Atorvastatin -- Could It Work For Anyone Else?

[knackers323]

Hi @Hopefulone is the statin still giving improvement?

You probably mentioned it, but how long were you taking it before you noticed an effect?

 

[Judee]

@knackers323, she has other threads with this same or similar topics. It may be that some of those might give an update of her use of the statin drug.

Just saying, in case that might be helpful for you.

 

[Hopefulone]

... is the statin still giving improvement?

You probably mentioned it, but how long were you taking it before you noticed an effect?

Yes, the statin is still helping me improve in subtle ways. In fact, I no longer consider myself to be noticeably affected by ME/CFS.

Recently I have found that my sleep quality has improved, and my sleep/wake cycle has returned to normal.

I was taking the statin for a few days to about a week before I noticed an effect.

For more thoughts about all this, please refer to:
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...he-antiviral-qualities-of-atorvastatin.78886/

 

[richymcp]

This is quite interesting as there's been a lot of buzz recently about the effects of Statins on inflammation. One of the theory's doing the rounds is that the host of symptoms we encounter is being caused in some part by inflammation of the brain (Jarred Younger's research).

 

[Hopefulone]

... inflammation of the brain

I think that brain inflammation is certainly present, and the old name myalgic encephalomyelitis is a pretty accurate term. See:

In the video Dr Jarred Younger talks about his findings that includes elevated brain temperature that is enough to cause many symptoms. In the past, I have often felt slightly feverish although my temperature reading was normal.

 

[Abdallah]

hello everyone, i have high blood pressure and fast heart beat and taking meds for it, my doctor also gave me atorvastatin but i wasn't taking it, but i read somewhere that it helps a lot, so i start taking it and i can say it was great to the point i thought my problem was cured, but it didn't last too much, maybe 2 or 3 weeks i was feeling good but then my ME/CFS back again, im still taking it for my heart safety though.

 

[Hopefulone]

... but i read somewhere that it helps a lot, so i start taking it and i can say it was great to the point i thought my problem was cured ...

Thanks for telling us about your experience with atorvastatin. I feel that although it can help ease symptoms, it is still unknown why only a minuscule number of ME/CFS sufferers respond favourably to it. Clearly more research is urgently needed in this area.

I am really pleased to say that I am still in remission, but find it difficult to explain why this has happened. I encourage you to read all the posts that I have written since September last year. Perhaps atorvastatin needs to be combined with other drugs and supplements in order to be a truly effective treatment for ME/CFS?

 

[knackers323]

hello everyone, i have high blood pressure and fast heart beat and taking meds for it, my doctor also gave me atorvastatin but i wasn't taking it, but i read somewhere that it helps a lot, so i start taking it and i can say it was great to the point i thought my problem was cured, but it didn't last too much, maybe 2 or 3 weeks i was feeling good but then my ME/CFS back again, im still taking it for my heart safety though.

@Abdallah what dose were/are you taking?

 

[xebex]

I have a crazy theory @Hopefulone Did you receive Thrombolysis? and is it possible that you suffer from Hughes syndrome? maybe the thrombolysis (or the atorvastatin itself) helped with that syndrome, reduced the strain on your immune system and caused a remission. Just a wild thought as I do believe ME is highly affected by preexisting conditions and maybe even triggered by such conditions.

 

[Wishful]

I agree with xebex that it's more likely that the drug reduced some other condition, which in turn had been making the ME symptoms worse. If a treatment works well for a very small percentage of patients, but not at all for others, then it's logical for it to be due to an abnormality in those patients, and that combining with other drugs or supplements won't make it work for patients without those specific abnormalities.

 

[Hopefulone]

Just a wild thought as I do believe ME is highly affected by preexisting conditions ...

Although I agree with the concept that ME is affected by preexisting conditions, I was apparently healthy before being diagnosed. Therefore, I have never had Hughes syndrome nor have I received thrombolysis.

As far as preexisting conditions go, I feel that genetics influence the chances of someone succumbing to ME/CFS. There is annecdotal evidence that ME/CFS can run in families. In my case, my grandmother had ME/CFS although no other relatives have been affected to the best of my knowledge.

 

[xebex]

I was a competitive athlete before getting sick with apparently no pre existing conditions. None have yet been identified however it is possible to have silent conditions and if you had had a stroke they often thrombolyse you, I wonder why you weren’t offered that?. Hughes syndrome is something to look into if you have suffered stroke I’m also surprised they haven’t investigated that. I’m not saying you don’t have ME I’m saying that finding other conditions and treating them can often greatly help.

 

[Nat kea]

Are you currently taking statins? If so, at what dose?

 

[bread.]

Although I agree with the concept that ME is affected by preexisting conditions, I was apparently healthy before being diagnosed. Therefore, I have never had Hughes syndrome nor have I received thrombolysis.

As far as preexisting conditions go, I feel that genetics influence the chances of someone succumbing to ME/CFS. There is annecdotal evidence that ME/CFS can run in families. In my case, my grandmother had ME/CFS although no other relatives have been affected to the best of my knowledge.

Hi,

may I ask, did you have a higher urine output before taking the medication that got normalized or better afterwards?

 

[Hopefulone]

Are you currently taking statins? If so, at what dose?

Yes, my dosage has been reduced from 80mg to 40mg of Lipitor (atorvastatin) per day. Still find it difficult to believe that I am in remission with no ME/CFS symptoms.

 

[Hopefulone]

...did you have a higher urine output before taking the medication that got normalized or better afterwards?

My urine output is unchanged, and I consider it to be normal.

 

[jstefl]

I have been on atorvastatin for many years with no effects on my ME/CFS noticed.

 

[marcjf]

I ended up bumping on this thread while looking specifically for information on statin therapy. It seems to be gaining some traction in Long Covid. They briefly talk over about it here:

Statins act on the CX3CL1/Fractalkine pathway, which could be why they might be benefiting you. That chemokine can induce monocyte infiltration. And apparently they found Covid protein in monocytes, which may continue being carried around across the body. This leads to hyper-inflammation and endothelial damage. That can be true for other viruses as well.

The problem is that statins have plenty of side-effects, but there are not many alternatives right now. There is one drug in Phase 2 trial which is may work better: KAND567

 

[Hopefulone]

Statins act on the CX3CL1/Fractalkine pathway, which could be why they might be benefiting you.

Thank you very much for this intriguing and ground breaking news! I have always felt that there was a definite medical explanation for my remission, despite the fact that little evidence has been published until now.

 

[marcjf]

Thank you very much for this intriguing and ground breaking news! I have always felt that there was a definite medical explanation for my remission, despite the fact that little evidence has been published until now.

Thank you for reporting your treatment. I think that validates statins as a possiblity, even though it may not work for everyone.

We still have a long way to go to be able to identify CFS subgroups. Jarred Younger (Neuroinflammation researcher) published an interesting video on those:

Apparently one of the patient groups had their fatigue levels extremely correlated to Fracktalkine serum levels. It really makes me wonder what would happen with their fatigue when you disrupt this pathway.