Elevated Creatine Kinase Levels

Lab test done on July 10 showed that I have increased levels of creatine kinase.  My reading was 224.  Normal range is 24-173. 

What causes elevated creatine kinase?
Elevated creatine kinase levels are present when there is destruction of cardiac or skeletal muscle. Creatine kinase levels can also be increased in brain injury, such as stroke. The elevation is detected through a simple blood test.

Causes of elevated creatine kinase
Elevated creatine kinase may be caused by conditions including:

• Brain injury
• Delirium tremens (severe alcohol withdrawal)
• Muscle diseases such as dermatomyositis, polymyositis or muscular dystrophy
• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Myocarditis (infection of the middle layer of the heart wall)
• Rhabdomyolysis (muscle destruction)
• Stroke
• Trauma

What are the potential complications of elevated creatine kinase?
Because elevated creatine kinase can be due to serious underlying diseases or conditions, failure to seek treatment can result in significant complications and even permanent damage. Once your doctor has determined the underlying cause of your elevated creatine kinase, it is very important to carefully follow the recommended treatment plan in order to reduce the risk of potential complications including:

• Brain damage
• Disability
• Heart failure

Creatinine levels measure how well your kidneys are working. Creatinine can be measured in your blood or your urine. Low creatinine in the urine usually points to a decreased kidney function. So do high blood levels of creatinine. What do abnormal creatinine levels mean? They only mean that your kidneys are not working optimally. If this is the first time a doctor has ordered a creatinine test, you probably don’t experience any physical symptoms yet. However, it is important to restore normal kidney function quickly, because all kidney diseases, including CKD and renal failure are progressive in nature.

Creatinine is a waste product made by the muscles. While healthy kidneys remove creatinine from the blood, impaired kidneys are less able to perform this function. When the kidney function falls below approximately 50 percent because of chronic kidney disease, creatinine levels start to creep up, because the kidneys are less able to remove the creatinine from the blood. Creatinine is not necessarily bad in itself, but it is a good marker of advanced kidney disease.

 

Man, its bad enough that I'm having problems with my meds.  Now this too?  WTF...

 

Benecar

Called the doctor today and told him about the coughing and the continuing muscle pain.  He took me off lisinopril.  In two weeks start taking Benecar.  Benecar, aka Olmesartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). It works by relaxing blood vessels.  Just need to watch BP for the next two weeks, hoping it doesn't go up.

Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are medications that block the action of angiotensin II by preventing angiotensin II from binding to angiotensin II receptors on blood vessels. As a result, blood vessels enlarge (dilate) and blood pressure is reduced. Reduced blood pressure makes it easier for the heart to pump blood and can improve heart failure. In addition, the progression of kidney disease due to high blood pressure or diabetes is slowed. ARBs have effects that are similar to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, but ACE inhibitors act by preventing the formation of angiotensin II rather than by blocking the binding of angiotensin II to muscles on blood vessels.

Common side effects of this medicine include:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness.
• Sinus problems, such as a stuffy nose or a runny nose.
• Stomach problems. diarrhea
• Headache
• abnormal taste sensations (metallic or salty taste)
• cough (though occurs less than an ACE inhibitor)

Lisinopril Cough & Shingles

Day 5 on Lisinopril.  Started having a tickle in back of throat, causing me to cough.  At first I thought I just swallowed water weird and caused a reflex but it wouldn't stop the rest of the day.  It's not a constant cough, so far a cough every minute or so.  Coughing is a common side effect of Lisinopril, a lot of people seem to complain about it. Often the doctor will say it is caused by something else and will not take you off it.  I hope Dr. B will see it for what it is.  I'm going to give it a day or two, if cough persists I will let him know.  Next blood draw is Thursday so hopefully he will do something by then.

Another weird fact about ACE inhibitors... it was developed from snake venom. 

Also been reading people gettin shingles after being on Lisinopril.  That's bad.

Most Common Shingles Symptoms

1. Pain and sensitivity – the initial shingles symptom is unusual feeling of sensitivity to pain on a particular side of the body. It could be a heightened feeling of pain, constant aching, burning sensation, itching, tingling and sometimes sharp shooting pain described as a thunderbolt. The area affected is often only a section of the body like any quadrants of the head, the left or the right shoulder, the right or the left side of the abdomen and so on.
2. Flu-like symptoms – as heightened sensitivity is felt, there may also be fever, chills, headaches and unusual itching on the affected area. It’s important to seek medical help if you feel these symptoms to determine the need for shingles treatment.
3. Rashes – after two to three days, there is significant pain on the affected area with localized rashes. These rashes are described as raised, red, blisters which become filled with pus. These are very painful and very sensitive; there are people on the other hand that do not develop rashes but only pain on the area. Rashes often break and ooze, these become scabs after 10 to 12 days, this is the most significant of all shingles symptoms.
4. Scabs formation – in adults, there is scarring after scabs fall off. In children who develop shingles, there could hardly be any scar formation only pain and sensitivity on the affected area. Children may also be unusually tired, may refuse to eat and may become irritable due to moderate to high fevers and chills.
5. PHN – rashes disappear completely or leave rashes after three to four weeks. Some people develop a condition known as post herpetic neuralgia or PHN. This is a condition wherein there is localized pain and sensitivity on the area affected long after rashes are gone. It is estimated that as many as 15% of adults who develop shingles suffer from PHN and most of these happen in adults who are 50 years old and above.

Seeking help as soon as possible is very important to get an effective treatment for shingles. Physicians recommend taking antiviral medications 72 hours before rashes appear; these guarantees faster recovery from the disease, reduced duration for the illness and milder shingles symptoms. In some cases, treatment may not be necessary; but strengthening the immune system is still the best treatment option for all patients with shingles.

Cholesterol

How to raise HDLs and lower LDLs...

• Exercise.  Duration better for HDLs, higher intensity better for LDLs
• Eat more fiber
• Increase MUFAs, omega 3s
• Alcohol, mainly red wine
• Green tea, Vit. D, dark chocolate (^_^)
• Nuts
• avoid trans fat
• cranberry juice

Day 3 on Lisinopril

BP going up.  Last four readings... 126/90, 128/86, 130/101, 130/96.  But heart rate going down... 78, 78, 68, 69.  Muscle aches almost gone.  Same with joint pain.  Minor, minor discomfort, more like minor stiffness rather than pain.  Not tired today as was yesterday.  Didn't work as much either, but didn't have to lie down.  Though I'm sure if I did I could of easily fallen asleep. 

Had coffee today.  Tasted good but didn't like the head jittery-ness.   In comparison, tea seems to be a "cleaner" caffeine kick. 

Had a speech "glitch", words just came out all jumbled and slurred.  At least I can hear it come out bad, though the thought was clear in my head. 

Lisinopril Side Effects

Two days on Lisinopril.  Arm and joint pain going away.  Yesterday, was tired and muscles felt weak.  Seemed like I was walking real slow through the stores.  Today, still tired and muscles not as week.  Felt like taking a nap during work.   Hoping its just another adjustment phase.  No cough though, that's good.

Working alone give me time to think.  Sometimes that can be bad.  Today was one of those days.  Started to feel down and close to crying.  Turned on some music, distraction helped.  Was starting to feel alone. And antisocial.  Just want to stay home and not deal with people.

Lisinopril

Lisinopril is in a group of drugs called ACE inhibitors. ACE stands for angiotensin converting enzyme.  Lisinopril works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily.

To make sure lisinopril is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:

• kidney disease (or if you are on dialysis);
  
• liver disease;
  
• heart disease or congestive heart failure;
  
• diabetes; or
  
• a connective tissue disease such as Marfan syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, scleroderma, or rheumatoid arthritis.

Lisinopril side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction to lisinopril: hives; severe stomach pain, difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
  
• little or no urinating;
  
• swelling, rapid weight gain;
  
• fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
  
• tired feeling, muscle weakness, and pounding or uneven heartbeats;
  
• psoriasis (raised, silvery flaking of the skin);
  
• chest pain; or
  
• high potassium (slow heart rate, weak pulse, muscle weakness, tingly feeling);
  

Common lisinopril side effects may include:

• cough;
  
• dizziness, drowsiness, headache;
  
• depressed mood;
  
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, upset stomach; or
  
• mild skin itching or rash.

Some common complaints seem to be join pain.  Muscle pain and swelling, in shoulder, arm, elbows, ankles.  http://www.medications.com/lisinopril/53428

Follow-Up

Had my first doctor's follow-up today, about 7 weeks after the stroke.  Saw the cardiologist in Palm Desert.  I was hoping to get off the cholesterol med so I can enjoy my wine again.  He said he's going to keep me on it, my LDL needs to get lower.  But he said it was ok to have a glass of wine, two if I'm at a party. ^_^  Also said its ok to drink coffee and green tea, so happy about that.  My arm muscles have been hurting, plus joints have been achy this past week.  He thinks it's the Norvasc interacting with the Lipitor so he's taking me off the Norvasc, a calcium channel blocker, and putting me on Lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor instead.  Still keeping the HCTZ and baby aspirin.  In a couple days I'm getting tested for cholesterol among other things.  Next week getting labwork to see if the new med is working ok.  Next appt in three months. 

Was a little bummed he wouldn't let me switch to natural alternatives.  He says its because I had a stroke.  Need something that works consistently, to avoid another one.  I was just hoping for something without side effects. 

So some good news, some bad news.

Joint Pain

Noticed having some joint pain the last few days.   I didn't really think much of it since I often have joint pain in the mornings.  But these come and go all day.  They hurt last night, almost considered taking an ibuprofen to see if that would help but decided against it.  Read that the BP meds can cause joint pain.  So that's another one to mention at my appt on Monday.  The list is getting longer.  BP has been low, averageing 120s/high 80s-low 90s.   So something is working.  But also not eating as much sugar, not drinking, etc which could be helping too.  I hope the pain is just not my arthritis getting worse but the BP med.