Really Pissed Off!

If anyone was wondering why RPO has been silent for the past two months, it’s due to my toxic reaction to statin drugs for elevated levels of cholesterol. For the past four months, or more, I’ve been suffering from a toxic reaction to Simvastatin, the generic form of Zocor. It took three doctors to diagnose it, as when you get old as dirt at my age, they kiss you off by telling you its arthritis. By the time I was diagnosed, I could barely walk and the pain in both my shoulder and arms was unbearable! One little pill that I was taking for 10 years turned out to be the cause of this suffering! And guess what…..It’s the most popular drug on the market and prescribed for more people than any other drug!

Check any list of the most prescribed drugs and the winner is…..Lipitor! Pfizer, the manufacturer of this drug has earned $12.9 Billion on their super-statin, which outsells any of the competition for more than twice the amount! The cost to Americans without health insurance is $182.46 for 50 pills at Costco, one of the least expensive pharmacies in the USA. The cost at the Canada Drug Center for 60 pills is $80.00! The lease expensive amount for 60 pills is $48.00 from Online Pharmacies of Canada! My favorite, Zocor, originally made by Merck and now available in a generic form came in at #10. The clock is running out on Pfizer, as it soon will be generic, but you can be certain that some pharmaceutical company will come up with n new drug to capture the high cost, as Lipitor has made Pfizer very wealthy. And why not…….Lipitor has been the Number 1 drug sold in the US since 2003!! The pharmaceutical companies have been able to sell most physicians to prescribe these drugs, not only for patients who suffer high cholesterol, but to those who are borderline, and that includes most of their sales. We’ve been sold a bill of goods that if you have or may have some ailment, condition, etc that might endanger your health, take a pill! How about this one? One in four children in the US is on chronic medication. Forty-five million are on medication for asthma. Twenty-four million are on for ACHD and another ten million are on anti-depressants! That’s just kids! At lease Twenty million people in the US take a statin drug and it is expected the Twenty-five million more will soon be on one! In other words, don’t follow the medication, follow the money!

What happened to me is called statin myopathy, which causes the muscle tissue to break down and if left untreated, may result in liver damage due to protein called myoglobin. It began in my legs and traveled first to by right shoulder and arm, then finally to my left shoulder and arm. I could feel it travel and actually see my muscles in my arms twitch. After stopping the medication, it took me nearly three months for the pain to go away. However, in its wake, it left me with damaged and weakened muscles and tendons, including both rotator cuffs. A cortisone shot in both allowed me to begin Physical Therapy and to try to regain my strength. Some statistics indicated that at least 20 percent of all patients will experience this side effect, but I believe that the number is considerably higher. There is a long list of other side effects with statin drugs and if you are taking one, you should read the material given to you when you receive your first prescription, and be aware of them. I had taken them for over ten years and I was under the impression that this reaction happened to patients who were placed on statin drugs for the first time, or took it for less than three months. I was wrong!

So what have I learned from all of this? No longer able to take statin drugs, I now have to do what I had been doing for a long time before I was prescribed them. That’s diet, exercise and loose weight for starters. There is nothing new there except common sense and that goes for most people who are taking them! Other options are to try alternative treatment, such as niacin, omega 3 fatty supplements and herbal supplements. What can you learn from this article? Beware of the pharmaceutical industry and their desire to medicate as many people as possible. They are especially targeting anyone over the age of 55, who watches television from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM as they are the prime audience of nightly news programs. Count how many ads for drugs are aired over that period, which may likely afflict that age group! It runs anywhere from Cholesterol to Restless Leg Syndrome! In 2006, they spent nearly $5 Billion dollars on advertising and actually spend more on marketing that on research and development! We’ve been sold a bill of goods that a pill can cure anything and you can continue on your merry way, without changing your lifestyle, which probably sucks! If medication is needed and it is proven by fact and your physician to help your particular condition, than take it. If it is a quick fix or a convenient way of dealing with your problem, consider all forms of treatment, and always read what the die effects are. You do not want to end up like me!!