Prior case examples have hilighted how low vitamin D might cause leg pains etc. with statin drugs. Now a group analysis has confirmed it and shown supplementation helps.
Curr Med Res Opin. 2011 Jul 6. [Epub ahead of print]
Vitamin D deficiency, myositis-myalgia, and reversible statin intolerance.
Glueck CJ, Budhani SB, Masineni SS, Abuchaibe C, Khan N, Wang P, Goldenberg N. abstract here
- About 1/2 cases with high cholesterol were found to have low vitamin D (<32ng/ml)
- 29% of those cases with low vitamin D were intolerant to Statins because of muscle pains
- 150 of these cases were given Vitamin D3 (Osto-D2 here) twice weekly for 3 weeks , then once weeklymost – 131/150 (87%) patients free of myalgia–myositis with supplementation
they speculated: “statins and vitamin D deficiency interact additively or synergistically on the muscle to produce myositis–myalgia that is reversible by vitamin D supplementation, allowing successful reinstitution of statin therapy”Comment – I check CK levels prior to statin initiation – will have to check Vitamin D was well.
Coenzyme Q10 100 mg/day useful as well:
The American Journal of Cardiology Volume 99, Issue 10, 15 May 2007, Pages 1409-1412
Effect of Coenzyme Q10 on Myopathic Symptoms in Patients Treated With Statins
Giuseppe Caso MD, MSc, PhDa, , , Patricia Kelly DOb, Margaret A. McNurlan PhDa and William E. Lawson MD abstract here
“After a 30-day intervention, pain severity decreased by 40% (p <0.001) and pain interference with daily activities decreased by 38% (p <0.02) in the group treated with coenzyme Q10. In contrast, no changes in pain severity (+9%, p = NS) or pain interference with daily activities (−11%, p = NS) was observed in the group treated with vitamin E.”
I would suggest people starting on statins take 60 mg coenzyme Q10 (levels in blood drop to near zero in a week of statin therapy) and take 2000 u vitamin D/day. If having symptoms, would need 100 mg Coenzyme q10 and 5000 units/day vitamin D and see if better by end of a month. Critical levels of serum CK are not reached unless CK levels are ten times normal.