Statin Drugs: Are They Helping or Harming?

I am not a doctor. I'm not even sure I could handle the daily stresses that doctors face. Medical information is forever changing. Today's "safe" drug is tomorrow's nightmare. This leads me to cholesterol medications, many are taking them to lower their blood cholesterol. I wonder if perhaps it is time for the medical profession to sit back and take a much closer look at these drugs.

Let me start by saying that I have never taking any Statin drug. I have, however, watched someone very close to me , my mother, use Lipitor. What follows is her journey down this rather nighmarish path. Everyone will experience their own unique story, but as I've watched her experience, it quite simply scares me.

Almost one year ago, my mom went in for a routine physical. At that time, her doctor announced that her cholesterol levels had increased since she went through menopause. Her once normal total cholesterol level of 162 had increased to 238. For that reason, her doctor told her to start dieting. My mom dropped 30 pounds getting to her ideal weight. Focused her diet mainly on salmon, chicken breast, and loads of salads. She starts her morning with a bowl of oatmeal, some flax seed added, a cup of coffee, and a cup of orange juice. For lunch, she regularly just brings a tossed green salad with some chicken meat. She grew up in England, her father was a fisherman, so she loves all seafoods, salmon she eats regularly. These are all recommended foods. She went back two months later for another check and her cholesterol levels were exactly the same. Her doctor decided to put her on a low dose of Lipitor. Two months later, her cholesterol levels were now at 263. She was stunned, and her doctor advised her to take the maximum dosage.

Here is where the problems started. Now on Lipitor, her memory became foggy from time to time. She would be at work and suddenly forget how to process a bounced check, something she had done thousands of times before. This started to concern her and she asked her doctor who said it was a side effect of the drug and not to worry. Next, her sciatic nerve began to ache constantly. It progressed to the point where she could barely stand for more than ten minutes, sitting was no better, only lying down with a pillow tucked between her knees offered any relief. Again, her doctor said it is a side effect of Lipitor and that she could take a couple aspirin followed by a Tylenol to relieve the pain. At her next check, her cholesterol had risen to 289. It was obvious that the drug was worsening the problem. Finally, that next check revealed that her liver was starting to show signs of damage, another disturbing side effect.

Against her doctor's advise, my mom stopped taking the Lipitor. Within a week, she was the number of "foggy brain" episodes decreased. Her cholesterol level slowly started dropping as well. At her last check, it was down to 254. Her liver test had improved. This has been rather disturbing to everyone. If Lipitor is supposed to be the miracle cure for high cholesterol and millions are now taking it, why have the drug companies not taken a closer look at the problems and side effects?

It will be a year in a month or so, while her sciatica still bothers her two or three days a week for a brief moment, it is no where near as severe as it was while she is on Lipitor. In reality, she stopped using the drug and everything she'd experienced, including higher cholesterol levels while on the drug, improved. Every day, the side effects she endured continue to improve. My brothers and I have done our research and have learned that she is certainly not alone. Hundreds of Statin drug users have experienced muscle pain and weakness, memory loss, numbness to the extremities, and other troublesome symptoms.

Again, I'm not a doctor, but after my mother's experience, it makes me wonder just how much Statin drugs help. Are they potentially causing more harm than good?