Just say no to Crestor

I started taking Crestor last summer after my Boston cardiologists decided the my C-Reactive Protein (my CRAP level, as I think of it) was slightly elevated. Elevated CRP levels are indicative of inflammation of arterial walls and are used as a predictor of future heart disease. Atrial arrhythmias have also been associated with higher CRP levels. So they put me on a statin (Crestor) because these seem to lower CR-P levels in addition to lowering cholesterol levels. My cholesterol levels weren't bad before I started Crestor--my bad was not too bad and my good was really good.

Shortly after I started taking the statin, I had a number of symptoms that were alarming--high fever, body aches, etc.--so I stopped the drug. I turned out to have Lyme Disease, and 3 weeks on an antibiotic (that caused its own set of problems), I was fine. I went back on Crestor around the end of September.

Since then I have noticed that my dreams are very vivid, sometimes disturbingly so. There's hardly a night that goes by that is completely restful. On top of that I have gained nearly 10 pounds since I came home from the hospital last May. While I might be able to attribute part of it to an increase in physical activity that may be building muscle mass (weighs more than fat blah blah blah) and another part of it to increased fluid retention because of either the calcium channel blocker or the nitroglycerin I take, it still seems rather drastic to me. I've had horrible moments where I sink into despair that I keep gaining so I increase my running then I gain again. It simply should not work this way.

And then there's Tara Parker-Pope's articles in the New York Times ("What That Cholesterol Trial Didn't Show" and "Great Drug, But Does It Prolong Life?"). The upshot is that for people with no heart disease but high cholesterol, the statins have not been proven to extend life. So what could it possibly benefit me with no heart disease and normal cholesterol?

So I'm quitting. For now. It's my birthday present to myself. I am going to take a month off from it. If I drop 5 pounds mysteriously and get lots of sleep and get my groove back (did I mention that I feel tired and unmotivated most of the time?), then Crestor is history! If all I get is a few weeks of good sleep, then I'll have to think about what to do.

Hopefully I'll remember to post updates (did I mention that I forget to do things? could be the event, could be the Crestor, could be that I was always this way but I can't remember).

Friday, February 1, is National Wear Red Day. It's the kickoff to the American Heart Association's Heart Health Month. People are encouraged to wear red this Friday to raise awareness about women's heart health issues. Many organizations are participating in different ways. For example, the Boston Bruins will come on the ice between the 2nd and 3rd period of their game tonight in red dresses and shoot goals at a red heart on the ice. A portion of the ticket sales from the game will go to the AHA.

Go Red for Women is a movement sponsored by the American Heart Association. The goal is to educate women about heart disease, methods of detection and prevention, and lifestyle issues that can affect outcomes. The organization uses a red dress as its symbol. Please visit their website (www.GoRedForWomen.org) to learn more.

Before my cardiac arrest eight months ago, I knew intellectually that heart disease was a bigger killer of women than breast cancer, but it was more an interesting fact than a real life issue for me. I have become much more attuned to issues of the heart since my own experience and have been looking for ways to raise awareness among my women friends. So I plan to wear red on Friday and I proudly wear my red dress pin every day. I even purchase a bracelet with hearts and a red dress from Brighton. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Go Red for Women movement.

-P