Hi, I can only speak for myself and tell u what I was told as I have no medical knowledge. I have been on Statins since my HA nearly 4 yrs ago and I too get aches and pains in legs and arms. I believe statins keep the cholesterol down? I’m not sure you can or should come off of them? Your Dr will help.
Statins Yes or No: Hi, I can only speak... - British Heart Fou...
Statins Yes or No
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Calm2
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Im allegic to statins! Leg pain so severe, i cannot walk! I was switched to Repatha sure clic. Cholesterol great, no leg pains
Hello 
I agree with you if you are struggling on statins talk with your Doctor and let them decide the best thing they want you to do
I believe from your Bio that you live in Kent near the sea that must be such a lovely place to live and I hope you have been to the sea and enjoyed this lovely weather we have been having x
Hi, I had a big problem with statins after I was out on them 5 years ago when I had 3 stents fitted. I’ve recently had a heart attack which I was totally shocked by. They have out me on different statins now. It seems to improve the problems I was having with my arm and leg muscles .
I am a female who started getting muscular aches and pains in her mid sixties, as did my mother. Neither of us were on statins at the time. Randomised trials seem to show statins are not responsible. Whether they are desirable is a whole new ball=game, on which I am not qualified to opine.
Hi there are alternatives try getting referred to the cardio department. Your doctor may be restricted by a budget.
I had problems with the first statin I was on, but after a conversation with my GP she changed it and all is well. I have a friend who had to try several brands before she was OK. She was told it was an economy issue. The cheapest versions being tried first.
Some people just can't tolerate them, me being one of them. Was on 80mg atorvastatin afet my HA 2 years ago but had severe muscle pain and wastage in my chest arms and shoulders and lost near 2 stone in 2 months most of which was of lean muscle. Had a 6 week break on cardio orders then went on rasuvastatin twice a week on a low dose, pain started within the 2nd week. Now on ezimitibe instead, although my cholesterol.was never high in the first place I also use pro active spread and take the cholesterol lowering yogurt drinks.
I'm like yourself with regard to statins xmland, I've never been able to tolerate them. I had my HA on the 10th January this year and had to stay in hospital until the end of February when I had a triple bypass. I was put on atorvastatin 80mg immediately after the HA, after 3 weeks, the day before my bypass op was supposed to take place, blood tests revealed that my liver function readings had become "deranged" (their word!) and the op was cancelled. I was immediately taken off atorvastatin and my liver function went back to normal very quickly. My doctor has now given me ezimitibe 10mg daily and I've had no problems at all so far, aside from a few mild aches and twinges at the start which have now disappeared. I'm due to have blood tests closer to August to see how my liver and cholesterol are performing with them - fingers crossed! Although my diet was fairly good before I'm now trying to eat more fresh fruit and take a walk every day and, I have to say, I feel much better for it.
That is exactly what happened to me, I tried to tell the doctor I was aching all over , he told me it wasn’t the Atorvastatin. Then he did blood test and like you , my liver was well out. I was told to stop them immediately. I’m now on Rosuvastatin and Eztimbe , Iv had no problems since, my liver function is now back to normal and my cholesterol is 3.2
I'm glad your liver function's back to normal on the Ezetimibe Tindy, that gives me another bit of hope for the blood test results when I have my tests in August - thank you! With a bit of luck (and Ezetimibe!) my liver function will be fine and my cholesterol dropped. If my cholesterol is still on the high'ish side then I'll suggest the Rosuvastatin you mentioned. Oh, and my cholesterol went UP to 7 from my usual 4 while I was taking the Atorvastatin while I was in hospital. Funnily enough though I didn't notice any aches and pains while I was taking it although I did lose a lot of weight. I was just putting it down to the food in hospital and general pains I was feeling after the HA. Carol x
I was actually referred to a lipid clinic , who put me on Eztimbe and Rousuvistatin, as a trial. They are still monitoring me . They want my cholesterol under 3 , I’m almost there . They increased from 5mg to 10 that’s is working perfectly with no liver damage . Hope you find a statin that works for you .
That’s interesting I was on 80mg atorvastatin for 5 years and have lost weight in the last year with muscle pain in my arms and legs.
I've always been a bit of a 'skinny minnie' Oaks, thoughout my life I was never able to keep weight on, I was always very active though. My Mum and Dad were the same as are my brothers & sister. My sister and I only started to put on a little weight when we hit our 50's and I was very happy with it - and very disappointed when I lost it all again while in hospital! Thankfully I'm now back up to my happy weight of 8 and a half stone (I'm 5ft 5in) and won't mind if I put on a little more either.
I was put on statins 32 years ago after an unexplained singular SVT attack which landed me in hospital. As soon as I started taking them the muscle pain and weight loss was immediate and flippin' horrendous and I was taken off them again after about 5 weeks but was never prescribed anything else at the time.
The odd thing for me is that most of my life I’ve fought weight gain. I was up to around 13 stone before I got type 2 diabetes. I’m 5’6” so that was well overweight. Now I’m around 10 stone but I lost about a stone in a year before that. I’m on supplements to try to regain weight.
It's very simple in my view...
1. If your health professional prescribes statins, for example to reduce a higher than desirable cholesterol level, you should take them.
2. If you suffer side effects from the statin you have been prescribed go see your prescribing health professional who can try altering the dose or alternative medication usually starting with another statin.
3. The benefits of taking statins outweigh the risks. That's why they are widely prescribed
And if anyone believes that they can reduce their cholesterol levels by 'lifestyle changes' alone that's fine by me since its their choice, but remember that requires a lifetime of application, things like regular exercise may not always be possible as I found out earlier this year, and as life progresses your resolve will diminish, and with that your risk increases.
Jetcat• in reply to
Good point.!!!
I’m on atorvastatin as well as other medication and suffer from strange sensations in my leg. Have experimented by stopping each tablet and after stopping this statin this appears to have subsided - have started them again so wait and see. The other issue I have is that my stomach feels bloated. My doctor said he had never heard of this so as others have advised it’s a matter of trial and error. Good luck and don’t give up doctors do not always know best.
• in reply toMonty2022
Good morning monty , since my ha last April I’ve been on the usual medication and like you I have been bothered with a bloated stomach , I’ve also put on weight I feel , I get swelling in my upper body , arms shoulders etc as well , I now call my stomach my medical belly , cus it’s certainly not pizza !
Hi I also get this bloated stomach and if I'bend over it makes me gasp and feel faint ,not nice and am wondering if it is the stations or just my tired heart, it really makes life not worth living. My aches tend to be in my arms and shoulders and if my legs dare to ache I immediately sit down and raise them and that seems to work. I agree with you that some doctors aren't always on the right track.
It may well be the statins but talk to your GP as there are several choices, I had to change statins as the first lot caused me some discomfort.
I’ve changed my statins recently and have continues boating in my stomach. I find that it seems to restrict my breathing too. That’s so disconcerting it tends to make me panicky, especially as I’ve recently had a heart attack.
A big No from me, do your research Stopped our statins, on Facebook
• in reply toSparkeybigshot1
Ah, Facebook. Providing a professional fully qualified detailed answering service for all of life's conundrums.
Sparkeybigshot1• in reply to
It’s a forum very similar to this. Helped me.
Keep getting stuck into those statins!
Just a thought, all care should be offered with a shared decision between you and your doctor.
Statins aren't just about lowering cholesterol.
As someone living with non obstructive coronary artery disease, statins play an important role in ensuring the inner lining of the blood vessels the endothelium works well.
It is thought that endothelial dysfunction is one of the possible causes of microvascular dysfunction and vasospastic angina.
Your choice of course whether you take up the offer of statins, I hope your choice is based on reliable evidence based information.
opaly• in reply to
You have an enormous faith in doctors, are you one? I have had doctors give me wrong drugs or things that wont mix but the Pharmicist caught it...some doctoors are incompetent, they arent Gods and make mistakes..also no one knows your body like you do.
I've been on 20mg atorvastatin for several years now with no noticeable side effects. Last year a senior cardiologist at my local hospital said I could stop taking the statin for a couple of months to see if the symptoms I was experiencing were a side-effect. It turned out they weren't, but the interesting thing was that the heart-attack preventing effects of the statin would hardly be affected at all by a two-month break in my taking it. This kind of advice is invaluable, and I would suggest very rarely given.
Another cardiologist I saw said that I should double my dose of atorvastatin. I'm glad I asked for a second opinion. Some "medical professionals" are just incompetent.
Whenever I read "if your medical professional says......" I will always remember this.
I have take statins for well over 20 years. 7 years ago I had minor heart attack and they discovered that my LH side was total blocked. Asked multi cardiologist how come the statins have not worked. My cholesterol is also low (around 3). They could not say why.
Now following other leading cardiologists, scientists and heart specialist the Science on statins is not 100%. Many believe they offer little to no protection and its been big phama pushing for sales.
I am not medically trained and yes I still take but am now sceptical of any benefits they give me. If I was asked by my cardiologist to stop them I would have no worries stopping them.
Mate, statins stopped you having a heart attack for 13 years and for another 7 years so far.I'd say there working 😊
• in reply tofergusthegreat
Statins don't stop HA's, they are used as a method of reducing the risk of having one. There is a big difference.......
fergusthegreat• in reply to
Risk of having a heart attack is 0% right up until you have one when the risk becomes 100%Let's say that statins helped reduce the risk of a heart attack to 0% for 13 years.
Bloody brilliant drugs 👍
I’ve had a heart attack recently and i see you had one 7 years ago, I read that it’s likely that after a heart attack that you’ll have another within 12 months, which has made me very concerned as you can imagine. I was on statins for 5 years after having 3 stents.
I totally agree. But my comment regarding high cholesterol was an example only, to keep things simple. My understanding is statins are normally and primarily prescribed to reduce high cholesterol with the ensuing benefits you mention. However relatively there can't be many who are prescribed statins for stabilising plaque when an individual only presents with a normal cholesterol level.
I have to confess, this was never meant to be a post from me, I was answering someone else’s post🥹 pressed the wrong button 🤪however, lots of good feedback on statins and I hope whoever’s post I was trying to respond to sees this.
Again I agree. But my guess is the majority of people who are prescribed statins do not progress to have cardiac events, or are in a high risk category. They are prescribed statins to merely reduce cholesterol level down to something considered a lower risk by current medical thinking. Anyway please bear in mind that my original bullet point was only intended to offer my opinion that if you are prescribed statins by a health professional you should take them. Perhaps I should have not given a simple example in the first place.
Nope, didn't say that nor intend to say that. Read what I said again. You have quoted me out of context.
I have edited my post to avoid any doubt. My opinion is unchanged. I hope it is quite clear to you now. That's me done.
I was first put on statins in 2012 when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I initially was put on Simvastatin and had muscular problems with that and was eventually changed to Atorvastatin and that seems to suit me better. In 2017 after my bypass my dose was doubled from 20 to 40mgs last year I was upped to 80 mgs and luckily still no problems.There are several kinds and while I know not everyone is for Statins, you can try others until you find one you get on with (if you want to)
I understand there is (or will soon be) an alternative requiring just an injection every six months....I'm sure there are others on here who know more.....might be worth asking your doc.
Good luck
Latest Blood Test results from a non statin taker.(Unable to take due to the side effects)
Total 3.12
Triglycerides 1.45
HDL 1.47
TC:HDL Ratio 2.1
LDL cholesterol .99
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