Statins

[Bill509]

On 80mg atorvastin daily having lots of trouble with cramps muscle and joint pain wondering if I can come of statins to see if there would be a improvement

Never had high cholesterol before my stent fitted or since would appreciate advice

[Nathan53]

Hi Bill I am presuming you had stents recently? and were put on a shed load of medication.

I had similar stomach issues though no joint problems. For me it was atorvastatin 80mg that was the culprit and with GP's support reduced dose to 40mg which I was told was still a good dose.

Remember the aim of atorvastatin is to not only lower cholesterol but to reduce inflammation and prevent plaque in arteries from breaking away. Maybe your cramps will settle if you are still new to statins but if not or if it is really troublesome discuss with your GP. You should also have blood checks within 3 months of starting meds to check liver function etc and then 6 monthly intervals.

Another drug that maybe cause stomach issues in some is lanzoprazole.

Hope this helps, but do discuss with GP don't just stop taking them.

[Bill509 in reply to Nathan53]

Thanks for your reply will follow your advice and have a chat with doctor

[Hidden in reply to Nathan53]

Hi Nathan 53 I have just been diagnosed with heart failure on march 2021.. I have 4 meds to take on is atorvastatin 80 mg I am taking 3 of the meds but not the statin.. I feel it is not worth it with all the worrying side effects. There must be something else to take? especially having read on here about so many people having worrying side effects.

[gilreid1]

I am currently off statins (4 weeks now ) with the same problems. You must consult with your GP. I had a blood test after discussion and my cholesterol was 2.9. Hence after discussion GP has stopped statin and ramipril. So far so good. And feeling a lot better.

But please never self diagnose always check with your GP

Good luck and stay safe

[Pollypuss in reply to gilreid1]

Great to hear that. I am off statins because I couldn’t tolerate them and getting my cholesterol lower on a good diet

[Bill509]

Thank you

[Hily]

I was on 80 Atorvastatin with terrible muscle pains in legs and feet for over 5 years. Hair loss was another problem being ignored. Doctors gave me Quinine Sulphate (bad drug). Another doctors offered me a brain drug to numb my feelings!@$#!. I eventually had enough of feeling so bad that I told my doctor that I wanted them reduced, the reply was that taking them is voluntary and I could stop if I wanted. I did and no cramps since. HOWEVER, I had not had any stents or heart problems at all. So discuss with the heart team. Good luck.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Hily]

I am sorry to hear you had such a poor experience.

Did the doctor explain why they advised you to take statins in ths first place?

Do you have high cholesterol or raised blood pressure?

[Hily in reply to Milkfairy]

Yes, high cholesterol, always had always will.

I am now on Ezetimibe-no cramps, no hair loss (hair slowly re-growing and thickening again, but very slowly), scalp not quite as visible as it was.

I now have raised blood pressure but that is caused by Chronic Kidney Disease Level 4-end product of either the Statins or the Metformin, unproved.

[Fynndog in reply to Hily]

Hi milkfairy. I too have had thinning hair. I didn’t connect it to statins. I’ve recently been told to stop statin because if high levels of enzymes in muscles. I asked about what damage might have been done after taking rosuvastatin and previously atorvastatin for about 18 months. I was told no permanent damage it will take a few months to imprive( muscle cramps and numb feet and legs thigh and bum muscles disappearing and uncontrollable diarrhoea) I hope that’s good correct.I’m sorry to hear the meds have caused you problems . Wishing you good health

[Bill509]

Thanks

[Marco2764]

I had identical problems to yourself after a stent. It does take time to adapt to the tablets but talk to your GP. There are lots of other statins out there, which are probably more expensive but there benefits to be had from them .

I dont like taking them at all, but Pravstation was reasonable but I found that Rosouvastatin was the best for me. If you dont ask, you dont get .

[DD13]

Hi Bill,

Do you take your statin at night or in the morning like I did? I only take 20mg, but the leg pain was awful. Since changing taking them at night, all leg pain has gone.

Regards Dee.

[benjijen]

I was on 40mg but the pain was so bad I was having trouble doing cardiac rehab. I reduced it by half and told my GP what I was doing (much to his disgust!). Within a couple of weeks the pain was virtually nil. It has now come back and is affecting rehab again (via zoom at the moment) so I have stopped atorvastatin completely but not told GP yet. I'll give it a couple of weeks. Don't let anyone tell you that they only affect a minority of people - that's rubbish. Check out RCTs on statins and make up your own mind.

[Qualipop in reply to benjijen]

There are several alternatives that do not have the same effect. I had to stop atorvastatin and took simvastatin. Rather than just giving up, ask for an alternative

[benjijen in reply to Qualipop]

I've had simvastatin before and was even worse than that. I'm staying off atorvastatin until after my next blood tests and, if my cholesterol is still good (as it was before stents!) then I will stay off it. If tryglicerides are high then I'll have to look at alternatives.

[Qualipop in reply to benjijen]

My husband couldn't tolerate simvastatin either but wouldn't even consider anything else. As long as you don't need it that's fine. I'm off mine for a month at least (GP suggestion) to see if it's the culprit for some very nasty problems but my levels are not brilliant and have gone up slightly since my HA despite a drastic change of diet and 2 stone weight loss.

[Pollypuss]

Well I cannot take statins at all because I have to run to the loo! For the first time my cholesterol was 7 after triple but I was on a hospital diet. Now 9 months later it is normal. I do use Benacol! I am so sorry for people who are in constant pain like my sister who was on then for years and now off them. I know people who have no side effects at all . However I am under pressure to take them from my doctor and really wish there was some other form of anti inflammatory that does not cause such havoc. Anyone found something else?

[Qualipop in reply to Pollypuss]

Ooh I wish they did that to me. I have the opposite problem and had a near total l blockage this week and doubled up in pain.

[Jaycey]

Ask your GP about reducing your statin dosage. You might want to look into taking CoQ10. Statins deplete this substance in your body. I take 200mg per day and no longer have the muscle cramps.

[Fifelassieo]

Hi Bill, l started on 80mg atorvstatin, l had a lot of muscle pain in my thighs, talked to doctor she cut them back to 40mg,

[FeetheBookworm]

I was put on 20mg Atorvastatin and it gives me such a terrible upset stomach I only take one or two a week, which has the same effect😭.

[Handel]

Good luck Bill. Get your GP to change the drug and see how you go xxxx

[Bill509 in reply to Handel]

Cheers

[Myrahjm]

Bill, I was on various different statins for 25 years prior to my heart attack in 2015. About 6 or 8 years prior to my heart attack my doctor increased my dosage of Lipitor from 20 to 40mg to lower cholesterol which after about 6 months caused sharp muscle pains in my back. So I decided to reduce the dosage (actually quit taking it for awhile) and no more back pains.

Then the heart attack in 2015 (and I don't believe the cause was the reduced lipitor) and the doctor put me on max dosage of lipitor (80mg). 9 months later extreme muscle aches, lightheadedness after even after just a little exertion. Nurse practitioner told me to stop the lipitor and I was much better although the muscle aches after exercise remained but were not as severe. Waited a month or and started experimenting (under my doctor's supervision) with a smaller dose but the problems returned. Tried multiple types of statins (was told there are two major classes of the drug) at reduced doses and problems returned. So turned out I was classified as statin intolerant and fortunately a new class of drug called Repatha (evolocumab) was hitting the market. It took awhile but my insurance company finally approved the drug (its expensive but dropping in price). And it works pretty well with no apparent side effects. Its an injection every two weeks which is pretty easy with their Sureclick device.

With regard to statins one cardiology nurse practitioner told me a few years back that from her experience statin intolerance is much more prevalent than the medical (and drug) community lets on. Fortunately when you stop statins (from what I've read) the bad effects seem to quickly go away although that didn't happen completely for me.

There is a person on here that has written a bunch of good information on his journey and provides a life style and diet that has worked very well for him (and some good info for all of us). His ID is SOS007.

So bottomline is there is a good chance if you stop the statins the muscle aches will go away however I would not do anything without your cardiologist (your general doctor might know something but I would defer to your cardiologist). On top of that do your own research. Unfortunately there is a lot of info out there and its hard sometimes to know what is credible which is the reason I mention SOS007. He went through something similar and provides hard data on his journey.

Good luck.

[Bill509 in reply to Myrahjm]

Thanks very informative

[tunybgur]

Hi Bill,

I was put on 80mg Atorvastatin immediately after a heart attack and had a stent fitted.

My cholesterol was then 3.2 mmol/l which is quite low.

My consultant said he was happy as long as I was comfortably below 4.

After a few adjustments I finally settled on 40mg which just keeps me under 4.

I suggest you do the same and minimise the dosage required and see if it helps.

Good luck!