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“Hello, I was on Lipitor for three years; complained of hand and stomach cramps to my doctor and stayed on the drug; finally went to see a neurologist who promptly diagnosed me with ALS and gave me three to nine months to live. My sense is that Lipitor affects the myelin sheath -- is this correct?“
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“I have a scheduled appt. with a neurologist. I found out my Creatinine Kinase was 386 on March 31, 2005 and was taken off Lipitor. I asked for my old records and found that it was at 237 in February of 2004 and was taking Lipitor for 14Mo (20mg per day). With all the research I have done, I feel this was the cause, however, my doctor said he does not know what is wrong with me. Since January 2004, MS was ruled out and but I have lost fine motor skills and walk unsteady. Have weakness and loss of muscle in hands. I fell down the stairs last week. Do you think this could be from the statins and is there a cure? I work a physical job, need my income and I am only 55 yrs old. Please advise... Thank you.”
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“My mom has been on cholesterol medication for almost 15 years. She is only 48 years old. The medicine she has been on ranged from all different types of statin drugs. The last being Zocor and then a switch to Vytorin. She has always suffered from stomach problems and then the last couple years she has noticed muscle weakening in her hands and cramping. After vigorously exercising recently, the problems seemed to get worse. There is not much muscle left in her hands and she finds that her arms are very weak. Her muscles are easily tired and after a recent EMG she has noticed twitching throughout her body. She also seems to have slurring in her speech and difficulty writing. Basically the doctors are leaning towards ALS. I just have a hard time believing that this is the answer. Could it be possible that these really are side effects from the Statin Drugs?? Supposedly her EMG results were not great and the last doctor she saw seemed to think it was ALS. She has been off the statin drugs for 2 months now. Her symptoms are not any worse; they have pretty much stayed the same. I am so worried about her, but refuse to believe that she has a life threatening disease. I'm just trying to get my mom back.”
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“I have a preliminay diagnosis of ALS. I am a 57 year-old male and have been on Simvistatin (Zocor) for 12+ years at 60mg a day. I am a medically retired pilot. Last Thanksgiving I thought at first I had had a stroke but over time I realized that this was no stroke as muscle weakness and movement were getting worse. A CT scan ruled out stroke so they sent me to a neurologist and he has made the preliminary diagnosis. I have an MRI, EMG and Nerve velocity test coming up. I have stopped taking Zocor (gradually) and it seems that symptoms have leveled off. Maybe wishfull thinking but they are definately not progressing at the rate they were. I am not getting any better at this time but not getting worse as far as I can see.”
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“I am a 48 year-old woman. I have been on various statin drugs for 13 years. I have been on Zocor the most. About 2 years ago, the Dr. put me on Zocor and Zetia 20/10 mg. After a while, I started getting muscle cramps in my hands, legs, neck, and abdomen. I complained to the Dr. about it but he said to try and tolerate it because my numbers were so good. About a year ago, he switched me to Vytorin. After about a month or two, I noticed that my hands were getting weak---I had difficulty with buttons and zippers and tying. Upon starting the Vytorin, I also started a vigorous exercise routine of running 4 miles 3 to 4 times a week and doing a boot camp routine. I then I noticed I had trouble doing lateral lifts with my right arm. I thought I had a weight lifting injury and then I thought I had carpal tunnel. Went to see my Dr. who noticed I had muscle atrophy between my thumb and index finger on my right hand. Thank God I'm left-handed. He sent me to a neurologist who did all the tests, MRI, EMG, nerve, etc. After the EMG, I started twitching all over. I couldn't even sleep. The neuro said I was probably in the early stages of ALS. I have been off statins for about 4 mos now. I haven't gotten any worse for which I am grateful. Whenever I overdo physically, I pay for it. On my last visit to the neuro, he was surprised at how strong I still am. He still thinks I am in the early stages of ALS but then added that he wouldn't "bet the farm on it". This comment gave me hope.”