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Posted: Wed Nov 3rd, 2004 03:50 |
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What should I do about my high cholesterol and/or triglycerides?
Th1 inflammatory conditions can affect cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels. This is sometimes called hyperlipedemia. LDL cholesterol (the bad) and triglycerides (an inflammatory marker) may be elevated and HDL cholesterol (the good) is often significantly lowered as this study reports. Lowered HDL means that the cholesterol ratio reported by the lab as "LDL/HDL risk ratio" is always above normal.
An abnormal lipid panel can result from Th1 inflammation both before and during the MP due to the immunopathology of recovery. The Marshall Protocol has been effective at improving those numbers for many patients.
Bacteria profoundly affect lipid metabolism. The following study illustrates this key point.
The W-Beijing lineage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis overproduces triglycerides and has the DosR dormancy regulon constitutively upregulated.
"LDH cholesterol is typically much higher in immune patients than in the general population. This is not necessarily bad, as cholesterol has a positive function to perform - it is the substrate for the generation of just about every steroid hormone manufactured by the body. See this chart.
High Cholesterol May Protect Against Infection and Atherosclerosis
Epidemiologists have correlated high LDL levels with a high risk of cardiac disease. This is no surprise to immune patients, we know we are at higher risk until we get our health back.
There is no conclusive evidence that high and imbalanced cholesterol does any long-term harm in and of itself, and it certainly can cause the patient harm if Statins (like Lipitor) are used to try and control the cholesterol while the rest of the body remains sick. There is very little relationship between an artificially lowered cholesterol, and improved survivability.
Cholesterol and heart disease: a phony issue
Blood Cholesterol has Nothing to do with Atherosclerosis
Putting your finger in a hole in a dyke while the water is about to flow over the top and drown you, is not necessarily a good idea. The immune diseases have to be treated throughout the body, and the metabolites do return to normal as the bacteria are killed off.
Analysis of the bacterial 'kete genome which I presented at the 30th Lyme conference shows that these pathogens use an anaerobic glucose metabolism to produce energy, and that Triglycerides are the waste product of this bacterial metabolism.
Triglycerides are normally elevated in Sarc patients, but they fall during the MP. Remember that 25-D is manufactured by the body from 7-dehydrocholesterol. The lipids are inextricably intertwined with immune function.
A triglycerides spike might also indicate that you would benefit from managing your MP meds to slow down immunopathology."
..Trevor..
Benicar
Benicar does not really 'block the inflammatory cytokines'. It has a number of actions, but really operates at a higher level than Nuclear Factor-kappa-B (which is the cofactor ehic transcribes the DNA to the RNA of most of the cytokines).
It is tough trying to explain this stuff, tough even to explain it to the FDA, yet the detail is important, as it shows why the ARBs are head and shoulders above anything else as an intervention in immune disease, and also why Benicar is uniquely the best of the bunch of statins and sartans (ARBs).
..Trevor..
Low carb diets can reduce triglycerides and increase HDL
It is suggested that you do some reading about low carbohydrate diets. Protein Power by Drs. Eades and the Atkins Diet books are good resources. Reducing your intake of carbohydrates can improve your lipids while you are recovering on the MP. Please see Carbohydrates
High triglycerides after steroid use
Regarding high levels after steroid use: "It took a year after I stopped steroids (in 1990) before my triglycerides jumped (doubled, in fact). I would suggest Doc wait 3 months, then test again."
..Trevor..
Should I take medication to improve my cholesterol levels?
Many doctors treat elevated LDL cholesterol using a class of drugs called "statins". Statins include:
Lipitor (atorvastatin)
Lescol (fluvastatin)
Mevacor (lovastatin)
Pravachol (pravastatin)
Zocor (simvastatin)
Crestor (rosuvastatin)
Molecular modeling research has made it abundantly clear that while statins do lower cholesterol, their main actions on the body come not from their cholesterol lowering properties but from the fact that they bind the nuclear receptors – a class of receptors intrically connected to the activity of the innate immune system. These receptors include the Vitamin D Receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor, and the alpha and beta thyroid receptors.
Statins have many serious side effects. Cerivastatin (Baycol, Lipobay) is a synthetic member of the class of statins, used to lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease. It was withdrawn from the market in 2001 because of the high rate of serious side-effects.
Statins have been shown to cause Lupus and pneumonia.
Researchers are now finding that all of the statins can cause muscle failure and weakness (myopathy), leading to pain and weakness in the muscles throughout the body. Statins Can Cause Serious Side Effects including kidney failure.
See Mysterious side effects or bacterial death
Patients on statins reported their muscles ached during and after exercise. In particular many patients noticed burning in their legs when climbing stairs. Some of these patients experienced easy breathlessness (dyspnea) during exertion and complained of fatigue. A very small group of patients may develop a serious muscle disorder called "rhabdomyolysis" while taking statins. This term means breakdown of muscle which is actually what occurs in this rare condition. These patients have severe tenderness of most muscle groups in addition to weakness and a sense of fatigue. They may develop dark or tea-colored urine.
The Scripps Mercy Hospital website (click here) explains the muscle weakness/failure on separate pages for doctors and patients.
Because many folks with Th1 inflammation have similar symptoms, they may be unable to recognize these side effects of statins.
Other drugs are sometimes used to alter cholesterol or triglyceride levels:
Cholestipol (Cholestid)
Colesevalam (Welchol)
Fenofibrate (Tricor)
Zetia (ezetimibe) which blocks the actions of PPARgamma and Glucocorticoid receptors, thereby interfering with the immune system in yet-to-be determined ways. This means it interferes with the proper function of the immune system and may inhibit your recovery.
Gemfibrozil (Lopid, Gemcor)
Omacor (made from fish-oil)
Niacin (vitamin B3)
Pantethine
Cholestyramine (Questran)
Red yeast rice (monascus purpureus)
All of these medications may interfere with normal immunce system function and are on the list of Medications to Avoid While on the Marshall Protocol
Neomycin is occasionally used for hypercholesterolemia. It is an antibiotic and is contraindicated on the MP.
25-D is manufactured by the body from 7-dehydrocholesterol and cholesterol is inextricably intertwined with immune function. There is very little relationship between an artificially lowered cholesterol, and improved survivability.
Please see Papers and Presentations for Physicians for links to Dr. Marshall's FDA presentataion on DVD which includes info on statins.
Members' experiences
-He remarked on my astounding cholesterol improvement in the last year (from 311 to 191 mg/dL, and my triglycerides are down from 129 to 68 since 1 year ago) and he explained that this could be from weight loss (no, weight has been stable except for slight recent gain since adding Bactrim) or change of diet (no), or exercise (no). I told him the only thing I've done differently is the MP. Cue the skeptical look. ~janicew
-Now I have some great news! Got my blood work results today. Looking back on my posts, I said that my cardiologist was very concerned about my skyrocketing triglyceride count, cholesterol both HDL abd LDL were all wacky. (I've had 4 heart surgeries, been treated with statins and the CAD continued to progress. She was begging me to promise her that I would go back on Pravachol. She wouldn't let me out of the office unless I promised. Now she is not a normal doc, she is a friend as well, but a rather uniformed one when it comes to this protocol. I have tried to enlighten her and she is not open. Anyway, I promised, but did not take the Pravachol and my triglycerides continued to climb. I wrote and got responses from Meg and Aussie Barb. Even though the triglycerides were almost at fatal level, I continued with the protocol and trusted. Well, congratulations to all of you and to me. My Triglyceride level went from 450 down to 125 without statins, change of diet or exercise. Please post this in the proper site for all to see. This is truly a miracle! Thank you Trevor and the whole gang. I don't have problems with my heart rythms any longer and having my count drop like that was pure joy. Dolores P. Rosner (martysfolks) July08
-I went to see my doctor yesterday and she told me the results of my blood tests were all normal so I am pleased about that, my cholesterol is normal and it looks like the MP has done the trick as I stopped taking statins almost a year ago. ~Hester33
See also:
Statins are overprescribed
Cholesterol does not cause coronary artery disease and statins don´t work by lowering lipids. The role of inflammation and stress
Related FAQ:
What do my lab tests mean?
Heart disease
(Scroll down for articles on statins)
Last edited on Tue Aug 19th, 2008 00:00 by Foundation Staff
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Posted: Wed Dec 6th, 2006 02:49 |
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Lipitor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Zocor, Lescol, lovastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin, atorvastatin, fluvastatin and cerivastatin
(filelink)
These cholesterol drugs (called Statins) have been shown to cause Lupus and pneumonia and they may exacerbate other immune diseases (like sarcoidosis). But they have also been proven to cause generalized muscle pain and failure.
Most Sarc patients have elevated LDL Cholesterol levels and reduced HDL. This is a byproduct of the Sarcoid inflammation itself. Sarcoidosis profoundly affects your lipids.
HDL Cholesterol is significantly lowered in Sarcodiosis. Here is a study to print out to show your Doc:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9580477&dopt=Abstract
The lowered HDL means that the lipid ratio reported by the lab to your Doc as "LDL/HDL Risk Ratio" is always above normal (or mine always was).
My experience is that the Cholesterol level itself popped up high after my last course of Prednisone, and it took me a decade to get it down to normal again. In my case, it dropped steadily as I steadily got control of my 1,25-D levels. Sarc also pushes the Triglycerides high (or is it the prednisone that does it? I have no independent data on this yet...)
Statins are not the safest drugs. They have been documented to actually CAUSE immune disease. The 80mg dosage you are being given is above the recommended 20-40mg per day. I have no idea why your doctor prescribed Statins so aggressively.
Some Doctors treat elevated LDL Cholesterol using a class of drugs called "Statins", and because the cholesterol levels do not fall, may increase the dosage.
Dyspnea (pain while breathing) is one of the problems caused by these drugs. They also cause generalized muscle pain, everywhere in the body. But a sarc patient might confuse the Dyspnea symptom with being from the sarc, while it is actually from the Statin. Please spread this information around, as continued use of statins will cause continued muscle damage.
The Scripps Mercy Hospital website (click here) explains the muscle weakness/failure on separate pages for Doctors and Patients. Make sure you print out the information for Doctors and send it to Doc so he/she has time to read it before your next appointment.
The American College of Cardiology issued a health alert on this topic. You can read it by clicking this link.
In my opinion, any sarc patient on Statins who is experiencing any muscle problems whatsoever should INSIST on being given a different therapy. The Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs) are safe drugs known to have a significant cardioprotective action, and you should suggest that your doctor considers these. Our research has already reported significant improvement of Sarc symptoms using frequent dosing of ARBs. You can read about it at this link.
Cervistatin has now been taken off the market because people have died from muscle failure caused by it. Researchers are now finding that all of the statins can cause muscle failure and weakness, leading to pain and weakness in the muscles throughout the body.
Although the risk of muscle damage from the Statins is not very high in the general population, the list of drugs that make the effects worse include just about every drug commonly prescribed for sarcoidosis patients. That is why I am raising this to 'Alert' status - IMO, sarcoidosis patients are at extreme risk of serious complications.
I expect that nearly every sarc patient is going to experience pain as a direct result of taking Statins. This is because the rate of myalgia starts quite high (7%-14%), and the pain is exacerbated by all the common sarc drugs.
In particular, the following sarc drugs make the Statins more likely to cause problems
1. Prednisone and Steroid Inhalers
2. Methotrexate and Imuran
3. Antimalarials such as Cloroquin and Plaquenil
4. Thyroid preparations
The full list can be found in the table halfway down this page
Make sure you give Doc copies of the papers referenced above that explain how cholesterol almost always measures high in sarcoidosis. It is most likely that you do not need any statin treatment at all. Discuss this.
Although statins are not yet recognized as a major problem in the USA, my personal opinion is that this is because doctors in the USA tend to overlook and ignore pains and muscle problems without investigating them. The World Health Organization reports a level of complaints (worldwide) 100 times greater than that reported in the USA, even though the one of these drugs was taken off the US market because of deaths due to the muscle failure.
..Trevor..
Dr Marshall September 09:
The problem with "least interfering" statins is that the human body has maybe 30,000 significantly different metabolites (give or take a factor of 10) and my research has focused on just a handful. We were lucky that it was the correct handful, but the MP was likely so successful only because we usually managed to eliminate all the variables, all other drugs. Had the MP not been so effective at reversing the disease process, then we would not have been able to eliminate the other drugs.
There is a small study being performed by a physician who is collaborating with us, which is showing that the MP actually leads to a reduction in Carotid IMT, a reduction in cardiovascular disease. In contrast to the use of statins, which still allow an increase in IMT, although a smaller increase than without drugs. We hope to report initial results next year.
So, if your physician really believes that his statins are capable of controlling CV disease, suggest he measures the Carotid IMT with the MP but without statins. I think you will find he will not believe the data in front of his eyes 
Last edited on Fri Sep 25th, 2009 21:01 by
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Foundation Staff
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Posted: Wed Dec 6th, 2006 02:52 |
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Members experiences
(filelink)
My experience is that the cholesterol level itself popped up high after my last course of prednisone, and it took me a decade to get it down to normal again. In my case, it dropped steadily as I steadily got control of my 1,25-D levels.
..Trevor..
.....................................................................
I'm very happy to have found this site. An Internet friend mailed me the link about the ticks. I'm convinced this was the cause of my sarcoidosis although I've no proof, of course. I am an American who traveled for a month in Europe in the fall of 1998.
In March of 1999 I was prescribed a statin drug (provachol) for cholesterol lowering. I took one 20 mg. tablet in the evening upon retiring. I awoke 8 hours later in the throes of what I now know was Lofgren's syndrome. I took one tablet each night for the next 2 nights with a total of 3 tablets. For the next 6 months I suffered from terrible myositis (pain used to cause me to scream out loud), swollen legs, erethyma nodosum, terrible fatigue, joint pain etc. No health care provider recognized sarcoidosis in it's acute form.
At the end of that 6 month period I quit on the doctors. I had no idea what was wrong with me and was sick of searching for help in my rural area where there aren't a lot of doctors who can think out of the box. In the next 6 months, those symptoms resolved but I had terrible headaches, constipation, vision problems.
I'm POSITIVE it (the Pravachol) brought out a sleeping organism in me that I picked up from a tick while in Europe. What do you think?
~Kaitlyn
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Posted: Wed Dec 6th, 2006 02:57 |
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Myotonia associated with sarcoidosis: marked exacerbation with pravastatin.
(filelink)
Clin Neuropharmacol. 1999 May-Jun;22(3):180-1.
Riggs JE, Schochet SS Jr.
Department of Neurology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506-9180, USA.
A 37-year-old man with sarcoidosis developed severe electrical and clinical myotonia while taking pravastatin for hypercholesterolemia. Myotonia associated with sarcoidosis is rare. Pravastatin is associated with myotonia in animals. This case suggests that sarcoidosis and pravastatin, two entities not frequently associated with myotonia, may interact in a synergistic manner to produce severe clinical myotonia in humans.
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Posted: Wed Dec 6th, 2006 02:59 |
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(filelink)
Tendon Complications, Though Rare, Linked To Statins, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2008) — Statins, the most effective treatment for lowering cholesterol, are widely used and have been demonstrated to be safe in large clinical trials. Although side effects are usually mild, more severe side effects, especially musculoskeletal complications, have been reported. Tendon impairment has been reported anecdotally but has not been included in large-scale studies. A new study published in the March issue of Arthritis Care & Research found that, although rare, tendon complications are linked to the use of statins.
Led by Catherine Noblet, of Rouen University Hospital in Rouen Cedex, France, researchers identified 96 cases of tendon complications from the French Pharmacovigilance database between 1990 and 2005 that were attributed to statins. Tendon conditions included tendonitis and tendon rupture. Patient data retrieved from computer database were as follows: medical history, other medications they were taking (especially those known to increase statin concentrations), information about the onset, pattern and severity of their condition, and the dosage and type of statin they took.
The results showed that of the 4,597 side effects associated with statins, about two percent were attributed to tendon complications. Symptoms usually occurred within 8 months of beginning statin therapy. Most patients had tendonitis, but some also suffered ruptured tendons. The most common tendon affected was the Achilles tendon, with pain, swelling, warmth, and stiffness as the most common symptoms. Seventeen of the patients had symptoms severe enough to warrant hospitalization. The researchers were able to link the tendon problems to statin use based on the fact that the symptoms appeared after the statins were started, they improved when the statins were stopped and they recurred in all of the patients who restarted the therapy.
The authors note that tendon complications due to statins may be largely unreported; no cases were reported during the large therapeutic trials that included more than 30,000 patients, but this may have been due to controlling for factors that predisposed patients to tendon conditions. In this study, an increasing number of patients with complications was seen with the increasing number of prescriptions between 1990 and 2005. They also note that although the prevalence of tendon problems in connection with statins is low, all types of statins could potentially cause tendon problems, which occurred at the recommended dosages.
"Our study suggests that regular tendinous clinical examination may be required in statin-treated patients, particularly during the first year following statin therapy initiation," the authors state. They also suggest that it is worth considering interrupting statin therapy before strenuous physical activity such as marathon running.
Although it is not known how statins may produce tendon injury, there are several theories. It may be that blocking cholesterol synthesis reduces the cholesterol content of tendon cell membranes, making them unstable, or that statins either reduce the levels of proteins involved in maintaining tendon cells or destroy vascular smooth muscle cells.
The authors suggest that although statins are effective, physicians should be aware that their side effects may include tendon complications. "We also suggest that patients who are at risk of developing statin-associated tendon manifestations and who require statins be routinely questioned about symptoms consistent with tendon involvement," they state, adding that postmarketing surveillance appears to be a major tool for early detection of safety problems with a new drug.
Article: "Tendinous Disorders Attributed to Statins: A Study on Ninety-Six Spontaneous Reports in the Period 1990-2005 and Review of the Literature," Isabelle Marie, Hélène Delafenêtre, Nathalie Massy, Christian Thuillez, Catherine Noblet, the Network of the French Pharmacovigilance Centers, Arthritis Care & Research, March 2008.
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