Lipitor and memory

[nancylebov]

Lipitor, Thief of Memory is by Duane Graveline, an ex-astronaut and doctor, who found that Lipitor was giving him transient global amnesia.

The short version is that he's found Lipitor to be a very dangerous, useless drug, and cholesterol to be a crucial part of human metabolism.

This isn't something I've studied, but Graveline and those who've commented favorably on his book at amazon don't seem to be crackpots. The widespread prescription of a drug in the hopes of lowering one factor without concern for general health strikes me as consistent with how medicine is generally practiced.

Comments

[supergee.livejournal.com]

I don't remember any problems like that. No, seriously. (I'm taking a different statin now, which likewise doesn't seem to be having an effect.)

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear.

[redbird]

I suspect that this is the sort of "side effect" that may affect 1 in 100,000 or 1 in 10, but not everyone on the medication. (Having a partner who seems to be unusually vulnerable to negative side effects of almost everything has me perhaps more aware of this than average--there are medications that I've gotten good results from, that do bad things to her.)

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

That was my thought, too, and it would fit the pattern Nancy comments on, where generalizations are used against individual experiences.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

The pattern I'm talking about isn't just generalizations vs. individual experience, it's ill-founded generalizations against individual experiences.

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

Er, yeah, so I intended to suggest. (The problem of valid generalizations as denial tool is related but distinct.)

[thette.livejournal.com]

Yes, cholesterol is a crucial part of the human metabolism. You couldn't get cell membranes or a whole large class of hormones without them. Nevertheless, an increase in the blood content of LDL shows an excess of cholesterol, and it can lead to heart disease, and lowering the LDL protects against heart disease.

I've read a review of The Cholesterol Wars by Daniel Steinberg, from the opposite point of view, and it sounds like an interesting book.

From what you describe, Graveline sounds like one of the people who wants to ban birth control pills because they cause rare side effects in a few women in 10 000.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

If you check Graveline's website, you'll see that he offers a book with:

* Reported statin drug side effects
* Probable cause mechanism for these side effects
* Alternative therapies to statin drugs
* Groups that should continue with their statin therapy
* Dosing recommendations for maximum cardiovascular benefit with lowest side effect profile
* Groups for which no benefit has been shown in clinical trials for taking statins
* Warning signs of statin drug side effects

so he wants them used much more carefully, not banned.

[thette.livejournal.com]

The more I read, the more convinced I am that he's either a kook or one of the monomanic people with a Grand Unifying Theory of Medicine. (Much like the Intestinal Flora pediatrician at the hospital where I'll start working, who blames modern living and an unbalanced intestinal flora for everything from ADHD to diabetes.) I don't believe people who have such theories.

All drugs have side effects. Some are common and most of the common ones are pretty harmless in the long run. Some are rare and serious. Some are downright idiosyncratic and entirely unpredictable (most allergic reactions, for example). Most of these side effects are described in the prescription information, no need for extra books about it.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

http://nancylebov.livejournal.com/159773.html

Drug testing and reporting is much less thorough and complete than you seem to think.

Statins and CoQ10 Depletion

[(Anonymous)]

Dr Graveline is not a kook. Just because he and many others don't agree with the medical community at large (about cholesterol) doesn't mean he's out in left field. Yes, most drugs do have adverse effects but the 1 or 2% AE's for statins reported by the drug companies is not accurate. Another issue is that Dr's are not required to report ADR's to FDA MedWatch, they just switch their patients to a different statin.

Merck holds two patents for a statin drug (Mevacor) and CoQ10 but have never produced such a product and no one else can because they hold the patent. Merck has known all along that all statin drugs block the body's ability to metabolize CoQ10, as essential enzyme needed by every cell in our body, especially our heart and brain. CoQ10 depletion is the reason for muscle pain, muscle degeneration and cognitive decline, just to name a few.

If you are taking a statin drug and not supplementing with CoQ10, you can and will most likely experience side effects from statins, especially at higher doses.

And I wouldn't call drugs like Baycol (100+ deaths) "pretty harmless in the long run". Baycol was withdrawn from the market in August 2001. Many are still experiencing permanent damage from Baycol.

Neither cognitive decline nor transient global amnesia are remotely mentioned in the DPI (drug package insert) but there are many documented cases and my husband is one of them.

Fran

[cathyr19355.livejournal.com]

Lipitor is one of the statins, isn't it? They tend to have nasty side effects. I'm taking a drug called WelChol (don't remember the technical name) that supposedly works by absorbing excess bile acid produced by the liver (which is necessary for the body to make cholesterol). I've had good cholesterol results with no nasty problems.