Statin drugs and “brain fog”

Clearing the fog

The stories are out there. One person after another with memory problems related to statin drugs. Just awhile back, the New York Times reported on three men who experienced this “brain fog” while taking statin drugs.

One man, a sales rep, began having trouble remembering simple three-digit telephone extensions. He even forgot the computer password he used at work every day. He felt like his brain was mush. Until he quit taking the statin drug.

Another man was taking a statin, plus drugs for blood sugar and blood pressure. And said he felt like a zombie every afternoon. He began making bad driving errors. Until he quit all three drugs. And switched his focus to healthy eating and exercise. After that, his mind cleared. And his cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure returned to normal levels, too.

I’ve been on this soap box before. Prescription drugs are hazardous to your health. And statins are some of the worst offenders.

In fact, the FDA has ordered the Big Pharma giants who make these cholesterol-lowering drugs to revise their labels. Now they have to include two new warnings:

• Slight increased risk of elevated blood sugar levels, which could lead to type 2 diabetes.
• Rare cases of confusion and memory loss.

Of course, leave it to the FDA to take one step forward and two steps back. Because they also still assert that the benefits of statins “far outweigh the risks.”

With the diabetes epidemic in full swing, anything that spikes your blood sugar is a huge problem. Besides, as I’ve said before…those so-called “benefits” of lowering your cholesterol are hard to pinpoint. If they exist at all.

The fact is, high blood sugar is far more dangerous than high cholesterol.

So do me a favor. If you’re taking statin drugs to lower your cholesterol, take stock of your lifestyle instead.

If you’re overweight, are you trying to lose? Are you changing your diet? Getting regular exercise?

Don’t rely on statin drugs to improve your health. There are too many risks. And not nearly enough of those “benefits” the FDA believes so much in.