“Man left wheelchair-bound after taking popular cholesterol-lowering drug: A cautionary tale”

I wrote – Yasmine El Sawy:

A 47-year-old man who took a cholesterol-lowering drug, atorvastatin (a popular cholesterol-lowering tablet), left him unable to walk and needed to sit in a wheelchair.

The man, Mark Firman, had started taking the drug 4 years ago, and had no health problems until he did everything in his power to get out of bed every morning, according to The Sun.

Also read: 4 magical ways to lower cholesterol in 30 minutes

The 40-year-old also started complaining of muscle pain and a high body temperature in the evening. Within 9 months, he lost his mobility, quit his job, and needed to sit in a wheelchair all the time.

Ferman had a rare autoimmune disease called myopathy, which causes chronic muscle weakness and inflammation, which doctors confirmed during his diagnosis.

Doctors hope his symptoms can be brought under control by changing the plasmapheresis, a liquid part of the blood that can be removed and replaced.

Doctors explained this case that Ferman’s body had shown a violent reaction to the drug, and then the immune system attacked the muscles, i.e. causing an immune-muscular disease, which is an uncommon condition.

Myopathy is one of the very rare symptoms of atorvastatin, as it can occur in a small group of people who take cholesterol-lowering drugs, so caution and continuous follow-up with the specialist doctor should be exercised.