I was Wrong About Red Yeast Rice

Some time ago I wrote an article about how to control high cholesterol without taking statin drugs. Statins cause horrible muscle pain for me, and after taking a number of them for several months (one at a time), each has left me just about disabled. I always get better months after quitting them, but it takes a while and I've read that one never completely recovers from such muscle damage. After trying virtually all of them on the market, my doctor finally suggested I just take "several natural remedies," since any single natural remedy didn't help, either.

So I started taking Red Yeast Rice, Policosanol, and Omega 3, and my cholesterol level went down. This was probably three or four years ago. I wrote the article on AC extolling the virtues of Red Yeast Rice and some other products. Now I need to retract some of what I said. Let me go back a few years and tell what led up to this.

In November of '06, after having horrible back and hip pain for years, I finally found the right doctor, who said my hip was worn out, and replaced it. When I recovered from that, I felt great, and was climbing mountains and doing practically anything I wanted to do.

This continued till September of '08, when I was taking Cipro for a UTI. I was also climbing up and down a ladder repairing tape cracks in our 10' ceilings. Within a few days, my legs started hurting so severely that my husband forbade me to get back on the ladder, and he took over the job and finished it, plus painting three large rooms.

This was really hard on both of us, because I don't mind doing such work, while he really dislikes it. During this time I suddenly broke out in welts and had unbelievable itching. This was diagnosed as Stephens-Johnson Syndrome, caused by an allergy to Cipro, and I had to take prednisone for several months for that. The SJS damaged not only my skin, but the lining of my stomach as well.

I decided during this time that my second hip had gone bad, and when I was past the SJS, went to my surgeon as soon as I was able. He said it just didn't look that bad, but did an MRI and said more damage showed up on the MRI than on X-rays. He said he could go ahead and replace it, or I could wait. I felt that if I was physically able to tolerate the surgery, I should go ahead with it, as at my age, other physical problems might develop that would make it risky for me to have the surgery later on.

The surgery went well, but I just didn't get back on my feet like I did with the first one. I realized I was feeling very old, lazy, and hurting all over all the time. I chalked it up to fibromyalgia, my old nemesis, and hoped for better days. Weight started piling up on me, partly because my stomach hurts all the time and eating soothes it, and partly because I can't get enough vigorous exercise to burn many calories.

This problem continued to intensify, and suddenly I had very few articles of clothing I could get into, and I was very short-winded. My skin felt tight, and most days I was swollen somewhere. One day my feet and ankles would be swollen, the next day my face would be swollen, etc. I also realized I was back to picking up my legs and lifting them into the car as I had had to do when taking statins.

Earlier this week I decided I had to break down and go to the doctor. He ran a few tests and said I was definitely retaining fluid, but did not have a UTI and he couldn't tell by listening to my chest that I had any fluid on my lungs. I had also gained at least 15 pounds in the last few months. He put me on water pills and said to come back in two weeks, when he would investigate the possibility of some kind of kidney damage. He also might send me to a heart specialist.

That night we heard on TV about a controversy going on over Red Yeast Rice. Seems at least one statin is actually made from a component of Red Yeast Rice, and Red Yeast Rice can cause all the side effects that statins do. Then today a well-known doctor wrote about it in his newspaper column.

The thing that is so exasperating is that I thought I had researched the product thoroughly before I ever started taking it. Now I read that manufacturers of the product had been told years ago to remove that component from it, but apparently some failed to do so, and now we're being warned about it.

So of course I've taken my last Red Yeast Rice capsule. I'm almost positive it is the reason for my muscle problems, and most likely it has damaged my kidneys. I've never been inclined to retain water, so something is going on. I can only hope and pray that whatever damage has been done is reversible. I feel that muscle pain caused by it may have made the hip pain so much worse that I got in a hurry to get the hip replaced. But I'm glad to have that behind me, as it would have had to be done eventually.

From what I've read, the Cipro may have also caused a lot of the problems I'm having, in addition fo SJS.

The thing about taking "natural" remedies as opposed to statins, etc., is that when a doctor puts you on a statin drug, he frequently checks your liver and kidney function to be sure the drug is not damaging them. With natural remedies, you don't have that assurance, unless you ask your doctor to make the tests. It never occurred to me that that would be necessary.

I just want to apologize for perhaps causing someone who might not have done so otherwise, to try Red Yeast Rice. I hope if that's the case, you're one of the ones who can tolerate it. But even if you can, you might be better off taking statins so you'll be closely monitored.