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Statin Users Beware

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riobison

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Last Dec 2011 I had written about my pain from herniated disks, the results from a broken pelvis in 2001 as well as theatre knees (patellofemoral syndrome) and not being able to fly any more.

I had been medicating with 200 to 400 mgs of Celebrex once or twice a day or up to 1200 mg of ibuprofen once or twice a day on an average of 6 days a week just to function.

Well on my own after some reading and encouragement from my sister who is a nurse, I quit the Crestor.

Wow what a difference in my life. Within a week, I only needed to take pain relief once or twice a week and sometimes only a couple of times a month at reduced dosage of 800 mg of ibuprofen or 200 to 300 mg of Celebrex Never twice a day. In addition, for the 1st time in many many yrs I can sleep on my side without my shoulders killing me.

The pain in my back and my knee is 80+% better. It's still there of course but my days are more comfortable, I can hit the gym 5 days a week with more enthusiasm and strength and I'm back flying and can sit in the RV4 for 2 hrs at a stretch. Of course with the help from an Oregon Aero seat that was molded for me.

So if anyone out there is taking Statins and your joints and muscles are killing you. It may not all be the so called aches and pains from aging. Take a close look at your meds.

I have started taking Centrum Cardio and it seems to be working. Maybe not as good as the Crestor but none of the negative side effects. I will give it a few months to work and see what happens.

Tim
 
Statins can cause unacceptable muscle aches in some patients.

Statins will protect you from and postpone your upcoming heart attack or stroke.

Centrum cardio I suspect has some sort of statement on the bottle like "This product has not been evaluated by the FDA. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."

No doubt quality of life is an issue. But muscle aches are very unlikely to affect your medical.

Best that everyone talk to their doctor before changing a medication regimin.



Maxwell Duke MD FWIW Family Practice and not an FAA examiner.
 
Quality of life is a big issue. Due to the pain, I was not able to function properly at work and I was ready to quit my job and come home.

With the pain in my lumbar, it was impossible to sit for more than 20 mins at a time. The knee was not much better. The fix for back was to lie down and the knee was to get out of the car or plane and stretch it after 20 mins.

In short I had my self grounded as I knew my limits.

The side effects from all of the Celebrex and the Ibuprofen will kill you as well.

Based on what I'm seeing on the Centrum Cardio, it's working.

I was out of the Country in South America and sometimes we have to make these decisions on our own. After I was back in Canada I consulted with my Dr, he fully supported me with my decisions, and he recommended the Centrum.
 
statins

riobison,

I too had a lot of pain with the statin that my doctor prescribed for me. It got to the point that I dreaded anything physical. He changed my statin to another brand and it worked OK for a while but eventually caused muscle and joint pain too. He took me off the second one and prescribed another. It has been working well for over three years. I have no pain at all and my blood profile is great. Maybe if you tried a different statin you could find one that will work for you. I'm a firm believer in statins.......life is a day to day gamble I guess. I hope it works out for you.
 
Me too.
First statin gave a lot of muscle pain. My doc changed me to a different one. Good for now (been a year). An internet search shows about a dozen to choose from.

I'm not a doc, nor play one on TV and I slept at home, not in a Holiday Inn. :D
 
Good Posts!!!

I am happily surprised that one of the moderators hasn't removed these posts as "they are not RV related".

I think that medical posts like this one would be a good addition to the VAF Forums - we can all learn.

Thanks, moderators, for letting this one continue.
 
I prefer an all natural method to reducing Cholesterol but it is more work and a major life change to do it. Most people are not up to it but I may be the only one that does not like putting chemicals and drugs in my body. I also do not like making the drug companies rich.
 
Yes, thanks for letting this continue.
If I had not made the change I would not have bought my RV 4 and I would not be flying and probably not working.
Thanks again
Tim
 
RV6_flyer said:
I prefer an all natural method to reducing Cholesterol but it is more work and a major life change to do it. Most people are not up to it but I may be the only one that does not like putting chemicals and drugs in my body. I also do not like making the drug companies rich.
Click to expand...

And for some of us diet and exercise simply doesn't get the job done. When I went on Zocor 8 years ago I was on Active Duty and a paratrooper so I was in pretty good shape and exercised a lot (the last part qualifies for understatement of the year) and I watched what I ate and I still couldn't bring my LDL down. I went on statins and bingo problem solved.

I agree with Maxwell that it's best to consult with your Doc before doing anything.
 
I as well have eaten properly, the occasional drink like once a month at the most and exercised my entire life. 2 1/2 hrs a day for 7 days a week to where it was causing problems in my personnel life. Maybe all of this to the point of obsessiveness at least until my late 40's........................

My BP has always been what they call "pre hypertension" and my LDL has always been high. For some of us it is genetics in one form or another.

Another Statin is an option but I will give the Centrum Cardio a fair chance for 6 months.
 
This is what is in Centrum Cardio, and about how it works....or at least, the wiki overview starting point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytosterol#Cholesterol_lowering

I've never had a problem with Cholesterol on even a bad diet -- but my better half has. For other reasons she became Vegan, and we also eat tons of garlic (garlic soup with two full bulbs, anyone?) because it's tasty. Last check she's back in the healthy range -- where she wasn't when otherwise more active and in her 20's.

Mainly I've found, we're all different. :)
 
Phytosterols

riobison said:
I will give the Centrum Cardio a fair chance for 6 months.
Click to expand...

The active ingredient in Centrum Cardio is phytosterols, plus a few vitamins. Phytosterols supposedly absorb cholesterol in the gut, not allowing it to be pass into the blood stream. They may give a 20-30 point drop in cholesterol level. The UC Berkeley Newsletter says that phytosterols are more effective in older people. Costco sells phytosterol-containing Cholest-Off over the counter, for a very reasonable price, but you may need to take 3-4 pills per day. Health claims for phytosterols are approved by the FDA. Some margerines contain phytosterols, but they are relatively expensive and contain only small amounts.
Leland
 
Adding a Medical Forum

The suggestion to add a medical Forum is a great one. I have gone thru the SI process a few times. There is a lot to learn and I have found it near impossible to get the necessary answers from the FAA web site. AOPA has a great forum called Medical Matters. It is supported by many knowledgeable doctors in particular Dr. Bruce. The forum and Dr Bruce's help made my SI a reality.

I strongly support the idea of a Medical Forum on Van's.

Starbird
 
Stabird said:
The suggestion to add a medical Forum is a great one. I have gone thru the SI process a few times. There is a lot to learn and I have found it near impossible to get the necessary answers from the FAA web site. AOPA has a great forum called Medical Matters. It is supported by many knowledgeable doctors in particular Dr. Bruce. The forum and Dr Bruce's help made my SI a reality.

I strongly support the idea of a Medical Forum on Van's.

Starbird
Click to expand...

Dr. Bruce may be a great doc but he lost a bunch of us on VAF after he lead the worst trashing of the RV community that has ever occurred on a forum. It was really ugly and he lost credibility with a lot of pilots.

The problem with a medical forum are the same issues that have resulted in medical threads being closed on VAF in the past. Some individuals tout their medical beliefs with religious/political fervor and it soon descends into personal attacks. It is also very difficult to verify the accuracy of claims made on medical forums. When posters start advocating abandoning drug therapy prescribed by a family specialist we have departed from our frivolous pursuit of an aviation hobby.

Doug is the forum meister and he may very well decide to open a medical forum. But he has also been around the block a couple of times and may decide his sandbox is best for just RV discussions. I would support that position.
 
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Sam Buchanan said:
Dr. Bruce may be a great doc but he lost a bunch of us on VAF after he lead the worst trashing of the RV community that has ever occurred on a forum. It was really ugly and he lost credibility with a lot of pilots.

The problem with a medical forum are the same issues that have resulted in medical threads being closed on VAF in the past. Some individuals tout their medical beliefs with religious/political fervor and it soon descends into personal attacks. It is also very difficult to verify the accuracy of claims made on medical forums. When posters start advocating abandoning drug therapy prescribed by a family specialist we have departed from our frivolous pursuit of an aviation hobby.

Doug is the forum meister and he may very well decide to open a medical forum. But he has also been around the block a couple of times and may decide his sandbox is best for just RV discussions. I would support that position.
Click to expand...

Sam beat me to the punch and said it better to boot! Let's keep it about RV's.
 
Concur with David and Sam--no need for a medical forum. Although Dr. Bruce has issues with the RV community, he still has a wealth of medical knowledge as an AME that is worth putting up with him IMO. Besides there's a huge amount of medical info already resident in the AOPA forum that would take years to replicate here. Also you can post anonymously and without being registered to the forum if you feel the need.
 
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E. D. Eliot said:
I am happily surprised that one of the moderators hasn't removed these posts as "they are not RV related".

I think that medical posts like this one would be a good addition to the VAF Forums - we can all learn.

Thanks, moderators, for letting this one continue.
Click to expand...


I agree that all information is good. This site is about RV's.

A few clicks away there are thousands of sites that are commited to medical info.
 
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