Concern at diet side effects

A WAIRARAPA homoeopath is concerned about a sudden rise in the number of her patients suffering from chronic fatigue and symptoms similar to glandular fever.
Claire Bleakley, of Featherston, said a common thread has emerged and all of them were on cholesterol-lowering or statin drugs.
Cholesterol is a body fat found in the bloodstream and body cells. High blood cholesterol levels lead to narrowing of the arteries from a gradual build-up of fatty materials and significantly increase the risk of diabetes, heart and kidney diseases.
Mrs Bleakley said she believed that the cholesterol-lowering drugs were becoming a dangerous problem.
She said she was so concerned that she contacted the University of California, which is conducting a detailed study into the statin drugs, Lipex, Lipanol and Zocor
The university has asked her to help with their research project into statins ? to date there has been little done on the side-effects ? and one of the university's doctors said there were many cases in which people reported problems that could relate to statins
The research was particularly important because cholesterol-lowering drugs have become one of the most widely prescribed medications.
Mrs Bleakley said the most common side-effects were insomnia, muscle pain and weakness, chronic fatigue, memory loss, fainting spells, vertigo, loss of appetite and libido, and in some people the effects appeared to worsen in hot weather, and with certain food combinations.
A Close-up television report last December documented a story of a man who became seriously ill after being prescribed a statin drug for his high cholesterol.
Another story involved a doctor who had been taking Lipitor for just six weeks and after going for his regular walk round the block, was found wandering, confused, and reluctant to enter his own home because he didn't recognise it or remember his wife's name.
Six hours later, after being examined by a neurologist and undergoing an MRI, he was diagnosed with transient global amnesia ? short-term memory loss usually lasting a few hours, without other signs or symptoms of neurological impairment and of unknown cause.
He went off the drug for a few weeks and then resumed the medication on a half dose, and after six weeks reported the same side-effects.
Mrs Bleakley said that in a study written in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers at the University of Toronto reported that people on a high-fibre vegetarian diet with plenty of soy protein, psyllium and nuts had similar success as statins at lowering their cholesterol.
She said people should not suddenly stop taking the drugs but should go back to their doctor for a check.