UCSD Study Solicits Suffering Statin Drug Users

The project manager for a study on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs such as Lipitor and Crestor is looking for people to participate with them in their investigation into the side effects and symptoms associated with taking the most popular kind of prescription drugs on the market today.

After reading one of my recent blog entries where I shared my negative experiences while taking Lipitor in 2003, Marvin Hanashiro, who serves as the Project Manager for the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Statin Effects Study, contacted me to be a part of the study group.

Despite recent headlines proclaiming there is a 'very low' risk of side effects and that statin drugs are underprescribed, the reality of the situation is that there are a lot of people who are having problems taking the various cholesterol-lowering drugs on the market today. The purpose of the study is to try to find out why and offer doctors this information to better educate them about what they are recommending to their patients.

This study is headed by Dr. Beatrice Golomb and Dr. Michael H. Criqui, who hope it will attract more attention to the adverse effects of the biggest selling prescription drugs in the world.

They hope to do this by compiling information from real people who have experienced side effects from taking statin drugs and to give a closer look at "their character, impact, time course, recovery pattern, what factors may increase or reduce risk of developing them, and what factors may favor (or not) their recovery."

If you have experienced any side effects while taking a statin drug and would like to participate in the study, then you can e-mail them at statinstudy@ucsd.edu or call (858) 558-4950.

Hanishiro added: "If you know of anyone else who may have experienced adverse effects on statins and may be interested in participating in our study, perhaps you might be willing to pass on our contact information, and let them know their input can be of great help to us. Please do not hesitate to contact us for other information about our research regardless of whether you decide to participate in our study. We look forward to hearing back from you, and are grateful for your possible participation in this important research."

For those of us who are concerned with the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs, we really should rally behind this study and provide them with the information they are looking for to deal with high cholesterol in a better way.

While livin' la vida low-carb is great for lowering your triglycerides and raising your "good" cholesterol, even some low-carbers may feel like they have to take a statin drug to bring down their "bad" cholesterol. But are we harming our bodies more by taking these drugs than the positive benefits we are experiencing by lowering our cholesterol? Join this study today to help these researchers find the answer to that question.