PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TAKES TWO DRUGS THAT CAN THREATEN AND IMPAIR HIS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. The dangerous side effects of the drugs he takes are often downplayed or ignored.  Facts were revealed that he is on a cholesterol-lowering statin medication called rosuvastatin, the generic for Crestor. However, the media does not go into any detail about the potential side effects of this very potent drug.  It is one of the strongest statin drugs and has caused serious adverse effects to thousands of people, even at low doses over a short duration of time. Statins work by inhibiting an enzyme needed to produce cholesterol, hormones, memory proteins and maintain cellular energy. The highest concentration of cholesterol is found in the human brain. The FDA Adverse Events Databases from 2004-2014 report 36,605 reports of brain dysfunction from statins. The reported adverse effects are considered to be only a small percentage of the real numbers.  The FDA added a WARNING ABOUT COGNITIVE (BRAIN-RELATED) IMPAIRMENT, SUCH AS MEMORY LOSS, FORGETFULNESS AND CONFUSION to its required labeling on statins. More common side effects are cramps, loss of strength,  muscle damage, tendon issues, joint and bone pain.

His campaign said: “We are pleased to disclose all the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure -uninterrupted- the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singular demanding  job of President of the United States”. Donald Trump also said it was important to have a detailed physical examination “in light of increased scrutiny of candidates’ health”. I am suggesting President Trump do a ‘detailed examination’ of Crestor because ‘in light of increased scrutiny’ of statin drugs, many serious adverse  effects have been under reported and ignored.  Random controlled trials with statins reveal adverse effects that physicians do not usually recognize. The improved cholesterol numbers attribute to statin’s “wonder drug” status but the benefits are exaggerated. Some people will experience immediate side effects within days and connect them to the drug and discontinue it. Health problems that appear later are frequently not associated to be a side effect from the statin. So, the patient often receives a new diagnosis with an apparently separate health problem, and is prescribed more drugs.  Cholesterol is a major component of nerves, the brain, aids in production of hormones, bile, vitamin D and gives structural integrity to cells and membranes. Because statins interfere with so many processes essential for life, the adverse effects can be diverse and severe. Often, healing and repair mechanisms  of the body cannot keep up with the statins damaging effects.

An article in The American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs cites hundreds of studies on the adverse effects of statins.  It states “Physician awareness of statin adverse effects is reportedly low even for the adverse effects most widely reported by patients”. Besides the  well known muscle damage, there are many other conditions that people report when taking statins for longer periods of time. The patient is then sent to another specialist as they continue taking the statin, resulting in taking more prescriptions from the new doctor to treat the unrecognized side effects from the statins. Also, it is common for the doctor to change statins after realizing a particular one caused the problem. These changes can be attempted several times trying to find the ‘right’ one, as the patient worsens.  Research shows that the primary benefits statins have is due to anti-inflammatory effects. There are much safer alternatives to address inflammation and  cholesterol issues.

I read an article by a doctor stating Donald Trump had previously taken at least two other statins before being put on Crestor. This could mean several years of statin use prior to Crestor. Obviously the longer statins are taken the greater risk of side effects, especially in older patients.  He is 70 years old. Donald Trump announced on the Dr. Oz show that he took Crestor. I’m not sure if Dr. Oz was aware he already tried two other statins. Questioning Donald Trump about statin side effects he may be experiencing may have been off limits. On a previous show Dr.  Oz said, “Here’s my bottom line on cholesterol. If you don’t have a heart problem and your doctor wants to give you a statin…… I WANT YOU TO PUSH BACK.  And in particular I want you to ask for this LDL particle size testing…..it’s a test that’s available everywhere….If your LDL is high, you should then push to get this particle test done so you know whether it’s a big deal or not, before you’re put on medication”.

Dr. Oz recommends lifestyle and diet changes along with tests to hopefully avoid taking dangerous statins. Donald Trump said, “I view this as, in a way, going to see my doctor”.  Why didn’t Dr. Oz explain and explore the statin use? The ‘doctor appointment’  left much unsaid but did expose a very real danger. Statins are highly overprescribed, overrated and severe adverse effects are minimized or ignored. There is a notorious lack of transparency in the world of Big Pharma and people on statins especially need to do further research.

New information was disclosed in a New York Times  interview with Dr. Bornstein, the physician of Donald Trump. He said the President takes finasteride, also sold as Propecia which is used as a hair-loss treatment. He also takes the antibiotic  tetracycline for rosacea, a skin problem. Propecia is also linked to cognition problems and mental confusion as well as sexual side effects. Merck added depression to the list of side effects in 2010. Post-Finesteride Syndrome (PFS) is a condition of permanent sexual, mental and physical side effects that remain even after quitting the drug.  Interactions of drugs simply increase the potential adverse effects. On the Dr. Oz interview President Trump appears to have purposely hidden and omitted his use of Propecia and Tetracycline. He had multiple opportunities to disclose other medications when questioned by Dr. Oz but chose not to. Donald Trump said, “I don’t think you can represent the country properly if you are not a healthy person.” He speaks of transparency often, yet he withholds  important facts about his own health.

Because statins impair several chemical pathways common to all systems of the body the adverse effects can be diverse and difficult to associate with the statin. This can result in a single problem or a combination of many conditions:

Muscle and tendon damage        Memory loss         Diabetes         Personality changes         Skin reactions/ Red face     Liver, thyroid, kidney problems    Nerve damage Neuropathy      Fibromyalgia       Arthritis     Joint pain      Back pain   Nausea…….

Should any health or cognitive problem occur with President Trump, it is an issue for our country and the world. Are there physical and/or mental adverse effects that are not being disclosed? Would President Trump communicate differently and/or make the same decisions if he was not on statins and hair-loss drugs.  I have talked to hundreds of people that have experienced various types of musculoskeletal and cognitive problems directly related to statins. I listen to stories of how people improve their health after stopping statins, and accounts of those where the statin damage was just too much to recover from. So many know that they just don’t feel right, but their doctor just keeps re-assuring them “that’s just part of getting older” or “you’re doing great for your age” or “statins don’t do that”. Some adverse effects may decrease by taking  CoQ 10, Vitamin D and lifestyle changes.  Hundreds of people have told me how their mental and physical health deteriorated from using statins in spite of positive changes they made to try to avoid the side effects.

I will not repeat what some of the statin damaged people say about their doctors that put them on statins, and urged them to keep taking them, as the doctor denies that there is any connection, as their health worsens. The person usually has to resort to the internet to learn about the toxic effects, or a friend or relative shares a statin disaster story. Often people in their family or workplace notice behavioral changes. The mental impairment contributes to the person not being able to recognize what is happening to his own body and mind. The doctor will rarely admit the problem, usually because he or she is not educated about the more indepth biochemistry of  statins and cholesterol. They are satisfied that the cholesterol numbers changed, the potential side effects are ‘rare’ and they are practicing the “medical standard of care”.

While on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania one day,  Ivanka Trump was asked if there would be anything “surprising” in her father’s medical history that might be revealed. She responded: “His health is unbelievable…..”.   I have spoken to children that have related  accounts of what happened to their parents while on statins.  Thousands of people get a “surprise”. Often it’s family members or friends that notice the alarming changes and ask the person what they are doing different, only to find out they were put on a statin. I simply recommend doing some reading and checking out the real risks of using statins. It is truly “surprising” to learn the truth about the “war on cholesterol”. Once the side effects kick in it can be difficult to recover.

Two years ago my sister was put on low dose 10mg  Lipitor and the third day she could not get out of bed. She stopped and was better in few days. I’ve watched friends and relatives health deteriorate while on statins. Some people educate themselves before taking meds but most seem to practice: “I just take it”, “I do what the doctor tells me”, “My wife puts my pills out everyday and I just take them” or “I trust my doctor”.  Advances in medicine are impeded by myths about cholesterol.  Reputation, status, money and fear hinder the process.

I was reluctant to write this article but when I learned that President Trump is on Crestor,  I felt I had a responsibility.  I wrote “The Price of Silence” article that addresses a code of silence which pervades religion, science, medicine and government. I was a pharmacist that left the usual world of handing out prescriptions. I had just seen too much over-prescribing  that damaged lives when often there are safer and less expensive ways.  I embarked on a 20 year journey of researching the why and how of the ‘placebo effect’. Millions of people are helped with products or methods that are dismissed as a ‘placebo’ even though provable physiological effects beyond placebo occur.  Much of my work involves the dynamics of cholesterol. I have had the opportunity to interact with thousands of people damaged by statins to formulate a unique understanding of cholesterol and factors that pre-dispose a person to have more side effects from statins and other medications. I have an upcoming book.

YOU’RE FIRED ! People have told me over the years how they fired their doctor because  he/she would not listen to them, as their health declined from the statins,  the doctor did not figure it out, continued to deny it, even after it was proven. The clichés of “it’s all in your head”, “are you a doctor?”, or “you read too much” are common responses from doctors.  What will President Trump do if he experiences side effects that he can’t tolerate from Crestor and/or Propecia?  Will it require other people to notice the effects before it is acknowledged? Side effects from these drugs generally do not just ‘go away’ in a few days after discontinuing the drug.
The late Dr. Duane Graveline was a former astronaut, aerospace medical research scientist, flight surgeon and family doctor. His health was seriously damaged by statins. He was told “STATIN DRUGS DON’T DO THAT” by doctors and pharmacists as he began to investigate his own reactions to the statin Lipitor.  Dr. Graveline took a low dose 10mg Lipitor.

“It was six weeks later when I experienced my first episode of what was later diagnosed to be transient global amnesia. This is an unusual form of amnesia wherein you immediately, without the slightest warning, are unable to formulate new memory and you can no longer communicate. Not because you cannot talk, but you can’t remember the last syllable that was spoken to you. so nothing you say is relevant anymore. In addition, you have a retrograde loss of memory, sometimes decades into the past”. He quit taking Lipitor despite the reassurances from his doctor that it was just a coincidence. He had no relapses the rest of the year and at his next physical the doctor urged him to get back on Lipitor. During the interim he had spoken to about 30 doctors and some pharmacologists and they all assured him that it couldn’t be the statins. His doctor wanted him on Lipitor again, and he agreed to take only a 5mg dose. Eight weeks later he had a worse episode and quit the statins. And years later, the doctors still told him it’s just a coincidence.

The manufacturer of Crestor proudly reports that it is much stronger than Lipitor. The fact that Donald Trump is the oldest U.S. president and takes two dangerous drugs should be explored.  From what I have researched and seen, it is something to be very concerned about. I am hoping that someone in his family or circle of friends shares a statin disaster story with him that might encourage further inquiry. More people are speaking up and warning friends and family about statins and more doctors are not prescribing statins as they find better alternatives. Dr. Graveline proceeded to do years of research on statins and has authored several books.  Among them are: “The Statin Damage Crisis”,   “Statin Drug Side Effects and the Misguided  War on Cholesterol”, and “Lipitor , Thief of Memory”. The website is www.spacedoc.com.  Besides indepth information on statins, there is a forum with over 8,000 posts from statin users telling of  their health disaster stories. Crestor and each of the other statins have their own sections. Dr. Graveline wrote “Among statins, Crestor has the highest rate of new onset diabetes, the highest rate of rhabdomyolysis (muscle damage) and the highest rate of severe kidney damage. The stronger the statin the greater the side effects. Permanent neuropathy, permanent myopathy, chronic neuromuscular degeneration, and Parkinsonism, and ALS-like cases are thought by some to be the result of permanent statin induced, mitochondrial damage. IF THIS IS BEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE A DOMINO EFFECT , YOU ARE RIGHT. WE STILL ARE SEEING THE DOMINOES TOPPLE ONE BY ONE AS TIME GOES BY – THE RESULT OF MARKETING A CLASS OF DRUGS BEFORE IT WAS FULLY INVESTIGATED”. Baycol, one of the earlier statins was taken off the market because of so many deaths. Statin names include: Crestor (rosuvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin), Zocor (simvastatin) and Vytorin (combination simvastatin/ezetimibe).

I have a small poster of Dr. Graveline that I place in my booth at trade shows that people see as they walk by.  They come over to me after seeing it and often make the comment “I’ll tell you what Crestor did to me!” or “Never take statins!” or “You wanna know what Lipitor did to my husband….?” Then, they tell me their story.  I have hundreds of videos of these very sad stories. Most of these accounts are denied by their doctors. I also talk to doctors that refuse to prescribe them any longer and to doctors that acknowledge how bad the statins are, yet they feel they are ‘forced’ to prescribe them. Listening to personal accounts has a much more profound effect than reviewing data and statistics from an industry that lacks transparency.

THE UNITED STATES:

1) is one of only two countries in the world that allows  DTC “direct to consumer”  TV prescription drug ads to maximize drug sales and dependency.

2) is where legal prescriptions are a leading cause of death, disease and hospital admissions.

3) is where medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcies.

4)  has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, and is ranked dead last in healthcare criteria when compared to other wealthy countries.

Millions of people have lost trust in our medical system.

President Donald Trump has vowed to address problems in our healthcare industry that are out of control. The United States healthcare  INDUSTRY  is “PAST DUE” for a major overhaul.