If you are taking statins to lower your cholesterol, you may be interested in the following info, especially if you haven't haven't been diagnosed with CIDP or question your CIDP diagnosis. An alternative diagnosis could be statin neuropathy. There is a link to info on this topic on the CIDPUSA home page. A recent publication on statin neuropathy can be found at:http://www.jfponline.com/pages.asp?id=9452
Most of my neuropathy symptoms started after I began taking statins to lower my cholesterol. I'm planning to discontinue taking statins to see if there is any improvement in my neuropathy.
Hi Jon, my mother and I both have CIDP, very different onsets hers over years and mine was originally dxed as GBS. Mum was dxed in 2005 and she strongly believes the high dose statins she was on were her trigger so she stopped taking them. She manages her cholesterol by careful dieting. She has had one relapse since initial dx so not 100% sure her neuropathy was due to statins but will send her the link you posted, thanks Karen
I was searching the literature about statin neuropathy to see if it can have an autoimmune mechanism. The cause of statin neuropathy isn't well understood, but I haven't found anything linking it to autoimmune disease. On the other hand, the literature indicates that statins can trigger autoimmune liver disease. I know that a number of the LivingWithCIDP members (including myself) have elevated liver enzymes. Your mother's theory seems to have merit. You might also give your mother another link, which I mistakenly omitted from my message: http://www.cidpusa.org/statin%20neuropathy.html
I should be able to control my cholesterol with diet also. With the statin that I was taking, my LDL was actually below normal.
I just stop my stint because I started getting serve legs cramping. I do feel better and my leg cramps aren't as bad. it makes since what you wrote to me.