skipped beats

[peter s]

Two weeks on Lipitor 80 mg and I am getting lots of skipped beats especially after walking, while eating, and lying down. I know cause and effect is tricky but there do seem to be a lot of anecdotal reports about palipitations and statins. Would the mechanism here be similar to that which causes muscle problems, i.e. CoQ10 depletion?

[epfleger]

Hi Peter:

Wow. 80 mg.!! I think your body is telling you that Lipitor is not good. It's poison.

I suffer from palpitations, shortness of breath and fatique. I was on 10 mg. for 8 months. Stopped in February 08, and my side effects have barely abated.

I am not a doctor, but I would seriously consider finding an alternative to statins. As you will glean from this board, there is very little (if any) evidence that lower cholesterol translates into decreased mortality.

In any event, get yourself on Co Q10 stat! I take 100 mg of Ubiquinol (search Quinogel Active Q from Biosolv (www.vitasearch.com)). Acetyl L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid may also help stave off muscle and cognitive problems.

Use this board to give yourself an education on the biochemistry of statins. You'll find a wealth of info on mevalonate pathways and mitochondrial damage.

Good luck,

Ed

[peter s]

Thank you for the reply. I have been taking 100 mg of ubiquinol daily. I think my initial strategy may be to see if I can get the dr. to reduce the dose (which does seem ridiculously high given that pre MI my cholesterol wasn't really that high). I am reluctant to alienate him only two weeks after the MI, and in fairness (though I guess it's irrelevant) he did save my life.

[Brian C.]

Hello Peter, show your doctor this diagram...

*http://www.talkingstatins.com/page14/page13/files/page13_1.png

and ask him to explain how your body can tolerate the downregulation of protein prenylation, dolichol and heme a in addition to the drop in ubiquinol commensurate with reduction in cholesterol.

He won't be able to of course because he hasn't been told.

I would not hesitate to go to a doctor with a broken leg....


Brian.