Dear Dr. Roach: I am a healthy, trim and physically very active 65-year-old with excellent EKG results and no family history of either stroke or heart problems. I was put on Lipitor about two years ago for high cholesterol. I听have been monitoring my cholesterol every six months, and levels of total cholesterol have gone down very little: 240 to 220.
Two weeks ago I began experiencing severe muscular pain, mostly in my thighs and calves. Sitting, walking and standing are painful, especially in the morning. I听stopped taking the pills, and called my doctor. He immediately called me in to draw blood to check for an antigen. When I called for results I was told my blood was 鈥渘ormal鈥� and to resume taking Lipitor. I am afraid to do that because the muscular pains are still severe even a week after stopping the medication. I don鈥檛 want to start a fight with my doctor, but I am certainly not 鈥渘ormal,鈥� no matter what the blood test showed, and I don鈥檛 understand why no other testing or investigation was suggested. Is there a particular kind of specialist I might consult? Is there anything else I can do to determine what might be causing my muscle pains, whether Lipitor or something else? B.S.B.
Your risk for heart disease doesn鈥檛 seem high, given your modest cholesterol levels and good family history. Perhaps you have a听low HDL, or a history of smoking? In any event, your doctor was being pretty aggressive in trying to prevent a first heart attack, which I can understand.
Muscle aches on statin drugs like Lipitor are common. Sometimes, but not always, they can cause muscle inflammation as well, with evidence of muscle breakdown in the blood. It鈥檚 important to emphasize that not all cases of muscle aches due to statins have abnormal blood results.
If the muscle aches stop while off the statin, it is likely the statin caused them. In that case, it would be worth a try of the medicine again. If they come back, I would recommend not taking it further. Other statins might not cause the muscle aches 鈥� pravastatin and fluvastatin are least likely to have these side effects, and I would recommend those if听a person really needed to听be on a statin. Co-Q10 helps some people.
However, in your case, you don鈥檛 have a very high risk, and I might not push you to take any more statins at all. A visit with a cardiologist can give you much more personalized advice based on a complete history and exam.
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Dear Dr. Roach: I have arthritis in my neck. When I turn my head, I get a snapping sound in my head under the skull. What can be done for this? And is it dangerous to ignore? A听doctor in Florida wanted to do surgery on my neck when I went for back surgery three years ago. I鈥檓 76 years old. I have no pain or weakness, just a light ringing in my head. S.M.
The snapping sound is likely made by one of the tendons in your neck moving over a bony prominence. If it isn鈥檛 causing any pain, I don鈥檛 think you need to do anything about it. I certainly would not recommend neck surgery. I听reserve consideration of neck surgery for people with severe neurologic symptoms, such as pain and weakness, and those whose function is limited.
A warm pack on the back of the neck probably is as good a treatment as anything.
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Dear Dr. Roach: Would you please explain water intoxication, when a person consumes too much water? I听teach swimming to kids in Florida. I tell their parents to watch for symptoms of water intoxication after the lesson. Please explain, so I can advise them. C.C.
Water intoxication is when the balance of water and salt in the body is disturbed, and there is more free water than there should be. The blood sodium level will be too low. This is uncommon in healthy adults, since the ability of the kidneys to regulate salt and water balance is impressive.
However, in small children, excess water intake can lead to low sodium levels, and this can be life-threatening. Shortly after swallowing excess water, symptoms may include irritability, lethargy and disorientation. In more severe cases, vomiting and seizures may occur.
Although this is a rare event, it is wise to know the听symptoms and be ready to get the child medical attention if these symptoms occur after a swimming lesson.
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Dr. Roach regrets that he听is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to [email protected]
