Side effects of statins

[Vett123]

My mum started statins before Christmas, she has stopped taking them today as she feels her hair is really thinning. Has anyone else experienced this? Along with other side effects like feeling exhausted, feeling sick and aching muscles she said they have made her feel terrible and wants to try lower cholesterol herself is this something that can be done with diet and exercise? Her levels are 4.6. Thank you so much.

[Hidden]

Not sure that twice the recommended level is correct!

I was informed that Total should be 4mmol/L or less for those at high risk (5mmpl/L or less for a healthy adult)

[Alison_L in reply to Hidden]

I was told (3 years ago) that they've changed the goalposts to 3 for high risk, 4 for healthy adults.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

There are about five types of statins. If one doesn't suit somebody another might. I, in fact, changed from Simvastatin to Atorvastatin because of side effects.

There are other drugs available to reduce cholesterol but if the 4.6 figure is the total cholesterol unlikely to be prescribed.

Cholesterol levels can be reduced by diet and exercise but as your liver manufacturers the majority not usually by more than 17 - 20%. Obviously greater reductions are possible if the change is from a genuinely unhealthy diet (regular fried breakfasts, McDs, etc.) to an extremely healthy one (pescetarian, etc.). But starting from 4.6 it may well be possible to get below the guideline 4.0).

[Buzzy-Beans]

One of the major problems these days is that oh so many medics prescribe Statins almost as if they are the wonder drug with the get out of jail free ticket!

Of course you can and indeed should try and eat the healthiest of diets so as to make the work load on all your body organs as light as possible and a very healthy diet allied to a decent exercise regime will almost certainly work wonders for you.

If your Mum' weight is a tad on the heavy side, that will be putting additional loads on the core areas of her body, so this allied to my suggestion in the paragraph above should work wonders.

As for Statins, a lot of us exhibit side effects to certain varieties of them, so either read the leaflet that came with them or go on line and search against the specific brand name for their side effects and if any of them are what your Mum is experiencing, then ask your GP to prescribe another variant, giving the reasons why.

[jeelpie]

hi,it takes time for our bodies to get used to these meds, so please ask your mum to stick with them, they are there to keep our hearts well x as for hair thinning I to are experiencing this, and don't know why? it's actually quite traumatic to watch you hair getting thinner! I have asked the question whether my meds could be causing this but I have not received an answer yet, I am putting a lot of the issue down to menopause. It has been 4 months since my HA and honestly it's been quite difficult adjusting to everything, but I'm now back at the gym and having more good days than bad, please ask your mum to hang in there , this is a great forum to be in for support, take care x

[Petejake in reply to jeelpie]

Bodies don’t always “ get use to it” kidneys start playing up etc etc etc. Hardening of the arteries is roughly 2/5 caused by cholesterol and the rest calcium and triglycerides but ingnored.......lots to wok on reducing sugars and calcium and reduce statins next would be fine instead of just lumping it and the side affects

Too many people Can’t think themselves and if a medicine was killing them but the Doctor says it’s for the best they’d carry on taking the medicine, hair falling out horrible muscle cramps digestive issues kidneys failing etc etc 🤔🤔🤔not good not clever.

Speak out

[pasigal]

There are many kinds of statins, as mentioned, so she should be able to find one that works. Regarding diet/exercise etc to lower cholesterol: Somewhat, I think it's down to where you're starting from, as well as genetics. That is, if you eat lots of saturated fats, don't exercise and are overweight, you can improve your cholesterol readings. But genetics play a bigger role, I think, in the link between diet and coronary artery disease. We all have friends who eat sausage and cheese 3x a day who have cholesterol readings that are well within normal range.

So my take on statins is that by lowering cholesterol, they can stabilize existing blockages and potentially retard growth of future ones. Side effects can definitely be an issue for some people. I'm fortunate in that I'm taking 6 kinds of meds so that any "side effects" I just ignore unless they cause me real distress!

[Alison_L]

Hi Vett. My hair really thinned for the first 3 or 4 months I was on my meds after my heart attack, but then it settled down, and my hair got back to its normal thickness. Needless to say, my heart failure nurse denied it could be anything to do with the meds...

[Qualipop in reply to Alison_L]

It maybe wasn't your meds. shock also causes hair thinning, stress can cause alopecia but in both cases it comes back. It's not something I've ever heard about statins

[Qualipop]

I've never heard of hair loss being caused by statins. Is that all she's taking or was she given other mediation too?Her other symptoms sound just like I was when I was given bisopralol. after a heart attack. Rather than just stopping she needs to talk to her GP and try a different sort. I couldn't tolerate atorvastatin at all but simvastatin is fine. Yet my husband felt terrible on simvastatin but he ref used to take even try a different sort, even though, as a diabetic he's at high risk of heart problems. Have they been given because of a heart problem or just as a preventative to get her cholesterol down?