What Was I Saying???

We've all done it - walked into a room and forgotten why. It can be amusing.

"Honey Bun, do you know why I'm in the kitchen?"
"Yes, you were going to get something to drink."
"Oh, yeah."

But it started happening to me with increasing regularity. The other thing that started happening was what I'll call "losing my words". I would be in mid sentence when I just stopped talking because the next word didn't come out and I couldn't think of it. It was becoming a daily occurrence, in fact sometimes it happened more than once a day. Simple words, easy words - things I know and have known for years.

This is not amusing. It is worrisome. Am I having early signs of Alzheimer's or dementia? It's not common in my family, but I suppose I could be first. What is going on?

Then last Saturday we went to my granddaughter's swim meet. After the drive to Oklahoma City, Mark's back hurt so badly that he couldn't survive sitting on bleachers so he went back to the kids' house to rest. (It's amazing the lengths God will go to in order to deliver a message!) While resting, Mark watched a program about memory. I'm not sure whether it was on PBS or CNN - but that's not important. What is important is what he learned. It seems that 10% of people who take statin drugs (prescribed for high cholesterol) are affected in this way.

Last summer I asked my doctor to switch me from Simvastatin (which I had taken without incident since 2006) to Pravastatin. The reason for the switch was that I could buy a three month supply of Pravastatin at WalMart for $10 and the Simvastatin costs three times as much. Why not pay less if they do the same job? My doctor was more than happy to make the switch. He told me that recent studies showed Pravastatin to be a bit better than Simvastatin. It made me feel good about taking the cheaper drug.

But based on what Mark told me about that program, I was convinced that my body was reacting to the Pravastatin. Last Friday was the last time I took it and I'm happy to say that I haven't "lost my words" since Monday. I still need help lowering my cholesterol, so I'll be going back on the Simvastatin today. And that 90-day supply of Pravastatin won't go to waste, because it's the same prescription Mark takes, but he hasn't experienced any negative side effects.

Just note that the issue isn't with Pravastatin. It is with statin drugs in general. Different people are affected differently. If you're experiencing some memory issues, check out all the possibilities - don't be too quick to accept it as part of the aging process.