Despite Health Agencies’ Assurances, Crestor and Statins Still a Concern

Ottawa, ONStatin therapy remains an extremely popular method by which doctors help their patients control so-called bad cholesterol in their blood. While cholesterol, overall, is a necessary component to good health, a certain type of cholesterol can lead to plaque buildup in arteries. This can lead to heart attack or stroke. While cholesterol can be managed by diet and exercise, the sedentary lifestyle of most Americans appears to leave doctors little choice but to recommend statins to their patients. Crestor is one such statin. The problem, akin to most medications, is the prevalence and possibility for Crestor side effects.

Full disclosure: this reporter has been mandated by his doctor to take Crestor to keep bad cholesterol in check. I would much prefer to control my cholesterol via other means, but according to my doctor, I have little choice in the matter - at least right now - if I want to live a long and reasonably healthy life. I’m investigating ways to manage my cholesterol without taking Crestor, but for now I’m taking rosuvastatin (Crestor, NOT a generic) and watching for signs of Crestor issues.

Crestor diabetes is one of them. I don’t have many risk factors for diabetes, but I’m watching anyway. That’s because last year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on February 28, mandated Crestor manufacturer AstraZeneca together with other manufacturers of statins, to update prescribing labels with regard to a potential increase in blood sugar levels and the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

It should be noted that 11 months after the FDA sounded the alarm bells about the potential for Crestor diabetes and similar concerns for other statin drugs, Health Canada finally issued its own warning. Dr. David Juurlink, a specialist in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, was not impressed by Health Canada’s delay.

“It’s not acceptable,” Juurlink said in comments published in The Globe and Mail (1/25/13). “Canadians have a right to wonder why the agency tasked with protecting their health should act so much more slowly than its US counterpart. And Health Canada should explain why.”

There are more issues with regard to Crestor - and that’s Crestor rhabdomylosis. It’s a side effect of statins characterized by the breakdown of muscle tissue and the absorption of myoglobin into the bloodstream. Such a release of myoglobin can be toxic to the kidneys.

Crestor doctors tell their patients - as mine did to me - to be wary of sore muscles or dark urine.

The FDA historically has identified Crestor as having a minimal risk for rhabdomylosis. That doesn’t wash with Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the former high-profile director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, who claimed in 2005 that Crestor carried a risk for rhabdomylosis 21.8 times higher than other statins identified as having the lowest risk. Wolfe wanted Crestor banned. Eight years later, it’s still here. I’m living proof of that.

Anyone contemplating filing a Crestor lawsuit with regard to Crestor side effects may also wish to consult a book recently penned by retired Florida GP Dr. Hannah Yoseph and James B Yoseph. How Statin Drugs Really Lower Cholesterol (And Kill You One Cell at a Time) was reportedly years in the making, and sheds new light on just how statins work to reduce levels of so-called bad cholesterol.

Health agencies such as the FDA and Health Canada continue to advocate that the benefits of statins - including Crestor - outweigh the risks for most patients.