Statins make your muscles into mush?

(Fernando Aramburo) #1

Hello Group,

Take this information for what it is, just a personal observation of individuals who spend their lives working on cadavers. I took a cadaver anatomy class in Colorado Springs this past week and it was amazing. However, the most frightening thing I heard them tell us is that ALL, 100% of the cadavers that they have opened who have used statins (for some extended period of time I, but not know what that “time” is), had musculature that l came off like it was “rotten.”

Clearly this is not something that I’ve read or heard is on the label for side effects but wowsas- anybody know if there is any reporting on this being done? Seems like a pretty serious side effect!

#2

I would think people would notice if their muscle drastically changed…? I don’t know anyone who use statins and I know that (I only heard about the name on this forum)…

(Robin) #3

I’m having trouble accepting this. 100% is not believable . And forming an opinion from one class, without the data to back it up seems unreliable, at best.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

The figure of 100% is probably exaggeration. Professor Sir Rory Collins at Oxford claims that statin side effects are extremely rare. However, the company he formed to market his genetic test for susceptibility to statin side effects claims that 25% of people who take statins are liable to side effects. Professor Sir Rory refuses to discuss the discrepancy.

But I’d go with his company’s figure. It’s in line with independent studies of statin effects (the studies done by Professor Sir Rory’s group at Oxford are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, and so are very favourable).

Given that statins are known to cause muscle damage, I wouldn’t want to say that your professors are necessarily wrong. Perhaps the muscles they observe are from people who took statins for several years, and who were still taking them at the time of death. My understanding is, however, that the damage is reversible, especially when statin use is halted at the first sign of symptoms. A keto or carnivore diet will likely be very helpful, too.

(Fernando Aramburo) #5

The two cadavers I saw both had used statins and they showed us how the musculature was “mushy”, with that they said was significantly lower tone than those cadavers they have opened that do not use statins. Since I did not get to see or palpate a cadaver that did not use statins, I only have their comments to go off- however the staff all seemed confident that this was a consistent difference seen.

My understanding is that statins do have label warnings muscle weakness as a side effect. This can manifest as soreness, tiredness, or weakness in the muscles, ranging from mild discomfort to more serious issues like muscle inflammation and damage. In some cases, statins can lead to statin-induced myopathy, causing muscle pain and weakness

What I haven’t seen is anyone looking at cadavers and seeing the resulting damage in this context.

In any case, I just thought it was an interesting and sobering piece of information to see what they said was the result of drug taken over time.

(https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statin-side-effects/art-20046013)
(https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/side-effects/)
(https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-statin-induced-myopathy-or-muscle-pain)

(Fernando Aramburo) #6

Its also important to remember that they told me they don’t get young or generally healthy cadavor donations so this would mean there is a bias towards unhealthy lifestyles coupled with statin use. So even though they said every statin user they have seen has this issue, they are receiving individuals that are in very poor health at the time of their death. When you reduce the pool size to these individuals it seems possible that they may all present with this issue.

(Chuck) #7

I was on satins for awhile an I felt sluggish, didn’t want to do my normal routines. My skin dried out badly, and I had lots of baggy skin. I stopped the stains about the time I moderated my carb diet, my weight did go up some my skin is no longer dry or baggy. But even with the weight gain I haven’t noticed an issues with being larger to the point my jeans didn’t, even to the opposite they fit better.

(Robin) #8

THIS is an important factor

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

It certainly is that. If that is a truly consistent result, it is all the more reason to avoid taking a statin. I’d be really interested to know if they have observed any correlation between length of time on the drug and the resulting muscle tone; also, how old these people were at death–that sort of thing. I hope they decide to write up and publish their findings, although the resulting furor would likely be ferocious.

This is an important point, but it could mean that only healthy people should be taking statins. Or else that, if you are going to take a statin, a keto or carnivore diet becomes that much more important.

Given that the Oxford Trialists’ Group, led by Professor Sir Rory Collins, asserts that very, very few people are affected by statin side effects, I strongly doubt it. Anyone who casts doubt on the safety of statins, or on the necessity of lowering cholesterol in the first place, is labelled a “statin-denier,” vilified, and professionally persecuted as a risk to the public health.

(Fernando Aramburo) #10

Unfortunately, the cadaver donations they get have limited information on them, so things like time duration taking medications is not given.

On a side note and equally interesting/sobering, was that calcification/arthrosclerosis in major arteries sound like crackers crushing when they are sufficiently compressed. They said that its possible to have fragments “crack” off when sufficient force is applied during aggressive massage (they mentioned Thai specifically because they have some positions that specifically increase the risk of this in the femoral artery) and then I mentioned that jujitsu probably has the same increased risk since we often practice rear naked chokes that compress both carotid arteries over and over- something I had not thought about with people who could be at risk.