High Cholesterol, tinnitus & constipation link?

[Alikatte123]

Hi All, I'm hoping you maybe able to help me. I've just been diagnosed with high Cholesterol 7.1. I was told at my appointment my Cholesterol when previously measured in 2014 was 6.1. I have been suffering with constipation for many years now, my body doesn't seem to want to retain water and I pee frequently. Also over the years, I've noticed a buzzing in my head which comes and goes and seems to get worse half an hour or so after eating. Recently I've been getting twinges in my arm and leg muscles which come and go. Also I have been waking in the night with palpitations for several years. I don't drink anything with caffeine in it and haven't done so for many years. My body also doesn't tolerate sulphites or alcohol.

The doctor prescribed me a dose of 20mg avrostatin which I started taking on Fri 12/2/21. The next day 2 days I had a dreadful headache, this had gone by the Monday. I continued to take for 6 days.

( I will add that as of 1st feb I was trying to lose weight by going on a keto diet).

I also had privately got in contact with a nutritionist before I had been diagnosed with high cholesterol to try and sort out the constipation and tinnitus which I was sure were in some way linked. She suggested I take; 1/2 tsp buffered Vitamin C Powder (Allergy research group), 750mg capsule Omega3 (Healthaid), 1 drop (50ug) vitamin D Mulsion Forte (Biotics Research), 10g Psyllium Intensive in 200ml water (Biocare), 1 tablet Multi Guard high potency Multi vitamin. I started taking these on 13/2/21 the day after starting the statins.

On the Monday I started to feel a weakness in my legs and arms, the buzz in my head was still there.

On Tuesday the buzz in my head had reduced but my legs felt wobbly.

On Wednesday buzzing in my head had gone up a bit , legs were still wobbly.

Wed night/ Thur I woke 3 times in the night, burning sensation in my thighs and palpitations. During the day the wobbliness in my legs worsened, my heart rate was 119, when trying to get up after sitting on the floor my thighs were painful when i tried to get up, i had a dry throat and felt wobbly. Decided enough was enough and went to A&E. Had an ECG blood tests and checked for diabetes all came back ok, only thing was a slight amount of blood in my urine which they weren't bothered about. The Dr did mention ketoacidosis, which on reflection when I got home and read through my food diary, I realised I hadn't been eating many carbs. He also suggested coming off the statins and supplements.

Since Thursday I've made sure I have more carbs in my diet and that has reduced the wobbliness/weakness in my legs but I still do get the occasional pain. My tinnitus has worsened, my throat feels a bit constricted at times and my constipation is worse.

If anyone has any ideas about how to go about relieving my symptoms, I would be really grateful as I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. Many thanks for reading all of this. Ali

[Hidden]

I can’t offer a huge amount of advice regarding your symptoms beyond asking have you spoken to your doctor and had tests? Are you taking any treatment for the constipation? Are you eating lots of fruit, veg and fibre? Are you drinking enough? I know you’re looking for a link, but I have both chronic constipation and tinnitus, and I’m not aware of any direct or conditional link between them. Tinnitus tends to be one of those things that once you’ve got it, you’ve got it - it’s endured by several members of my family, but it ranges from me with occasional, relatively short lasting noises, to my dad who has it so constantly he really struggles to sleep. There can be a link between palpitations and the stomach, particularly with eating, as a result of the vagus nerve running past the heart en route to the neck. Again, have you had any monitoring of your heart other than spot ecgs, such as a holter?

The one bit of sound advice I can definitely give you is that, wherever possible, don’t make loads of changes to medication and supplements all at once. Sometimes it’s clinically necessary to add in several new medications in one go, but as you’ve found, it can then be really hard to determine which (if any) of the new additions are responsible for any side effects or issues that occur. With supplements, if you really want to take them, there’s no reason that you can’t add them in one by one over a few weeks and assess what they do that way. I’m curious when you say you consulted a nutritionist - did you have any blood tests to assess your vitamins and minerals before they recommended these supplements? Most nutritionists that I know wouldn’t immediately recommend a whole host of supplements. Holistic practitioners, or naturopaths, however, definitely would. The majority of people don’t need major supplementation as long as they’re eating a properly healthy, balanced diet, and it’s possible to overdose on several vitamins when supplementing, including A, D and E. Excess vitamin C will cause gastrointestinal symptoms, and excess B6, B9 and B12 can also cause significant problems, although these vitamins are water soluble and therefore not stored in the body the way A, D, E and K are. With regards to the atorvastatin, I recently started it and found headache to be a problem, but it does seem to have settled over the month I’ve been on it.

I would urge you to exercise caution regarding the keto diet, as it remains unproven, with many studies indicating that any benefits are not sustained, and it can cause muscle issues, including with the heart. Ketosis, which is the metabolic action the keto diet is based on, is in and of itself a form of ketoacidosis. The only area where scientists collectively agree it’s appropriate, although they don’t understand why, is for some children with refractory epilepsy. There is some suggestion that it may also be appropriate for some people with diabetes, but again, this remains unproven, and all the advice is anyone considering keto should seek proper medical advice before starting. Obviously, I don’t know your personal circumstances, but having been morbidly obese and lost 10 stone myself, having also tried every ‘diet’ under the sun (including keto, which I found impossible to stick to and didn’t make me feel too great), the one that eventually worked for me was a simple lower carb, higher protein, very healthy, cook from scratch one. Nothing was forbidden, it was just calorie controlled and everything in moderation, alongside exercise and generally moving more. I’ve now been maintaining my weight using the same diet for the last 3 years without issue.

In any event, I hope you get some answers and feel better soon.

[JanFer]

Hi Sorry to hear you have had so many problems. I do agree with the message from Charlie_G, some very good advice there. One further note, I have been on statins. The first time it was after a blood test that the doctor advised me not to take them. However, a few years later and still high cholesterol, that I have difficulty getting down, and a new doctor said to try some different statins. These really affected the muscles in my legs so much that form walking between 5 and 9 miles I could not walk anywhere without pain. After a year of not taking the statins I am back up to walking about 5 miles before bad pain kicks in but certainly improving. I am now taking etzimbe for cholesterol, for some reason doctors do not like prescribing it but I feel fine on it. I have not had any blood tests since starting so don't know if it is actually helping yet.

Best of luck with all your symptoms and I hope that you can get them sorted.

[Alikatte123 in reply to JanFer]

Thank you for replying. I will ask my doctor about taking etzimbe instead of statins and see what he says. I'm glad your muscles are recovering and getting stronger and I hope your cholesterol is on it's way down. All the best. Ali

[MichelleHarris]

I would get your Thyroid blood results ie. TSH, T3 & T4 and Thyroid antibodies and post results and your post above on the Thyroid forum x