Hi, late last year I got type 1 diabeties and since then ive had to use a cane and sometimes a wheelchair to get around because the Myotonia has got so bad to the point where i can hardly move, I just wanna know if anyone else has shared the same experience and if there is any relationship between the two conditions?

Type of Myotonia: Thompsons

Country: Australia

Stu,

Many people with diabetes get much worse when they start using insulin. I know it's important to control the blood sugar, but it also affects the potassium shift in the cells and that's what makes us worse. If you're on a drug to stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin it can have a similar effect.

And usually when doctors treat diabetes, they also treat the high cholesterol/triglycerides that go along with it, and all the statin drugs are contraindcted with myotonia congenita. Two people in my family who had the mutation for MC but had no symptoms suddenly had problems when they were put on cholestrerol medication.

If you have high triglycerides it is much safer for us to use fish oil supplements, L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid to lower the levels. I'll paste in a list of contraindicated medications which includes the trade names for the statin drugs.

Jan

Contraindicated Medications:

Statin Trade Name

Advicor
Altocor
Altoprev
Atorlip
Baycol
Caduet
Canef
Crestor
Inegy
Lescol
Lipex
Lipitor
Lipobay
Lipostat
Lipvas
Livalo
Mevacor
Pitava
Pravachol
Selektine
Simcard
Simcor
Simlup
Sortis
Torvacard
Torvast
Totalip
Tulip
Vytorin
Zocor

Statin Generic Name

Lovastatin
Atorvastatin
Cerivastatin (withdrawn 2001)
Atorvastatin with Amlodipine (Norvasc)
Fluvastatin
Rosuvastatin
Simvastatin with Ezetimibe (Zetia)
Pravastatin
Pitavastatin

BETA BLOCKERS

Non Selective Beta Blockers

Propranolol
Sotalol
Timolol
Pindolol
Levobunolol
Nadolol
Metipranolol

Cardioselective Beta Blockers

Atenolol
Acebutolol
Metoprolol
Bisoprolol
Esmolol
Betaxolol
Nebivolol

Alpha and Beta Blockers

Labetalol
Carvedilol

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA