Something substantive about statins and muscle damage
In light of the new guidelines for statin use, and the fact that more people have muscle damage from taking statins than previously thought, it seems like there ought to be better information about preventing, monitoring, and responding to statin-caused muscle damage.
I want to stop right here and acknowledge that statins are good drugs in general. The incidence of side effects, even given that it is much higher than we can really know because of people like me who don't put together their muscle symptoms and statin use, is pretty low compared to the health and longevity effects. They're cheap for what they do, too. I was really reluctant to consider the statin connection when I was figuring out my leg pains. Which probably means that I had years more pain and possibly more permanent damage than necessary. But I'd say to a person who is taking a statin now, that if you develop leg pain that doesn't go away, be suspicious. Do a trial of stopping the medicine. Since the medicine is a long-term, cumulative preventive therapy, you can afford to stop it for a couple-few months and see what happens.
Meanwhile, I have finally found one article that is neither a hysterical, credulous hatchet job nor a dismissive, sweep-it-under-the-rug condescension. It's a little old - 2005 - but it is aimed at physical therapists and it is measured, intelligent, and informative. Here it is.
Unfortunately, what I have not found is an assessment of what happens to people who do get longer-lasting effects, and what is the best strategy for retraining the muscles.
One interesting thing in the article that I thought could have been better explained was the advice to tell patients not to use pain relievers for this type of pain. Since no pain reliever seems to have any effect whatever on my leg pain, I don't take any of them anyway, but I wonder why we're not supposed to. It was in a way almost as much of a relief to give up on pain relievers as it was frustrating, because I already take so many medications (a risk factor for muscle damage with statins, as it turns out: my only other one is being female). Although, these days, most of my medications are actually nutrients. Which sounds good until you think about it.
On a related front, the dog also seems to need anti-inflammatories. Ah well.
I want to stop right here and acknowledge that statins are good drugs in general. The incidence of side effects, even given that it is much higher than we can really know because of people like me who don't put together their muscle symptoms and statin use, is pretty low compared to the health and longevity effects. They're cheap for what they do, too. I was really reluctant to consider the statin connection when I was figuring out my leg pains. Which probably means that I had years more pain and possibly more permanent damage than necessary. But I'd say to a person who is taking a statin now, that if you develop leg pain that doesn't go away, be suspicious. Do a trial of stopping the medicine. Since the medicine is a long-term, cumulative preventive therapy, you can afford to stop it for a couple-few months and see what happens.
Meanwhile, I have finally found one article that is neither a hysterical, credulous hatchet job nor a dismissive, sweep-it-under-the-rug condescension. It's a little old - 2005 - but it is aimed at physical therapists and it is measured, intelligent, and informative. Here it is.
Unfortunately, what I have not found is an assessment of what happens to people who do get longer-lasting effects, and what is the best strategy for retraining the muscles.
One interesting thing in the article that I thought could have been better explained was the advice to tell patients not to use pain relievers for this type of pain. Since no pain reliever seems to have any effect whatever on my leg pain, I don't take any of them anyway, but I wonder why we're not supposed to. It was in a way almost as much of a relief to give up on pain relievers as it was frustrating, because I already take so many medications (a risk factor for muscle damage with statins, as it turns out: my only other one is being female). Although, these days, most of my medications are actually nutrients. Which sounds good until you think about it.
On a related front, the dog also seems to need anti-inflammatories. Ah well.