Fri, Jul-30-04, 07:08
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Senior Member
Posts: 2,320
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/151/145
BF:
Progress: 85%
Location: Adirondack Mountains, NY
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I completely agree. There are serious side effects from statins, like:
The most common side effects of statins are:
Nausea
Diarrhea
Constipation
Muscle aching
Occasionally, statin drugs cause elevated levels of liver enzymes. If the increase is mild, you typically can continue taking the drug. If the increase is severe, you may need to discontinue it. Usually, liver abnormalities due to statins improve after you stop taking the drugs. Certain other cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as gemfibrozil (Lopid) and niacin, increase the risk of liver toxicity when taken with statins. Because liver problems may develop without causing symptoms, people who take statins should have their liver function tested periodically.
Statins also may cause muscle pain and tenderness due to statin myopathy. In severe cases, muscle cells break down (rhabdomyolysis) and release the protein myoglobin into the blood. Excretion of myoglobin into the urine can impair kidney function and lead to kidney failure. Certain drugs when taken with statins increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis. These include:
Gemfibrozil (Lopid)
Erythromycin (Erythrocin)
Clarithromycin (Biaxin)
Antifungals, such as ketoconazole and itraconazole
Nefazodone (Serzone)
Cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral)
Niacin
If you take statins and have new muscle aching or tenderness, consult with your doctor. Also, avoid taking statins with grapefruit juice, which alters your body's metabolism of these drugs.
And they want us to stop low carbing until "the long term effects" are known! Apparently it's the unknown that really bothers them. KNOWING a drug will cause serious problems...well, now they know!
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