Life After Lipitor

[Guest guest]

Years before the public had heard anything about " toxic mold " , (I

know, because I asked) I had this fellow do some computer work for

me.

The place was a slammer and I wondered how anyone could work there.

When Doug fell apart and blamed it on lipitor, I contacted him and

told him all about my experience with mold.

He didn't believe a word of it. As far as he's concerned, he took

Lipitor and dropped like brick - and that is that.

Statins deplete COQ10 in people who are already dangerously low and

precipitate the descent into illness. Apparently, this statin

shifted depletion can be corrected in mold illness, if caught in

time and supplemented.

However, as I said, he didn't believe anything I said.

Not being a doctor, I have no particular credibility.

I just heard recently that he continues to decline, but is still

firmly convinced that the effect of Lipitor is the clue that he

needs to follow.

Oh well. At least I tried.

-

LIFE AFTER LIPITOR: Is Pfizer product a quick fix or dangerous drug?

Residents experience adverse reactions

(Article originally found in Tahoe Tribune)

By Siig, Tahoe World Staff

At first glance, Tahoe City resident Doug looks like he is

recovering from a stroke.

His speech is slurred, he has difficulty walking in a straight line,

and he can't sign his own name. By afternoon, he is so fatigued he

has to sit down for the rest of the day. When asked his age,

says he is 52. His wife Karla, standing nearby, corrects

him. He is 53.

Doug has never had a heart attack, and until the onset of the

symptoms almost three years ago, was an active skier, biker and

scuba diver. Now he is limited to walks on the treadmill. Doug

traces his problems to a drug he started taking almost three years

before his health began deteriorating - Lipitor. Two other Tahoe

City locals have also experienced negative side effects from taking

Lipitor or other statins, the name for a family of cholesterol-

fighting pills.

While there is no concrete evidence linking Doug's health problems

to Lipitor, after doing years of research, meeting with doctors and

talking to other statin sufferers all over the world online, he and

Karla are convinced of the connection. Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor,

claims the drug is effective in lowering cholesterol and has minor

side-effects. But as Doug and others would ask, is it worth it?

WONDER DRUG OR DANGEROUS PILL?

Doug, who has hereditary high cholesterol, was first prescribed

Mevacor, a statin made by Merck, in 1998. Six months later, his

doctor had him switch to Lipitor, which comes in higher doses, and

upped his dosage from 10 to 20 mg. His cholesterol dropped from 285

to a low of 160.

" The doctor was very pleased, " said Doug, " but meanwhile the

symptoms started. "

In the fall of 2000, Doug began having restless sleep patterns. His

twitching and flying arms got so bad that Karla had to sleep in

another room. One time, Doug even fell out of bed. The couple didn't

think anything was seriously wrong until a few months later when

Doug started slurring his words. This was followed by a loss of

balance and the beginning of what Doug calls the " statin shuffle " -

a slow, wobbly walk across a room. Next to slide was Doug's fine

motor skills. It took him five minutes to write four words, much of

which was illegible. Finally, he tired easily and his cognitive

memory processing diminished. He had trouble following books with

complex plots.

Confounded by Doug's illness, over the next two years the s

traveled all over California meeting with neurologists, internists

and acupuncturists. Doug had MRIs, brain scans and neurofeedback

tests done. Last February, Doug's doctor suggested he go off Lipitor

to see if the drug was causing his health problems. After three

weeks, the symptoms persisted, so the doctor put Doug back on the

pill. Since Doug wasn't exhibiting the most common side effect,

muscle cramps, and his liver function tests came back normal, the

physician was doublly sure that Lipitor was not to blame.

Finally, last spring, a doctor in Pasadena suggested Lipitor could

be the culprit. Doug went off the drug in May, and since then his

symptoms have stopped their downward spiral and his health has

slowly started to improve. According to Karla, his mind is sharper,

his balance is better and his speech is more clear in the mornings,

before he gets tired. But he still has a long way to go.

" Before, I was a good father and family person, " said Doug, who has

two children with Karla. " At this point, I can't do that much. "

A former Navy diver and owner of Sierra Tahoe Computers, a repair

and service business, Doug has had to cut down his work schedule

because of his fatigue and loss of hand coordination. He is

considering going on disability, but Karla remains optimistic.

" We are hoping he is going to get better. That's our number one

goal, " she said. " Anger is a waste of energy at this point. We are

trying to recover and get the word out. "

DID PFIZER DO ENOUGH STUDIES?

Since Parke- (later acquired by Pfizer) developed Lipitor in

1997, it has become the number one prescribed cholesterol-lowering

drug in the United States, with more than 18 million Americans

having been prescribed the drug. New York City-based Pfizer, the

world's largest pharmaceutical company, derives a quarter of its $32

billion in annual sales from Lipitor, according to an article in

SmartMoney. With sales expected to top $10 billion this year,

Lipitor is poised to become the largest-selling pharmaceutical in

history, surpassing Pfizer's other wonder drug, Viagra.

Lipitor is proven to lower total cholesterol by 29 to 45 percent. As

with any prescription, it comes with a list of possible side

effects, such as muscle pain or weakness and liver dysfunction.

Pfizer's Web site states, " The most commonly reported side effects

are gas, constipation, stomach pain and indigestion. They are

usually mild and tend to go away. " In a nine-month study of 2,502

patients, Pfizer found that more serious side effects, such as

facial paralysis, colon inflammation and gallbladder pain, occurred

in less than 2 percent of those treated.

Pfizer was unable to commment on reported adverse side effects in

time for the Tahoe World's deadline.

The problem, say the s, is that Pfizer has not conducted any

long-term studies. Doug's health issues didn't start for two and a

half years after he started taking Lipitor. Similarly, Tahoe City

psychologist Altrocchi, 75, was on Mevacor for around three

years when he started to develop calf pain that became so severe he

could hardly walk. He also experienced a case of temporary memory

loss called transient global amnesia (TGA), which has been linked

with statins. A day after watching the 1998 Super Bowl game,

Altrocchi had no memory of the event.

" There's no way you could prove that Mevacor was responsible for the

TGA, but it's very possible, " said Altrocchi, who stopped taking the

drug about three years ago and convinced his brother, a retired

neurologist, to go off Lipitor. " Especially for older men, I think

it's wise to get off statins right away. There is very little

evidence they do much good. "

While most symptoms seem to start after a few years, Ed Ontiveros of

Homewood began having physical problems within 30 days of taking

Lipitor. After experiencing muscle aches and weakness for a few

days, the 75-year old fell in the bathroom and didn't have the

strength to get up. Since going off the drug, he's had no problems.

" It [reduced cholesterol] is not worth it with the side effects, "

said Ontiveros. " You may not live as long, but you sure don't want

to die earlier. "

Doctors are quick to prescribe Lipitor, says Karla, because they

perceive it as a magic bullet in the battle against cardiovascular

disease, the leading cause of death for Americans, and it's easier

than prescribing a long-term regime of healthy diet and exercise.

But the evidence that high cholesterol leads to heart disease is not

conclusive, said Altrocchi, and there is even speculation that

cholesterol provides protection for the brain and spine.

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

The s say Pfizer is too powerful to take on alone, but would

consider joining a class-action lawsuit against the company.

However, lawyers have told them a lawsuit is only possible if

Lipitor gets recalled by the Food and Drug Administration. (Another

statin, Baycol, was recalled by Bayor in 2001 after 31 people died

of kidney failure while on the drug.) The s filled out a

complaint on the FDA Web page and encourage other Lipitor sufferers

to do the same.

Frustrated by doctors who doubt the connection between Lipitor and

health problems, the s are awaiting the results of a study

being conducted by Dr. Beatrice Golomb, a neurologist at the

University of California-San Diego, on the effects of statin drugs.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal this week, Golomb found that

15 percent of statin patients developed some cognitive side effects.

In the meantime, the couple is focusing on Doug's recovery and

staying positive.

" At this point, I consider myself lucky I'm not in a wheelchair, "

said Doug, who is currently in phsyical therapy. " There are no

guarantees in life. Your birth certificate doesn't come with a

warranty. "

For more information, contact Doug at dwp22@... or

visit Drug Information Technologies at www.ditonline.com.