The Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven't Been Told About Cholesterol-Lowering Medication: Part 7
By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD
Dizziness
Dizziness is commonly associated with statin use, possibly due to pressure-lowering effects. One woman reported dizziness one half hour after taking Pravachol. When she stopped taking it, the dizziness cleared up. Blood pressure lowering has been reported with several statins in published studies.
According to Dr. Golumb, who notes that dizziness is a common adverse effect, the elderly may be particularly sensitive to drops in blood pressure.
Cognitive Impairment
The November 2003 issue of Smart Money describes the case of Mike Hope, owner of a successful ophthalmologic supply company: "There's an awkward silence when you ask Mike Hope his age. He doesn't change the subject or stammer, or make a silly joke about how he stopped counting at 21. He simply doesn't remember. Ten seconds pass. Then 20. Finally an answer comes to him. 'I'm 56,' he says. Close, but not quite. 'I will be 56 this year.' Later, if you happen to ask him about the book he's reading, you'll hit another roadblock. He can't recall the title, the author or the plot."
Statin use since 1998 has caused his speech and memory to fade. He was forced to close his business and went on Social Security 10 years early.
Things improved when he discontinued Lipitor in 2002, but he is far from complete recovery--he still cannot sustain a conversation. What Lipitor did was turn Mike Hope into an old man when he was in the prime of life. Cases like Mike's have shown up in the medical literature as well.
An article in Pharmacotherapy, December 2003, for example, reports two cases of cognitive impairment associated with Lipitor and Zocor. Both patients suffered progressive cognitive decline that reversed completely within a month after discontinuation of the statins.
A study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh showed that patients treated with statins for six months compared poorly with patients on a placebo in solving complex mazes, psychomotor skills and memory tests.
Dr. Golomb has found that 15 percent of statin patients develop some cognitive side effects. The most harrowing involve global transient amnesia--complete memory loss for a brief or lengthy period--described by former astronaut Duane Graveline in his book Lipitor: Thief of Memory.
Sufferers report baffling incidents involving complete loss of memory--arriving at a store and not remembering why they are there, unable to remember their name or the names of their loved ones, unable to find their way home in the car. These episodes occur suddenly and disappear just as suddenly.
Graveline points out that we are all at risk when the general public is taking statins--do you want to be in an airplane when your pilot develops statin-induced amnesia? While the pharmaceutical industry denies that statins can cause amnesia, memory loss has shown up in several statin trials.
In a trial involving 2,502 subjects, amnesia occurred in seven receiving Lipitor; amnesia also occurred in two of 742 subjects during comparative trials with other statins. In addition, "abnormal thinking" was reported in four of the 2,502 clinical trial subjects.
The total recorded side effects was therefore 0.5 percent; a figure that likely under-represents the true frequency since memory loss was not specifically studied in these trials.
Click to Read Part 8
Before starting any self treatment Dr. Grisanti recommends that you consider consulting with a doctor trained in functional medicine. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com to find doctors thoroughly trained in functional medicine
Functional medicine embraces the totality of the regulatory functions of the body. It encompasses all of the biophysical, biochemical, enzymatic, endocrine, immunological, and bioenergetic regulatory capacities.
Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.
