Statins

[SuperTed1]

Morning All,

Following a stent in March 2023 I have been put on 80mg Astrovastatin among other meds.

In the last 4 months I’ve had muscle pains in my left arm and between my shoulder blades when lifting even the lightest things. Sometimes really quite painful.

Following some unsuccessful physio I’ve gone back to the docs who has booked me in fo an MRI scan.

I suggested the issue may be the statins but that was dismissed as he said if it was, it would affect all my muscles and not just my arm and back.

Has anyone else experienced this and is he right, would the pain not just be restricted to certain areas?

I’ve cut my dose in half to see if this helps. In the meantime any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks. Chris.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

I take 80mg Atorvastatin too, and have done for some time,but don't get side effects. I would have thought that if you were going to get muscle pain side effects they would have occurred shortly after you started taking the statin, not, as in your case, five or six months later. Nonetheless from what people seem to say about statin related pains it seems to be mostly in the legs not the upper body, but somoeone may come along who can identify with your situation. As far as trying to pinpoint whether statins are the cause of your problems, you are doing the right thing I suppose, you could eliminate them altogether for a week or two although the recommendation is that you do this with the guidance if your GP. The down side is that you will increase your heart health risk for the period you reduce or stop. You could also ask your GP to prescribe another statin, to see if that works. In the meantime if you want a professional opinion talk to a pharmacist about your situation

[SuperTed1 in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Thanks for the reply. I might knock the statins on the head for a couple of weeks to see if the muscle pain gets any better.👍

[Coffeelover2]

The only way to tell (in conjunction with medical advice) is either to get a prescription for a different strain or medication or to take a short break from taking the statins. Some studies suggest that muscle pain is an overblown side effect with statins and maybe that is true but I think it is a real possibility. Affecting all muscles is the most serious side effect (you can get a blood test for check for that). The blood test said I was in normal range but atorvastatin did cause my leg pain and I changed it with the doctors

[SuperTed1 in reply to Coffeelover2]

Thanks for the reply. It does seem to be leg pain for most people.

[Survivor1952]

I was on Atorvastatin and I started getting muscle pains as I recall. They started some months after starting the statin. I also had problems with Simvastatin.

Ended up stopping statins altogether until my HA. On Rosuvastatin now and so far I’m tolerating it well. I gather that it isn’t prescribed widely as it is a lot more expensive than other statins.

[Lonmayloon in reply to Survivor1952]

Rosuvastatin is now widely available as a generic and cost of treatment is broadly comparable with other statins. It is one of the newer statins and therefore it became “off patent” more recently than atorvastatin and simvastatin etc. When protected by patent (and available only as Crestor) it was very much more expensive but that is no longer the case.

[Survivor1952 in reply to Lonmayloon]

Thank you, I've learnt something new. My reserach is out of date too.

[Heather1957]

I don't agree with your GP.

I was changed to Atorvastatin about 10 years ago after the initial Statin caused muscle pain in my thighs and only in my thighs.

I have gradually increased from 20 mgs, to 40 mgs and now 80 mgs and no further issues.

[SuperTed1 in reply to Heather1957]

I thought it odd that they said it would affect all muscles. Seems to be legs for most people. Thanks for the reply.👍

[Psmithuk in reply to SuperTed1]

I was in considerable discomfort post stent on Atorvastatin, but when it was halved to 40mg it eased. I asked to be changed to another make and it was better on Simvastatin. I found it seemed to affect any joints/muscles that were already a bit iffy - I’m awaiting a hip replacement, but this was 6 years ago. I laughed when the news came out that statins don’t affect your aches, as I didn’t know what was causing mine and it wasn’t till the .atorvastatin was reduced that I noticed a difference.

Maybe ask to be changed to another make, and the dose reduced if possible perhaps. Good luck!

[SuperTed1 in reply to Psmithuk]

Thanks for the reply! I’ve stopped them for a couple of days and I’ll contact the doctor on Monday to see if I can get a different statin.👍

[Seasid in reply to SuperTed1]

Change it to Crestor 40mg per day. I am on it and I don't have any side effects. If you want you could start with 20mg per day and increase it later. I am assuming that you are not Asian as they need less. They usually start with 5mg per day. We start with 10mg per day.

[Seasid in reply to Seasid]

I am stopping Crestor during the summer in order to convert cholesterol into vitamin D in my skin. I am in Australia. I maybe restart again during the winter months depending on the cholesterol levels.

[Gena_Diaz]

I only took statins for two days, my shoulders started to hurt a lot from the first day I ate them, I felt a stabbing pain and I couldn't sleep. I stopped taking statins and the pain went away.

I have 260 total cholesterol. My weight is good, I eat healthily, I exercise and I am in good health, (I have no heart problems, nor a family history of heart problems, but my doctor told me that it was dangerous to have such high total cholesterol and that I should take statins)

[SuperTed1 in reply to Gena_Diaz]

Thanks for your reply. I was only put on the statins when I had the stent. I’ve never had high cholesterol and still don’t.

[Gena_Diaz]

I hope your health improves