Excellent article on importance of CoQ10 in both Kidney & Heart Function

[NoStatinsForMe]

Eight months ago, my 85 yo Dad, who has stage 3 CKD, was told to stop his statin for 2 months for a surgical procedure. He had labs done before he restarted his statin, & his eGFR increased from 51 to 55 and his creatinine decreased from 1.34 to 1.26. His doctor insisted it had nothing to do with the statin, so he restarted his statin & had labs again 6 months later. We were shocked to see his eGFR had dropped from 55 to 45 and creatinine had jumped from 1.26 to 1.49!!

My Dad shared with me that he had also stopped taking his CoQ10 supplement & had never restarted it. He was on CoQ10 supplement because statin drugs for cholesterol are known to decrease CoQ10 levels, and CoQ10 is important for healthy heart & skeletal muscle function. I anticipated as a retired pharmacist, that restarting statin would cause his eGFR to drop back to previous levels or worse, but was surprised how much it decreased and began looking into impact of CoQ10 deficiency on kidney function.

I found that adequate CoQ10 levels are indeed very important for healthy kidney function, and that CKD patients often have LOW CoQ10 levels. Improving/restoring CoQ10 levels can help lower high blood pressure, total & LDL cholesterol, and may improve eGFR & creatinine & slow CKD progression. Here is a link to the article I found:

inkidney.com/coq10-kidney-h...

Clearly, this is not to be construed as medical advice, and you should always consult your physician prior to adding any supplements or other medications to your regimen. However, I do believe this is an excellent article to share with your doctor and have a conversation about.

My Dad is planning on stopping his statin for 6 months to have better understanding of its true impact on his kidney function, and I will update this with his labs. I also plan on encouraging him to restart CoQ10 to replenish any prolonged deficiency, as I suspect it’s deficiency could have also contributed to dramatic changes in his labs, and because as we age, our bodies our unable to produce as much CoQ10, increasing the possibility of CoQ10 deficiency.

[userotc]

Yes, very interesting. It makes sense that deficient CoQ10 eg due to statins could present problems. That's just one of several reasons my mum (ckd3) refused them and my dad came off them after 1y several years ago. Presumably your dad may restart after 6m though?

My only disagreement with your comments and the article you linked is the indication that total cholesterol can cause CVD. Other than maybe for hypercholesterolemia, I believe that view is now outdated, see 2 links below.

openheart.bmj.com/content/2...

researchsquare.com/article/...

[NoStatinsForMe in reply to userotc]

Agree. I may have overlooked that as I was hyper focused on the role of CoQ10 in healthy kidney function and the deficiency of which, appears to be common in CKD. In US, we have been misinformed for decades about nutrition. They told us seed oils (canola, soybean, vegetable, etc and margarine, which is one molecule away from plastic) were healthy for us, told us saturated fat was bad & recommended unsaturated & polyunsaturated fats, and their food pyramid advised us to eat several servings of bread each day.

US now has the highest rates of CKD (and likely CVD & cancer) in the world. The “pandemic” opened my eyes to the huge amount of corruption in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and the agencies which regulate them. It prompted me to conduct a deep dive into statins, PPI’s (proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole, etc), & other highly pushed healthcare modalities. I have since learned to scrutinize everything no matter how trustworthy the source. There is a lot of fraud in the medical/science journals and many are heavily influenced and manipulated by Big Pharma.

We must empower ourselves and take charge of our own health. Doctors & pharmacists in US are not educated on nutrition and its role in preventing & causing disease. Western medicine focuses on treating symptoms of disease instead of determining, addressing, & treating the root cause. Big Pharma is not interested in finding cures, their profitability is dependent on chronic illness & disease & the maintenance of such.

One thing I have learned over the last few years is that the vast majority of prescription drugs can cause various nutrient deficiencies which can lead to other imbalances or health issues. Statins and PPI’s are two of the biggest offenders. Doctors in US rarely order any labs to check for nutritional deficits and they are provided little if any education in medical school on nutrition/nutritional deficiencies. We are our own best advocates for our health.

[userotc in reply to NoStatinsForMe]

Totally agree. Hopefully RFK shakes up the mess there then we follow suit here 🙏Constant referrals to medics for nutrition advice really annoys me considering their lack of training & qualifications, as you've indicated.

For that reason, you'll note from my posts and replies regular referrals to qualified, registered Nutritional Therapists. Sadly some members and/or admins don't like that!

Re the post, I must admit to being unfamiliar with CoQ10 testing so assume we're not deficient. Following my advice, my dad does supplement for heart protection even though he's been off statins 8y. Also brother in law after a cardiac arrest just over 2y ago, aged 44!

[Trebor435 in reply to userotc]

Hey family, I (ckd 3, 52 yr male) just join this grp yesterday, and I must say threads like this on is the answer to mission diagnosis and negligent health care. I will share more soon about my body builder, to insulin dependent diabetes, to ckd 3 journey. Thank you all for posting your personal experiences it has prolonged many of our lives.

[ShyeLoverDoctor]

Surgery can also lower your GFR, especially if you were dehydrated going into it. Happened to me.