Zocor and kidney function
Common Questions and Answers about Zocor and kidney function
zocor
Vytorin does a remarkable job of reducing your Cholesterol, much better than Zocor (Simvastatin) alone. However, Zetia doesn't seem to add anything to the picture as far as preventing heart disease is concened. But read this about Zocor:
-"Zocor Users Not Warned of Risks:
The FDA's June 2011 safety alert is the most serious of many warnings regarding Zocor and associated risks of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. Zocor manufacturer Merck & Co.
My father has been having the same problem of muscle loss while taking zocor. He has been very fit his whole life and was a marathon swimmer - and at 84 years old he still exercises regularly. However, he finds his doctors are very UNsympathetic to his complaint that the cholesterol lowering medications are stripping his muscles away.
my bun is 63 and my creatine is 8.02 and im 60 yrs. old.
Before the Zocor there was NOTHING wrong with him but the cholesterol. He has now tested positive for kidney failure three years in a row and it has been getting worse, this past year his liver started showing distress. He went off Zocor and magically all his numbers got much better (from stage 3 to stage 2). So they put him on Lipitor. He was only on it for a month before he got what he and the doctors thought was a sines infection.
Has anyone read how horrific the side effects really are to some of these statins and realized that either they or their loved ones had these very symtoms and becames seriously ill to the point that they ended up in ICU not knowing who they were, where they were, in so much pain they could not bear to be touched and had regressed to near infancy before anyone figured out that it was zocor or lipitor or another statin they were on that was causing these bizarre illnessess ?
When Dad is in heart failure he needs additional dosages of diaretics. Too much diaretic can effect kidney function and too little will effect heart function. We did see a kidney specialist concerning this, and the primary care physician is in communication with him.
Dad also has vascular dementia. I know how hard dealing with memory loss can be for both patient and family. I will keep you all in my prayers.
and creatinine is very poor test for kidneys function, for example body builders can have high creatinine but everything is fine...it is too dependent on muscles and many with kidneys damage never get it abnormal
much better all the other tests
by the way hbv damages kidneys too, it can infect kidneys but not replicate there.
I have had back pain around kidney area for a few months and went to docs. She examined me and said my right kidney was inflammed. I was starting to get some pain right side under ribcage too. Mild dull ache type pain. Also still around side and back. Went back 2 weeks later and she examined again and said kidney had gone down but could still feel it. Sent me for an Ultrasound scan. I went on Wednesday this week.Thursday the surgery called me to make appointmen for a blood test (LFT).
Two normal kidneys account for 100% of kidney function. A single kidney provides about 50% of kidney function. One can lead a normal life with one kidney as long as the single kidney remains healthy. When kidney function drops to less than 50% of normal, the risk of health problems increases.
Serious health problems are more frequent when kidney function drops to below 20%.
Dialysis or transplant is necessary if kidney function falls to 15% or below.
My understanding is that the statins with the greatest LDL reducing effect are Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor, and Pravachol, in that order. I don’t mention Leschol and Mevacor since they appear to be rarely used since recently due to the aforementioned being more powerful. Do we have any available solid data on the effects of the various individual statins other than LDL reduction? For example, do we know which ones raise HDL the most? What about effects on particle size or Lp(a), etc.
You need to speak with your doctor for clarification. Zocor and Crestor are both used to reduce LDL cholesterol and triglycercides not raise HDL levels. Also ask your doctor for an A1c [hemoglobin A1c] test to see how well you are controlling your glucose levels and whether your lifestyle has made you a candidate for diabetes.
Vytorin is a combination, I believe, of Zocor and Zetia. Zocor should help with the cholesterol already there. If not, Lipitor has studies showing that Lipitor at 40mg can help reduce cholesterol on heart valves and in arteries. If it reduces cholesterol there, it may reduce cholesterol on the heart muscle. Cholesterol builds in the arteries, valves and muscle of the heart. In order for cholesterol to stick, there has to be a sticking spot.
I know from my own kidney disease (CKD) and my siblings and mother kidney problems that we have PKD. It’s genetic from one parent which means it starts later in in life (30+yrs or older). If both parents carry the gene then problems start in early childhood. My daughters started at age 2 and she is 43 with high BP and other kidney problems. Drugs can cause problems but you usually recover with minimal damage.
The blood urea nitrogen or BUN test is primarily used, along with the creatinine test, to evaluate kidney function. Those with advanced cirrhosis may have an impact on kidney function as their liver function progressively fails. This is why the creatinine level is one the the blood tests that make up the MELD score that determines the need for liver transplantation.
Typically when a patient experiences Hepatorenal Syndrome as a result of cirrhosis a HIGH creatinine level is seen.
In the ZOCOR Survival Study, the number of patients with more than one liver enzyme level elevation to greater than 3 times the normal upper limit was no different between the ZOCOR and placebo groups. Only 8 patients on ZOCOR and 5 on placebo discontinued therapy due to elevated liver enzyme levels. Patients were started on 20 mg of ZOCOR, and one third had their dose raised to 40 mg.
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