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High CPK count...

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Andy A

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Following on from my possible allergy, constant dizziness and swelling/colour change of the hands etc I have finally managed to see a doctor today about my blood test results.

The main one he mentioned was a high CPK count (something to do with muscle enzymes in the blood) which led him into asking me if I had been having any chest pains, seeing as its been more than a couple of weeks since I had my blood taken I'm guessing that the CPK cant be heart related or I would be in serious trouble by now, so the only thing I can think of is that my Simvastatin could of been damaging my muscles, its listed as a side effect and I have been getting a lot of achy pains, I have now stopped taking it but how long does it stay in your system for?

He also diagnosed some weird sensations/left thumbnail going blue from time to time :shock: as Reynaulds syndrome, I've read bit about it and cant really tell if its something that's likely to disappear on its own or if medication is needed in the long run...
 
Good that you have managed to get some results after the symptoms. CPK is an indicator that is often found in blood after heart attacks and severe angina attacks. If you are worried, you could ask to have an ecg for your peace of mind since sometimes cardiac events can be painless too. I suspect the simvastatin could be the reason, the statin drugs can be real nasties for the body. This is the reason I refuse to take them and probably never would.

Reynaud's syndrome is quite common, and can be varying degrees of severity. Your symptoms are very typical and are caused by constricting blood vessels. The syndrome is independent and not a diabetic complication by the way. Generally medication isn't used but is possible if the symptoms are severe. The recommendation is to try and avoid smoking and getting cold so in winters, wrap your hannds and feet warm! If you get symptoms in your feet, keep a stringent eye on them since the symptoms can be similar to diabetic vascular problems. The difference is that Reynaud's are usually clearly transient.
 
Thanks for the reply, that clears a lot of stuff up for me, I'm not worried about the CPK so much as I've been having chest pains since mid December (was admitted to hospital with them) and they've been there ever since, I've had them whilst wired up to an ECG and there was no undue movement in the trace, I've been having an achy left arm over the last few days but again the timescale would probably suggest its muscular.

All of the symptoms apart from the original chest pains have arisen since I started taking the statin and the metformin, reading up on the side effects I would suspect the statin is to blame and I guess that I will find out when it has cleared my system.

The only other thing I have changed is my diet, I have started low carbing (probably a week or 2 before the blood test was taken) and I wonder if that could of affected the reading as I have been losing weight steadily (approx 1kg every 5 days).
 
Low carbing doesn't generally cause muscle loss since main fuel is usually fat. Muscle aches are quite common though in the beginning so there may be some of that in your aches and pains. As long as you keep an eye on your chest and arm pains and have regular check ups, hopefully you'll feel better soon. Also if you are doing more exercise, that can obviously cause muscular aches... :wink:
 
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