I finally feel validated!

[Laura's Babies]

Some time back I posted about my experience on the cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor. Theses are the threads.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ura%27s+Babies

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ura%27s+Babies

What a differance a few years makes! They are now coming out with the stories on the news of everything I have suffered with because of this drug, even now admitting that only people who have had heart attacks should be taking these drugs.Doctors do not listen when you complain about the side effects and brush you off and mine sure thought I was crazy when I took myself off of it and brushed me off yet again when I reminded him of complaining about these sudden ailments I started having to him. They all say "talk to your doctor" and then they brush you off when you try.

CBS Early Show link, scroll down tot he video's and find the one "Statins may weaken tendons"
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-man...rc=rss_cbsnews

To update on my own situation. Upon quitting the drug. I had what I called a "Honeymoon" period. The head fog cleared up right away and so did the memory problems, the energy I had was unbelievable after hardly being able to drag myself out of bed for so long. Life was GREAT! Then the assult started. Each morning I woke up I had a joint that hurt so bad it was useless. It moved from one joint to another, none were spared. Then it landed in my right shoulder where it has stayed. Treatment with medication was no good because I have suddenly turned into Miss Side Effect Queen and I could not take their drugs. Mri showed that overnight I had come down with arthritis, tendonitis, burscitis and have a bone supr in that shoulder where there has never been a hint of any problem before. They all asked what I did to injure that shoulder and looked at me like I was absoultely crazy when I told them "I took Lipitor!". Tendon damage is a well hidden side effect of statin drugs.

I am also having female problems due to a lack of blood flow to my female parts inside. Treatment? Another drug...

Today, on CBS Early Show, they had the story about a study that was done in France of 96 people on statin drugs that had tendon damage. It HAS come out also that it does cause memory loss, joint pain and just about all the side effects I complained about. I am still waiting for the one about that odd lumpy, painful swelling on both of my feet in the same spots on both feets that I saw 4 doctors about that couldn't explaine it or treat it.

WHEN are those doctors going to quit believeing the people who profit from the sale of those drugs and believe the people who are experiencing the effects of these drugs.

I feel like I have been cheated out of growing old the way nature intended and have to question every new ailment as natural or drug damage. We have no way of knowing exactly what damage is permenant except waiting it out as we age. The truth is finally coming out so maybe others can be spared so that is a good thing.

[Catty1]

Laura - I had an email for you but did not know you could access email from where you were.

Will send it to you after work today.

BTW - it has been in the news that the large pharma companies spend more on marketing than they do on R&D!

My good friend who emailed you has been off Lipitor for a year without telling her doc (yet) - and her cholesterol levels are great.

[Rachel]

LB, I have to agree with you about feeling validated when I heard about this study. I reread my post in that last thread you referenced. Since that time I had tried several other statins. The joint and muscle pains would start up again after being on the medication for 2 - 3 months and get so bad I would have to stop. I couldn't even tolerate the red yeast rice when I took a dosage enough to make a difference in my readings.

At one point I also had vision problems which (though it took quite a while) eventually also went away. I certainly didn't make the connection with statins until I got better and remembered telling the eye doctor about recently having had to quit Lipitor because of the pains.

I've recently read that tomoto products are supposed to be helpful in bring down cholesterol and also barley. Of course we all know about oatmeal.

[Laura's Babies]

Catty1, I am home in my living room. Got off yesterday! Send it on!

Rachel- I knew better than taking another one. I did my homework when researching what was wrong with me.. Others who tried a different brand had the same problems, some had them come back a lot worse! Big Pharma has made fools out of the doctors and made them look like idiots. I am waiting for the day that happens and hoping they will learn their lessons about believing those who profit from selling those new drugs. They better start listening to the ones who are actually taking those drugs!

[Catty1]

Laura, I am still searching my email for it....yaargh!

But here is a link that might interest everyone here:

http://www.thincs.org/unpublic.htm

Letters to the Editor on statins, etc - some not published.

[Laura's Babies]

Catty, that last PFD thing wouldn't work for me.. SHUCKS! Letters to the editor published or unpublished would be very interesting to read.

They have kept this quiet for a long time somehow and nobody would touch anything negative about statin drugs. CBS is the first one to break these stories, or at least the ones I have seen so I tip my hat to CBS! It will save a lot of misery for a lot of people!

I remembered when they first came out and it was for old people with heart problems. No long term studies had been done on them... suddenly, they want everybody on them and were working on getting children on them. CHILDREN! ARRRRG!

[Catty1]

Laura - the link in my post is to the page with links to ALL the letters to the editor.

The PDF one - do you have Adobe Reader? It's free. The latest version available is 8 or so.

Maybe you need to upgrade yours - head over to www.adobe.com.

Anyone else having trouble with the PDF?

[Laura's Babies]

I have Adobe Reader and have never had any trouble with it before.. Puzzeler! I will keep trying.

[Catty1]

Laura - save the PDF to your computer, then try to open it.

I can send it by email if that doesn't work.

[Rachel]

I've been intending to participate in this but as of yet haven't gotten around to it.

https://www.statineffects.com/

[Laura's Babies]

Rachel- I did that a long time ago and it is very detailed and I think it will and has helped a lot of people. They had me do it several more times after doing the first one to make sure the answers were consistant and wanted me to do it again but I was on the boat and the time expired before I got home. I wish they would do a follow up for the problems to see how they get..better/worse or any new problems that you have now. They need to follow us for at least 5 to 10 years and see what happens to us.

Time before last, before Lipitor and all the other prior times that I had my colonscopy done, there were never a polyup or a sign of one. 5 years on statins and I had FIVE precancerous polyups. At first I thought my doctor had mislabled the bottles and sent someone elses off in my name and I kept asking myself, "WHAT changed? How come I even have polyups now?".... Then it hit me.. STATIN DRUGS! No folks, I am not grasping at straws, there has been some mentions of cancer to statin drugs. I will never know for sure will I?

Catty1, that did not work either...

[Catty1]

Laura (and others) - I found the link I was looking for. It wasn't an email after all.

http://www.drrathhealthalliance.com/...php?print=true

And Laura, I'll email you that PDF.

[Laura's Babies]

WHOA! Now that was really something to read and a lot to think about. I have to say, it was one of the most interesting I have read yet.. Wonder how come I have missed seeing that in all the researching I have done? How/where did you find this?

We have been called crazy and people like him have been bashed and bashed for speaking out.. Lordy, I am so glad to see all this coming out after having people think I am crazy (my own doctor for one) for believing as I have over all this. It is going to take a long time to unbrainwash everybody on this snake oil that was called "a miracle"..

[Grace]

WHOA! Now that was really something to read and a lot to think about. I have to say, it was one of the most interesting I have read yet.. Wonder how come I have missed seeing that in all the researching I have done? How/where did you find this?

We have been called crazy and people like him have been bashed and bashed for speaking out.. Lordy, I am so glad to see all this coming out after having people think I am crazy (my own doctor for one) for believing as I have over all this. It is going to take a long time to unbrainwash everybody on this snake oil that was called "a miracle"..

Please - it is not snake oil for everyone. I have taken Lipitor for 10 years - with not a single side effect. I also have Diabetes T2, and it is imperative that my LDL be under 100. The only way I have been able to ds this, short of starvation, is with Lipitor.

As a nurse, I am well aware of the side effects of all drugs. And I also know that many people react badly to drugs that cause no ill effects to others. For instance, I can take ASA - if my husband takes it, he goes into anaphylactic shock.

I'm happy that your symptoms have been explained, and your doctor should certainly have suspected the cause long ago. But don't label all statins evil - 'cause they aren't.

[Laura's Babies]

My grudge with them are that they have hidden and ignored the side effects and doctor after doctor brushes us off when we complain about the new mysteriuos ailments we suddenly have out of the blue. Then when you take yourself off of them they tell you "if you have quit taking it and still have that pain, then it was not the drug causing it". I saw 4 different doctors for the odd painful swelling on my feet and not a one of them offered and explanation on what it was or how to stop it from spreading. One just brushed me off with 'OH, that is a old injury!". I asked him "Don't you think I would remember injuring myself on both feet in the same places?"... You should see the look they give me when they ask me how I hurt my shoulder and I tell them " I took statin drugs!". They have been so brainwashed that they will not believe anything negative about these so called miracle drugs.

My grudge is that they were trying to put the whole world on them and even wanting to put children on them. The were putting people who's numbers were not that much higher than this "one size fits all" numbers on them. They were telling people "If you don't take this you are going to have a heart attack and DIE!". The makers of the drug admit that these drugs will NOT prevent heart attack or strokes. Crestor had that on their own TV commercials and Lipitor had it on their own web sight for awhile.

PLEASE go watch this that was on the CBS news in Jan 2007.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...mpid=1732#ccmm