Connection between statins, ALS controversial
Q. I have been fascinated with letters from people reporting that Lipitor weakened their muscles. I believe Lipitor triggered my ALS. Until last month, my doctors wouldn’t listen to me, but then a report from the World Health Organization showed a link. Please warn others.
A. The article authored by WHO researchers was published in Drug Safety (June 2007). It points out that an unexpectedly high number of people developed Lou Gehrig’s disease while on a statin-type cholesterol-lowering drug. Lou Gehrig’s disease is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. There is no cure for this degenerative disease of muscles and nerves.
The connection between ALS and statins is controversial. The Food and Drug Administration is not convinced there is a link.
The WHO report advises doctors to discontinue statin therapy if patients develop “serious neuromuscular disease such as the ALS-like syndrome.” People who believe they have experienced such an effect may report it to us at www.peoplespharmacy.com. We will forward such cases to researchers and the FDA for further review.
Q. My husband has excessive gas. We eat a very healthy diet, and he drinks no soda or carbonated beverages, not even beer. He takes medicine to lower his cholesterol.
We eat lots of vegetables, but we have eliminated the ones that bother him most. Milk was a real problem, so now he uses lactose-free milk.
Despite these changes, he still gets gas with some foods. We cannot eliminate all fruits and vegetables. How can we deal with this to make him feel more comfortable?
A. Some medications can contribute to flatulence, including several drugs to control cholesterol. Your husband should check this out with his physician.
Taking Beano (alpha-galactosidase) with troublesome vegetables can be helpful. An adequate dose is necessary to get the benefits.
Other options include probiotics, fennel tea and Angostura bitters. We have listed common drugs that cause gas and provided details on many natural approaches for flatulence in our book “Best Choices From The People’s Pharmacy.” It is available in libraries, bookstores and online ( www.peoplespharmacy.com).
Q. After reading about the difficulties people have getting off certain antidepressant medications, I want to tell you about my success. I planned a weekend at home with no distractions or plans and took Dramamine all weekend to stay somewhat sedated.
By the time Monday rolled around, I was free of the sweating, the shocklike sensations in my brain and all the rest. My neurologist had told me I might just have to stay on the medication because of the withdrawal issues. Glad I didn’t!
A. Thanks for sharing your strategy. There are no data on the usefulness of Dramamine in withdrawing from an antidepressant.
For many people, a weekend is not long enough for phasing off an antidepressant like Paxil or Effexor. They might need to lower the dose gradually over weeks to reduce the risk of side effects such as electric shocklike sensations or a feeling of sloshing inside the head (also described as head-in-a-blender).
Symptoms such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, dizziness and insomnia can also be disconcerting. With careful medical supervision, however, most people can discontinue antidepressants successfully.