Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

0

My mother had been taking statins for years and was Type 2 diabetic. She was having extreme muscle pains that made lifting hurt terribly. She runs a daycare so not lifting children up is a major occupational problem. I'm still working on getting her to eat better, I have more work to do there.

But I convinced her to stop her statins and the muscle pains went away. And her mental forgetfulness has gotten better. However her family practice doc is livid that she stopped the statins, told her the pains were just part of getting old anyway. He seems to have made her a personal project to convince her to restart statins, the doc brought has scheduled and rescheduled her to return and get bloodwork done hoping the results will convince her to restart the statins.

Funny thing happened there, her tests now show she is no longer a type II diabetic and doesn't need her insulin. The doc doesn't believe it has to do with her diet change.

Anyway, here is her most recent bloodwork results:

Hemoglobin A1C Rapid: 6.0

Cholesterol: 204 (mg/dl) Tri: 116 (mg/dl) HDL: 45 (mg/dl) Chol/HDL ratio: 4.5 LDL calculated: 136 (mg/dl) Length of fast: 12.0

Aspartate Aminotransferase: 21 (U/L)

Sodium: 140 Potassium: 3.5 Choloride: 104 Bicarbonate: 27

Creatinine Serum: 0.9

What can I tell my mom about these results to help particularly with the cholesterol results?

flag	asked Jul 28 at 4:02 Anondson 4,053●4●16

Crowlover · Answer 1 · 2012-07-28 18:24:34Z UTC

4

Any doctor who would keep a patient on a statin who is having serious muscle pain is a not a good doctor.

Please get her on Ubiquinol (bio-available CoQ10) immediately since statins are known to deplete CoQ. Diet alone will not be enough, she will need a supplement, IMO.

400mg twice a day for a while then 200mg twice a day.

Also, her A1C is still higher than it should be for optimal health. Continued dietary changes will improve this even more.

answered Jul 28 at 18:24

Crowlover
4,443●5●12

1

I convinced her to get on CoQ 10 recently. She noticed changes very quickly. I hope she still takes the stuff even though she's off the statin now, I had read that a body's production of it drops off with age anyway. Right now I'm looking for doctors in the Twin Cities she could consider because this guy, while very nice, is on a mission to save her with statins. – Anondson Jul 28 at 19:37

So hard. Yes I hope she stays on the CoQ given her use of statins and, I agree, for her general health (then again I think everyone living in the toxic world needs to be on it. I have my 3 kids, in their 20s on it too!). Its important that if she is taking regular CoQ10 that she take it with a meal that contains fat. It works best that way. Ubiquinol is better according to some studies but I was on Coq taken with meals and it worked wonders for me too. So glad she has you!! – Crowlover Jul 28 at 19:42

George Brodie · Answer 2 · 2012-07-28 05:05:55Z UTC

3

Find a new doctor, or at least a second opinion.

answered Jul 28 at 5:05

George Brodie
2,027●1●9

	yes, find a new doctor! – Lori Jul 28 at 5:13
	Working on that too! – Anondson Jul 28 at 12:00

MiMintzer · Answer 3 · 2012-07-28 18:19:26Z UTC

2

Muscle pain caused by rhabdomyolysis is a potentially serious side effect from statin use. It can lead to kidney failure. Your mother should be evaluated for this and in the meantime stay off the statins. I'd also encourage her to find a different doctor.

answered Jul 28 at 18:19

MiMintzer
5,023●1●3●14

	Is that kind of damage permanent? – Anondson Jul 28 at 19:40
	I think it depends on the severity and length time of symptoms. If your mother's pain resolved after stopping her statin then she probably is ok. Still, if the pain was due to rhabdomyolysis then she shouldn't be on statins and shame on her doctor for not considering that possibility. – MiMintzer Jul 28 at 20:58

Harfatum · Answer 4 · 2012-07-28 04:34:55Z UTC

Her lipids are decent. HDL could be higher and Trigs could be lower, but there's really not much to worry about there. Total cholesterol and mortality tend to have a somewhat weak U-curve relationship, with highest mortality at very low levels, and elevated mortality at levels above 250 or so. But as we know, there's much more to a lipid profile than just total cholesterol. Although that test wasn't a "good" test like LipoProfile, we still have enough information to believe that she's doing all right.

Marie · Answer 5 · 2012-07-28 20:56:48Z UTC

Along with all the other comments, don't forget to document your experience w/before and after lab results and the doctor's insistence via phone calls or emails that statins are necessary. Send a detailed letter to his/her supervisor, the accounting office, and anyone else who you can think of...This isn't just about health care it is about a system that creates costs AND prevents healing.

Help me hack my mother’s blood work results, her doc is on a mission to get her back on statins

5 Answers