Statins and Tinnitus

[Ouiser Boudreaux]

Hi All,

I was put on statins about 2 weeks ago to lower my bad cholesterol, the good one is as high...

Anyway, I was referred to this Professor who wanted to do a CT of my arteries i.e. shove in the drum head first!

My doctor knows I'm extremely claustrophobic and told me it wasn't "like that" and it'd be a simple CT instead...

Anyway, since I obviously refused, this Professor told me he must put me on statins then as he can't tell if my arteries are still free or already clogged and in bad need of this stuff... I mentioned that cholesterol had also to do with stress from what I read but he dismissed my comment as "never heard of".

To make this long story a bit shorter my tinnitus of about 20 years which I had learned to live with on acceptable terms shoot to the moon and for the last 8 days or so I'm almost there where it all started - going crazy, desperate, climbing up the walls and terrified it won't get any better

Though we're mostly vegan I used to cheat a bit... (I'm a sucker for a good cheese...) but off it ALL now!!

 

[Lucy B]

Hi Ouiser,
God bless you for having tinnitus for 20 years and learning how to live with it. I have had it 3 years (possibly more) and I'm doing good but I do have my days/nights. I also got mine from a medication, Plaquinel, it's for lupus.

Thank you so, so, so much for your thread. I'm an extremely healthy 59 year old female and just had a heart attack and the doc's want me on a statin. I am fighting hard to get them to understand my concern about it causing the tinnitus to get worse. They don't get it. I fought taking the Plaquinel for years because of being afraid of getting tinnitus. And look where it got me.

The heart attack was mild. The doctors feel it was due to stress. The last three years I have been under an amazing amount of stress; which started with the tinnitus. The final blow was when my youngest brother, 55 years old, committed suicide. Totally out of the blue! My family is in total shock. He was a great man and had the world by the balls! He didn't leave a note. My sis-in-law thinks he may have had a health problem that he didn't want anyone to know or he may have had a problem at work.

Anyway...

I'm going to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Presbyterian Hospital in NYC to get more info and their point of view.

I can't thank you enough! I will pray for you every day and night. You have the tools to accept your new predicament and I have a lot of faith that you will use them again. I wish I could give you more comforting words.

How do you say your name?

Thank you for listening.

God bless you lots,
Lucy

 

[Noisy Ear]

Can someone tell me if there is a statin out there that does not cause a spike in tinnitus? Thank you all so much for your input.

 

[Anselmo]

Statins are the biggest selling medication of all time. Of course doctors want people to take them. I'm allergic to them, as they cause extreme muscle aches, and rashes. My doc is mad at me because I won't take them anymore. But it didn't make my tinnitus worse. If you have had a heart attack, or if your LDL cholesterol is high, it is imperative that you take a statin. And my condolences @Lucy B for your loss.

 

[Anselmo]

@Noisy Ear: As far as a safe statin for tinnitus, try Lipitor.

 

[Tinniger]

Which statin did you take?

 

[Noisy Ear]

Thank you Anselmo. Just trying desperately not to take anything that will jack with my tinnitus.

 

[Lane]

Just trying desperately not to take anything that will jack with my tinnitus.

First of all, I think people should be aware that it's well known that statins seriously deplete CoQ10 from the body, leading to a significant depletion of cellular energy--which then leads to all kinds of tiredness and stress. The statin drug companies are well aware of this, and debated whether or not to add CoQ10 to the drug, but decided not to--didn't want to give the impression there was ANYTHING wrong with taking them.

I've read accounts of some people get tinnitus relief after supplementing with CoQ10. This could shed some light on why statins cause or exacerbate tinnitus.

If you read the following book, you may never again concern yourself with whether or not to take a statin drug. As I recall (I checked this out from the local library), the author maintains that 80% of cardiovascular disease could be avoided by taking adequate amounts of Vitamin C.

The author maintains that most cardiovascular disease originates in the liver, and taking plenty of Vitamin C counteracts some of the toxic conditions in the liver that produce the unhealthy plaque that then deposits in the arteries. His argument is persuasive (to me anyway).



Here's a review:

Research into vitamin C is progressing rapidly despite a lack of funding from conventional medicine into its clinical applications. Orthomolecular medicine, which uses nutrients in large doses to treat disease, is regarded as highly controversial by the medical establishment. This rejection of the orthomolecular approach has little basis in science and reflects a bias at the heart of the status quo.

This book tells the story of how the controversy about vitamin C has grown and continues while the increasing evidence demonstrates the value of the orthomolecular approach. The story of vitamin C is an exciting journey into the workings of science and medicine, the intrigues of political economic influences, and the evolutionary history of humankind. Someday, medicine without vitamin C therapy will be compared to childbirth without sanitation or surgery without anesthetic. In this book,

- You will see that mega doses of vitamin C have proven to be an effective antibiotic, a nontoxic anticancer agent, and also a treatment for heart disease.

- We explain the real reasons behind conventional medicine's rejection of vitamin C therapy.

- You'll meet the pioneers of vitamin C research, who often faced great resistance in their advocacy for the health benefits of this nutrient.

Vitamin C is a simple molecule with powerful effects. If you want to be healthy, you should take enough vitamin C. After reading this book, you will know why. . . and how much.​

 

[Anselmo]

@Lane: That vitamin C theory has been around for decades. Linus Pauling (I'm not sure of the spelling of his last name) was touting the vitamin years ago. He would sit there with a mound of C, and eat it with a spoon, and some water. He proclaimed it was good for everything, and was a magic potion. Subsequent tests showed his claims were exaggerated, to say the least. Vitamin C is a wonderful thing, in its place.

 

[Lane]

Linus Pauling (I'm not sure of the spelling of his last name) was touting the vitamin years ago. He would sit there with a mound of C, and eat it with a spoon, and some water. He proclaimed it was good for everything, and was a magic potion.

Hi @Anselmo,

I have to say, I find it rather sad and disappointing that you seem to have accepted the narrative put out by mainstream medicine about Linus Pauling. Which goes something like, "Well yes, he was a brilliant physicist [only person to ever win two solo Nobel prizes]. But when he ventured outside of physics and into medicine (THEIR domain, which they jealously guard)--and especially when he started to spew all that nonsense about Vitamin C--he became sort of--well, how would you say--a bit daffy.

So there you have it, a narrative (picture) put out by mainstream medicine painting a brilliant man and humanitarian as this kindly, but clowny, perhaps a little bit foolish, or a little bit looney, or a bit nutty, or perhaps, even a bit demented. -- I see him FAR differently. Here's a different context in how I view him.

Yes, Linus Pauling (who lived to age 93), was a well known for his advocate of Vitamin C therapy. What most people don't know is that his interest in Vitamin C was piqued by a rural country doctor from N. Carolina (Frederick Klenner) who practiced back in the 1940's. This doctor was at a loss as to how to treat the many children coming in with polio. But having read some interesting articles on IV Vitamin C, he thought why not give it a try on these children with polio. In short, he treated 60 kids, and they were all healed within 3-5 days.

The work of Klenner and Pauling eventually caught the interest of Thomas E. Levy, MD, a board-certified internist and cardiologist, and author of several books. Below is a portion of what he had to say about the above (from this article: Vitamin C May Be A Life-Saver - Mega-doses Can Counter Avian Flu, Hepatitis & Herpes, And Control Advance Of AIDS):

"Imagine that a deadly virus is sweeping the world, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of children. Nothing seems able to stop it - until a doctor stands up at the American Medical Association and reports on 60 cases involving severely infected children, all of whom have been cured. Yet his work, subsequently reported in a peer-review journal, is ignored, leaving the virus to wreak havoc for decades.

This isn't a docudrama about some futuristic plague - it's a true story about what happened in June 1949 when polio was at its peak. Dr Frederick Klenner, a clinical researcher from Reidsville, North Carolina, reported that a massive intravenous dose of Vitamin C - up to 20,000mg daily for three days (today's recommended daily allowance is 60mg) - had cured 60 of his patients. The findings were published in a medical journal, yet there was virtually no interest. Apart from a couple of minor trials, no attempt was made to find out if they had any scientific substance.

Relating this curious incident in a new book, Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases & Toxins: Curing the Incurable, Dr Thomas Levy, a US cardiologist, admits to being gripped by a range of emotions when he came across Klenner's work and other studies that replicated it. "To know that polio had been easily cured yet so many people continued to die, or survived to be permanently crippled by it, was difficult to accept."

Levy argues that the medical profession has routinely ignored research showing that high doses of Vitamin C can combat bacteria, toxins and severe viral infections including avian flu, SARS, hepatitis and herpes. And this is not a case of doctors sniffing at anecdotal evidence from a handful of enthusiasts. "Vitamin C is possibly the best-researched substance in the world. There are more than 24,000 papers and articles on the authoritative clinical website, Medline. Yet virtually all the evidence has been dismissed." Levy even claims that AIDS can be controlled if a high enough dosage of Vitamin C is maintained.​

 

[Sean]

I am in the same situation. I took statins for 1 month and my tinnitus that has been quiet for 10 years has come back with full vengeance.

Did your spike subside? Was it a permanent spike?

 

[Lane]

I took statins for 1 month and my tinnitus that has been quiet for 10 years has come back with full vengeance.

Hi @Sean -- Not sure if you know it, but it's well-known that statins deplete the body of CoQ10 (primarily stored in the heart). Pharmaceutioal companies knew this from the beginning, and debated whether or not to supplement their statins with CoQ10. They apparently decided against it because they didn't want to create a "perception" there was something wrong with their drug.

I have no idea if there's any correlation between CoQ10 levels and tinnitus, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was. A body depleted of this critical energy producing nutrient has to become much more easily stressed than one that isn't. You may want to consider supplementing for a while and see if it makes a difference in your tinnitus--or your overall energy level. -- Best...

 

[xyz]

Magnesium seems to also work as a statin according to this paper.

Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals

So if you have a mild case maybe Magnesium supplementation (which is also good for the ear) is enough.

 

[Sean]

Hi @Sean -- Not sure if you know it, but it's well-known that statins deplete the body of CoQ10 (primarily stored in the heart). Pharmaceutioal companies knew this from the beginning, and debated whether or not to supplement their statins with CoQ10. They apparently decided against it because they didn't want to create a "perception" there was something wrong with their drug.

I have no idea if there's any correlation between CoQ10 levels and tinnitus, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was. A body depleted of this critical energy producing nutrient has to become much more easily stressed than one that isn't. You may want to consider supplementing for a while and see if it makes a difference in your tinnitus--or your overall energy level. -- Best...

Thank you. I will take it for a few days just to be safe.

I am surprised not many members have commented on this thread as statins are probably one of the most commons drugs prescribed worldwide.

 

[Sean]

Magnesium seems to also work as a statin according to this paper.

Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals

So if you have a mild case maybe Magnesium supplementation (which is also good for the ear) is enough.

My LDL is little bit high. I feel like an idiot taking statins! I should have researched more. There are other cholesterol meds as well which are safer.

 

[Sean]

Just an update if someone comes across this thread in future.

It's been about 6-7 days and my tinnitus spike has slightly subsided to the bearable level. I was able to mask it with white noise last night and today I can just in quiet room without white noise and not get anxiety. It's still much louder than before but I can bear it now.

It would be nice if members provided an update on their situation so that in future other members who are in a similar situation can get some insight.

 

[Sean]

Update: My tinnitus tone has been changing and now I have a whistle. It's loud and annoying but no way close to unbearable level it was when it started. It's weird that time has been changing it. I had somewhat quiet few hours in the last 2-3 days.

 

[Lane]

51-minute video...

Dr. Maryanne Demasi: My Experience of Exposing the Statin Controversy

 

[JasonP]

Update: My tinnitus tone has been changing and now I have a whistle. It's loud and annoying but no way close to unbearable level it was when it started. It's weird that time has been changing it. I had somewhat quiet few hours in the last 2-3 days.

Hey Sean, did your tinnitus ever get down to baseline?