L- Carnitine up to 3 gm/day was used in a post stroke victim with leg pain and wasting. It attenuated both. CK levels rose when she spotted the L carnitine. In a separate study, creatine 5 gm/day prevented statin myopathy pains.
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2018 Sep 1. pii: S1052-3057(18)30426-9. doi:
10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2018.07.033. [Epub ahead of print]
Effects of l-Carnitine Supplementation, Botulinum Neurotoxin Injection, and
Rehabilitation for a Chronic Stroke Patient.
Endo S et al
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30181037
- L -carnitine is “essential for free fat acid metabolism in mitochondria”
- purported to help endurance in cancer
- case – 58 year old with hemiplegia
- leg pain and fatigue limited recovery
- Starting with 1.5 gm carnitine and working up to 3 gms
-
“After prescription, her leg pain and fatigue during walking disappeared and her continuous walking distance increased rapidly.”
- at one point carnitine was stopped and CPK blood levels doubled – suggesting the carnitine was controlling muscle damage
In separate study:
Statin-induced myopathy prevented by creatine administration.
BMJ case reports 2018 (2018) in press
https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/30150340
- 66 yr old with hyperlipidemia
- amaurosis fugax, with carotid stenosis
- unable to tolerate 5 mg simvastatin due to pains but when reintroduced with creatine – had no problems
- they used 5 gm/day
In one study of cramps induced by hemodialysis, they used creatine monohydrate 12 gm/day and got a 60% reduction in cramps:
Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2002 Nov;17(11):1978-81.
Creatine monohydrate treatment alleviates muscle cramps associated with haemodialysis.
Chang CT et al
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12401856
The use of conenzyme q10 is equivocal:
In:
Zaleski, Amanda L., Beth A. Taylor, and Paul D. Thompson. “Coenzyme Q10 as Treatment for Statin-Associated Muscle Symptoms—A Good Idea, but….” Advances in Nutrition 9.4 (2018): 519S-523S.
https://academic.oup.com/advances/article-abstract/9/4/519S/5055942
- “Estimates of SAMS incidence vary from <1% in industry-funded clinical trials to 10–25% in nonindustry-funded clinical trials and ∼60% in some observational studies.”
- I have never seen much help from Coenzyme q10.
- Using Vitamin D helped but I suspect more in those with lower blood levels
Comment – the use of carnitine in post stroke cases would be useful and I know one case I might want to try it on. The use of creatine in statin myopathy is big I took high does statins myself until I found I was using my hands to get out of a chair – stopped the meds and recovered – only to find it re-happened on trying it again. If it could help with my pain cases it would be a major plus.
Thanks. Recent study taurine for muscle cramps. Randomised clinical trial: oral taurine supplementation versus placebo reduces muscle cramps in patients with chronic liver disease.
Vidot H, Cvejic E, Carey S, Strasser SI, McCaughan GW, Allman-Farinelli M, Shackel NA.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2018 Aug 23. doi: 10.1111/apt.14950. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 30136291
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