Extended Interview with Dr. Ralph Edwards

Well, I am sitting here waiting until some medical entity grasps the significance of symptoms that could possibly relate to ALS or an ALS-like syndrome, which could be linked to statin drugs...

Meanwhile, I have a hard-headed 88 year old father who refuses to listen to the fact that there are many people reporting these problems. He refuses to get off of the statin drug he takes and still thinks the sun rises and sets in the doctor who tells him his symptoms could no way relate to his statin drug...

I have lost count of the number of falls he has had due to extreme lower body weakness.

Unfortunately, people in their 80s and 90s are of the generation that believed all doctors are God! I live among many such people who would never dream of questioning a doctor's opinion. They think a doctor's advice can't possibly be wrong...

I did tell an elderly neighbour that the statin drug, Lipitor, is extremely dangerous, after I suffered a serious life-threatening adverse drug reaction that almost killed me last year. She raised the matter with a practice nurse, who instantly dismissed her concerns and, instead of giving this patient proper advice on possible dangerous side-effects, she immediately increased her daily prescription from 20mg to 40mg. I regard irresponsible behaviour like this from health professionals as reckless, and even negligent, who are putting thousands of lives at risk of irreversible permanent physical harm/disability or death.

After I became seriously ill from the statin-induced toxic/chemical poisoning, I have been victimized ever since, and struck off two doctors' practices because they are in denial and refuse to accept/acknowledge the medical disaster. I have been abandoned and regard this ignorant mindset as institutional arrogance. This is why old people are so afraid to ask questions or make a complaint.

Health professionals know the dangers, but continue to ignore it, preferring to put their heads in the sand, telling us that dangerous side-effects are very rare! And so the cycle of unnecessary drug taking will not break for a very long time yet, as the monetary rewards/incentives are far too great for everyone involved in the industry - the companies that manufacture the drugs and the health professionals who prescribe them. They don't care about patients' suffering. If they did this extremely dangerous drug would have been withdrawn long ago.

6 1/2 years ago my husband developed a dropped foot. As this weakness progressed his doctor took him off the statin he had been taking for his cholesterol. Unfortunately progress continued and he was eventually diagnosed with ALS.

We cannot help but wonder if it is indeed ALS or some equally life-changing neurological condition very like ALS. It will be 7 years in June 2010 since the original dropped foot. Many years before my husband had a dropped foot which lasted about 2 weeks. Was this an early warning sign that was ignored? We will probably never know but at the ages of 65 and 66 our retirement years look rather bleak.

I do not agree with Lipitor but once again my doctors are telling me I have to take it. My cholesterol is bad and my body seems to produce lots of it. Shall I stop??

My husband was told by his medical doctor that his cholesterol was high and
needed medication to control it. He was given Lipitor. After a month or so, his muscles became very hard and painful. He complained to his doctor about this and at that time, he switched medication--yet another statin drug. After trying several different drugs, all statin, he informed his doctor that if he could not find him a non-statin drug, to just forget any medication for his cholesterol problem.

So, after about a year or a year and 1/2, he put him on 500 mg. of niacin. It doesn't completely control the cholesterol, but it helps a lot. His muscles (mostly legs) still bother him however. Does anyone know of another
alternative? Thanks......

After reading many of these comments it's obvious how people, including myself, have been brain washed by false advertising and propaganda. When will the public understand that we need cholesterol to function? High cholesterol is an invented disease by the pharmaceutical industry to make huge profits for themselves. Cholesterol fuels every cell in our bodies and it is a repair mechanism that renews energy for all our muscles.

Two years ago I almost died of statin-induced cardiomyopathy after taking it for two years. I am still struggling to get a definitive diagnosis of the adverse drug reaction and potentially life-threatening irreversible side-effects I have been left with. After two years of research on the internet I strongly suspect now that I have 'statin-associated myasthenia gravis'. The symptoms mimic those of a stroke and it is an autoimmune disease which all fit the serious medical problems I have.

I also suspect I have diabetes type 2, also triggered by statins, which is currently being investigated: the statins have caused exercise intolerance and damage the liver affecting the metabolic rate.

I am a 64 year old physician and polio survivor. My cholesterol is around 300. Several years ago I was swayed by the propaganda and convinced myself I should take Pravachol. I took it for a week. I thought my polio had come back with a vengeance, or I had a horrible case of influenza. I thought I'd have to give up working as a general practitioner. I was really sick.

Something drew me to the Internet and I found story after story of myalgias, muscle weakness, pain, exactly as I was experiencing. I bought Duane Graveline's book. I stopped the statins. In only a few days I started feeling better. My strength came back. I started telling patients about what I was learning. Most of them had been to a cardiologist and all as far as I could tell, were on a statin.

Apparently any level of cholesterol is reason to start a statin. Our lab lowered the acceptable level of cholesterol from 260 to 200. ???? Based on what? I shared articles with my patients, and many of them stopped their statins. But after a return visit to their cardiologist, they went back on. Many of them complained of muscle aching, weakness, pain, but blamed it on old age.

The elderly are a perfect target for this nonsense. I am still trying to convince these poor people they are being HAD, but I am not a specialist, like a cardiologist, who charges twice what I do for an office visit. Are cardiologists this gullible? Why are they caving to this Big Pharma nonsense? We were fooled by the makers of Premarin for years while the drug company got rich, and we were causing breast and uterine cancer in our patients. Premarin's patent ran out or the cancer risk became too obvious to deny, and then the company backtracked. A little. They are still selling this stuff. Where is the FDA?
Christina Bjornstad MD

My husband had triple bypass surgery in 9/07 and was put on Crestor and Plavix. On 1/11/11 he was diagnosed with rapidly progressing ALS and given 1 year to live. He is 60 years old and has always been a strong and active person.

Now he can walk a few steps with major support, needs assistance with dressing, bathing, toileting, eating and most fine motor skills. Is anyone aware of any litigation involving statins causing ALS? We have been happily married for 30 years and this has been devastating. I don't want anyone else to have to go through this.

I've been on statin drugs for many years and have changed prescriptions, with doctor's approval, through most of the statins, after experiencing leg pains and muscle weakness and difficulty in walking (similar to walking through waist high water in a swimming pool. Until I read the above description and comments, I had not known it was so wide-spread. I am currently taking 10 MG of Zetia.

Whether the Zetia is causing it or not, I've still had problems sleeping and restless/aching legs at night. Because I also have osteoarthritis, I've just started the pectin and grape juice recipe and have had remarkable success. I'm praying there are no adverse affects from the Zetia and the pectin/grape juice.