It seems like the evidence is way better when you combine it with selenium.
This is my experience too. More muscle tightness, especially in the legs. It resolved when I started taking CoQ10. I agree it is a subtle difference.
Use Bempedoic Acid. It doesn’t affect CoQ10.
The statins, as you know, do affect coenzyme Q10 . Bempedoic acid doesn’t.
According to the manufacturer’s labeling, there are no known contraindications to bempedoic acid. Serum uric acid levels have been observed to increase in patients taking bempedoic acid.
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I was on simvastatin for over 10 years and developed peripheral neuropathy which is a rare side effect:
Apparently, CoQ10 deficiency due to inhibition of ubiquinone synthesis is the mechanism behind this process. I stopped simvastatin and have been taking CoQ10 and Vitamin E for the past 3-4 years with gradual improvement. I am on Repatha which had successfully lowered my LDL. Repatha does not have the same anti-inflammatory effects as statins and outcomes data shows only a small reduction in cardiovascular events compared to statins or combined statin plus Repatha:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8094613/pdf/CD011748.pdf
I have researched bempedoic acid and am still a bit leery of potential side effects given my prior history.
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Can you just take several times a week to achieve meaningful benefits?
Carbs carbs STAY AWAY FROM BREAD (even acarbose can’t blunt all the apoB/TG synthesis that then turns into LDL after)
I experimented with eating lots of mr tortilla and Ezekiel bread with acarbose but now am cutting it out for beans
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I take geranylgeraniol instead of Q10. Statins inhibit GG which is used to make Q10, K2, build muscle, testosterone, et al.
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Thank you Rick and welcome to the group. Do you get your GG from a specific supplement or are you just eating Annatto seeds / powder? The seeds route would seem to be the only way I can find it in the UK (where I am).
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New Zealand company that sells GG
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Thank you Joseph, very useful.
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They use GG-Gold from American River Nutrition made here in MA.
That’s a long detour to go through New Zealand!
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I now use Designs for Health Annatto-E GG which also uses the same source.
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@Joseph_Lavelle BTW is it on your FullScript portal?
I’m waiting for the incoming sale to order a bunch of stuff.
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Yes it is! That’s where I get it.
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Hi, I purchase my GG and Eannatto from Wellness Extract in Canada/USA. Although I do purchase other items from Xtend-Life, their GG is more expensive. Dr. Barrie Tan explains how the CoQ10 molecule is very large and so taken exogenously very little is absorbed. It is far superior to have your body make it endogenously.
My husband’s story is similar. He was on atorvastatin for about 20 years (prescribed after heart attack at age 47, with familial hypercholesteremia.) He was not instructed to supplement with CoQ10. He developed peripheral sensory neuropathy within a couple of months of taking the statin. He switched to Repatha about four years ago. He is now supplementing with CoQ10, no vitamin E, though. I was wondering about bempedoic acid, as well, but have the same concerns. Have you encountered a lot of blow-back from doctors when you (or any doctor) attributed the neuropathy to statin use? Do you have autonomic, sensory, and/or motor neuropathy? I hope these questions aren’t too personal, but I sure would appreciate some input from someone who’s experienced the same thing with the same cause.
My husband has no heat, cold, pressure, or pin-prick sensation in his feet to just above his ankles, and reduced sensation in his fingertips. He has excellent circulation in his feet and hands, no skin issues and no discoloration. His epidermal nerve fiber density in his feet is non-existent. His pain seems to be related to misfiring in the deeper nerves in his feet.
When my husband told me his PN was “idiopathic”, I decided to look into a real cause. I landed on statin use with the mechanism pointing to demyelination. He’s not diabetic and there’s no other obvious reason. However, his cardiologist, GP, and a couple of other doctors he’s seen insist the PN wasn’t caused by the statin. Other doctors, including one of two of his neurologists said that it can and does cause it.
His neuropathy has rapidly progressed in intensity and now includes autonomic dysfunction, but no impact on his motor nerves. The pain in his feet is constant and severe. No interventions, except massage (I am his personal masseuse), give him any meaningful relief. He’s tried all the conventional treatments, many unconventional treatments, and a few treatments that were downright questionable.
So, here I am, looking for something, anything, that will either reverse whatever is causing his neuropathy, or will eliminate or reduce the pain. I’m wondering if a senolytic medication, particularly rapamycin, might help rehabilitate his nerves.
He is now being seen by Mayo Clinic’s neurology department where he was tested for, among many other things, paraproteins. Tests revealed high kappa and lambda free light chains (ratio was in high-normal range), and he had high Alpha 2 globulin. He’s been referred to a hematologist to evaluate why he has abnormal paraprotein levels and will have an abdominal fat pad biopsy to look for amyloid deposits. He is currently attending an intensive program with Mayo Clinic’s Pain Rehabilitation Clinic on recommendation from his neurologists.
In the meantime, the pain from the neuropathy is literally killing him. It prevents him from getting enough sleep, and the quality of sleep is poor. As his “personal masseuse” I get very little sleep, as well, as I spend a good portion of time every day and night massaging his hypertonic legs
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Onset of my neuropathy symptoms was gradual and insidious. I had been on simvastatin for about 9 years due to markedly increased coronary calcium, and non-obstructive CAD on CT coronary angio. Most of my symptoms were in feet and legs, with pain, numbness and sensitivity, and some loss of temperature sensation. EMG/NCS showed generalized sensorimotor mixed demyelinating and axonal neuropathy. Evaluation revealed no underlying cause aside from prior use of statins and colchicine.
I have been off statins since 2017 with gradual improvement. I have been taking vitamin E and CoQ10. I added alpha lipoic acid as it is reported to improve pain in diabetic neuropathy.
I have some autonomic symptoms with difficulty urinating which improved on Tamsulosin.
I was using Voltaren cream which gave some pain relief in my feet and legs. Might be worth a try.
“Association of statin induced reduction in serum coenzyme Q10 level and conduction deficits in motor and sensory nerves: An observational cross-sectional study” , Association of statin induced reduction in serum coenzyme Q10 level and conduction deficits in motor and sensory nerves: An observational cross-sectional study - PubMed showed objective findings supporting statins as potential cause for symptomatic neuropathy.
Took Rosuvastatin 5 mg/day for about 3 weeks in December 2022 with worsening of numbness and burning in legs despite high dose CoQ10. The drug was stopped.
The presence of paraproteins and progression of symptoms suggests that there may be an underlying disease process that could be responsible for the neuropathy. Would definitely pursue this finding. I feel your pain and frustration.
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Thank you for your input and suggestions. I will let him know we’ve got some other things to try. It’s been a tough road. Wishing you continued improvement! Thank you, again!
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some evience they increase klotho in the context of NOS inhibition
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