Aggravated muscle injury, suggestions please

[BSGfan]

July 2006: I develop a persistent cramping burning sensation along my right cheekbone and jaw following a Lopid/Niacin/Mevacor interaction.

July 2007: I repeatedly sprain my jaw chewing tough beef jerky over the space of less than a week. Following the most severe sprain, the cramping, burning sensation I'd had for a year ratchets itself up in intensity, and the muscles in the right side of my jaw continue to show weakness and strain with overuse. The discomfort fades very gradually, with supplementation with Coenzyme Q-10 initially producing an uncomfortable flush like response in the right side of my face, then speeding considerable relief.

Well, yesterday I managed to sprain my jaw once more, and again, my statin damaged muscles are burning like crazy, although thankfully not as much as last year. My earlier attempts at supplementing with Q-10 and Acetyl-L-Carnitine were a bit scattershot in terms of duration and dosage, and I just wanted to ask for some recommendations.

If I begin Q-10 supplementation, does the uncomfortable vasodilation effect actually run the risk of aggravating my injury?

What would be the best dosage of Q-10? I'm 49, and had previously supplemented in the 90-220 range daily. I found that higher dosages did seem to produce faster and longer lasting relief, but I also found that the higher dosages gave me a lot of abdominal discomfort. I also found myself at the close of my period of supplementation developing very minor muscle twitches in my right index finger and perhaps a bit of light sensitivity, although with that last I think I may just have been a bit of a hypochondriac. I've been off the Q-10 for a month now and the light sensitivity and the twitches in my finger have vanished.

Would supplementing with Magnesium be of benefit? 250 mg gives me loose bowels, but 75 mg seems to produce some relief.

I did try supplementing with Acetyl-L-Carnitine in the 250 mg range; I found that after taking it three or so in a row it really had a stimulating effect, like several cups of coffee; by the last day I had developed a strong, intermittent spasm at the base of my right thumb where I could literally see the muscles twitch and jump under the skin. I stopped the Carnitine and the spasms went away after about a week.

I found these twitches in my finger and thumb perplexing. Carpal tunnel flaring up? Or a reaction to the supplements I was consuming?

Comments or questions welcome.

[Darrell]

It concerns me that lately I'm seeing a bunch of reports of problems with Q10 and carnitine on the board. Especially since I'm taking both, about 200 mg and 3,000 mg daily respectively. BSGfan, do know the origins of your meds? Someone suggested the other day that there may be Chinese knock-offs on the market of questionable efficacy and fillers. My Q10 is from Kaneka and my carnitine is from Sigma-Tau (Jarrow Formulas brand of each) and I've had no problems. But as they say, "individual results may vary."

[Ray Holder]

I always use Kaneka Q10, but am still a little suspicious of the QH version.
The Sigma Tau carnitine is known as Carnipur, I believe, and they say it is the purest available. I use Bulk Nutrition, which works well for me, said to be made in USA.

The problem with carnitine is that it is difficult to produce only L Carnitine, without the D version. The chemical composition is the same for both, but L and D stand for levo and dexter, of left and right handed versions of the molecules. Since Lcarnitine has to carry fat into the mitochondria, it would seem that the D version is not capable of carrying fat due to the shape of the molecule.

I looked suppliers up on Google a few days ago, and there were lots of Chinese sources, some showing DL carnitine, definitely not what is needed.

Ray

[BSGfan]

I obtained my Co-enzyme Q-10 from Von's Select and GNC.