurting and falling. Finally after 2 long years they figured out she had that rare side effect where it hurts your muscles. She''s never recovered from it. It has ruined her joints, she can''t use her hands. She''s had two surgeries trying to fix her joints and muscles. Now she lives everyday in pain.

[antoniof123]

Big Pharma has our best interest at stake.

This is the way corporate American works and they are teaching the rest of the world why am I not surprised.

[mbburch06]

"All statins are bad... how DO you know that you have prevented an event that never happened?"

I don''t mind that people are ignorant on these sorts of issues, but try not to have such strong opinions while remaining in this state of ignorance!

It''s not that hard to show that statins SAVE LIVES. You take a group of 15,000 patients with high cholestorol. Give 1/2 of them Lipitor and the other 1/2 a placebo. See how many heart attacks and deaths occur in each group. The patients in the placebo group will be more likely to die, period. Thousands of studies have shown that statins work.

I agree that they are overprescribed, but statins have saved countless lives in this country.

Of course they have side effects; that is true for almost any medication. The question is always: do the benefits outweigh the side effects?

If you have high cholesterol, exercise and proper diet should always be the first line of treatment; however, if that still doesn''t get your LDL down to a safe level, medication is the next logical step. Yes there are side effects, but the side effect of not getting your high cholesterol under control is an increased risk of dying.

[JHauser203]

My doctor prescribed a statin as a precaution due to family history. All my "numbers" were OK. After about 4 months I realized that I was depressed, tired, listless. My whole personality changed. I stopped taking it just before a check up. My doc said to take Co Q 10. It didn''t help.
So, I just can''t take it. Anyone else have this problem?

[drscareme]

mbburch06: How many statins do YOU swallow a day?
I hope you never suffer these life altering side effects.
Talk about having your head in the sand!
Yes, we need to eat better, exercise more, watch our weight..but to think that a pill is magically going to cure one thing and over long term use not damage something else is total ignorance.
This is why Drs. and BIG PHARMA have done such a great job brainwashing folks into thinking these pills are "wonder" drugs...like VIOXX or ZELNORM...oh wait, those are pulled from the market. Too many folks were injured or died!
If you think the tests are not altered, results not slanted and all these drugs are safe, then where are all these 1000''s and 1000''s of folks getting these side effects from?
Why is it so hard to think that medicine has evolved to be about writing prescriptions, getting kickbacks and supporting the BIG PHARMA corporate giants. The FDA is NOT about protecting the little guy. It is about taking loads of contributions from BIG PHARMA''s and rubber stamping new MONEY MAKERS! NOT pills that cure...this is about ONE THING! PROFIT.
If there are millions and millions of dollars involved, people will DIE! Greed wins out over helping others.
Wake up!

[coke711]

my doctor has me on zocor 40mg i tablet per day after seening te news cast this morring about a class action law suite what do i do? keep taking this medicne or stop [e-mail]

[drscareme]

coke711: Wake up...look at the history of these "wonder" drugs...vioxx, zelnorm, baycor, etc.
We are being scammed...very creative marketing has brainwashed us into thinking there is a pill to fix it all! THERE IS NOT.
Enjoy life, learn to eat well, exercise and throw these poisions in the trash!
We need to send a message to BIG PHARMA that we aren''t going to be their guinea pigs anymore.
How do these corporate big-wigs sleep at night? Must use lunesta!

[drscareme]

coke711: check out www.spacedoc.com

good luck.
also: www.medications.com
and www.askapatient.com

see the side effects others have suffered from these meds.

[mbburch06]

DRSCAREME, I do not take statins because my LDL is fine; however, several of my family members take them, including my father who has been an M.D. for over 30 years. I suppose their heads are buried as well.

I am not defending the FDA -- they do nothing but waste taxpayer dollars and provide a false sense that every drug is 100% safe. That will never be the case.

I am defending the ability of statins to save lives. The compound atorvastatin (Lipitor) has been studied more than any other medication, even aspirin. If all of these studies have been simultaneously rigged, that is one hell of a conspiracy!

Just recently Pfizer was developing a new drug called torcetrapib that raises HDL; however, in Phase III clinical trials they learned that it did not lower the risk of heart attack / death. Pfizer cancelled the project and lost almost $1 billion in the process. If your conspiracy theories were true, Pfizer would have covered up the evidence and pushed torcetrapib onto the market anyway. It''s all about money, not efficacy, right?

Statins are used because mountains of SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE demonstrate that they SAVE LIVES.

There are definitely some side effects, but most people would rather live with side effects than die without them.

[jacobmarley3]

Coke711: Discontinuing Zocor, or statins in general, is for you and your doctor to decide. However, if you do make sure the dosage is tappered, slowly weening yourself off of the drug. HMG-CoA inhibitors are like a dam blocking the melavonate pathway that should be gradually removed. Doing otherwise could pose a danger.

[jacobmarley3]

Sorry for the typos.

[drscareme]

ALS like symptoms. That is just one wonderful benefit lipitor can add to your lifestyle. I think I''d rather take my chances with a heart attack.
Again I say, read: www.spacedoc.com

These drugs are NOT safe. Even if I believed that they are prevening anything, they are NOT safe...so should not be used.

Maybe people shoul dsign waivers saying they won''t sue when they end up with muscle issues, cant remember what they had for lunch, or are convined to a wheelchair (but have low cholesterol). I guess from what I have seen first-hand, you''d have to hold a gun to my head and I still would not swallow this garbage.
I''ll bet my former pastor who is now convined to a wheelchair, can hardly speak and can only slightly move his arms wishes he read about the dangers (real, serious ones, not RARE!) before going on Lipitor.
I hope this *** is banned soon. I hope this investigation opens up the whole statin can of worms and it all gets pulled.
People will be better off. Look at the studies...so few heart attacks were supposedly prevented compared to the placebo. NOT worth the risks in my warped mind.

[mbburch06]

The flu vaccine has about a one in a million chance of death or paralysis. I suppose we should yank that off the market too.

ANY MEDICAL TREATMENT CAN HAVE ADVERSE EFFECTS. A story like "I know this one guy who started taking Zocor and died the next week" is not scientific evidence. Try reading some of the thousands of controlled, scientific studies on these medications and then form an opinion.

[jacobmarley3]

I recommend everyone contemplating clinical statin administration read Dr. Graveline''s book regarding side-effects. You should find it being sold at most bookstores, including Amazon.com etc. Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a known side-effect of statin drugs. He also has recently been diagnosed with Lou Gerhig''s disease.

As you''ll notice, Dr. Graveline himself has fairly impressive credentials.

Lipitor: Thief of Memory
by Dr. Duane Graveline
ISBN-10: 1424301629
ISBN-13: 978-1424301621
"When Dr. Duane Graveline, former astronaut, aerospace medical research scientist, NASA flight surgeon, and family doctor is given Lipitor to lower his cholesterol, he temporarily loses his short-term memory. Urged a year later to resume the drug at half dose, he lost both short-term and retrograde memory and was finally diagnosed in a hospital ER as having transient global amnesia (TGA). This is the "scary, appealingly written" account of his search for answers that his medical community didn''t have -- the how and why of his traumatic experience, and what needs to be done to prevent the devastating side effects to body and mind from the escalating use of the statin drugs."

[greeneyes222]

My husband takes statins following bypass surgery. So he''s one of the people who should. Still, he''s convinced he''s playing a game of Russian roulette, whereby he trades lower cholesterol for nasty side effects. (Before anyone gives advice, he''s already thin, on a restricted diet, and physically active.)

That being said, however, it''s appalling that drugs like these are approved by the FDA with so little regard to the side effects and effects of long term use. The word of the FDA is absolutely no comfort to patients, since they have long since become nothing but a marketing arm for pharmaceutical companies.

The perversion of government agencies by big business has been coming on for a long time, we''re just all starting to be hit in the face by how far they''ve fallen. FDA, EPA, FCC, doesn''t matter, they''ve all quit doing the jobs they were created for.

[fstop100]

The FDA is controlled by the drug companies...