Atorvastatin

[Rycon]

I went to my gp about atorvastatin and said how my legs ached and was basically told that statins don't cause leg pains and it was my part of the ageing process!!! I am 53 years old!!!! Tbh have no faith in my gp and feel they don't listen to me and my concerns

[DWizza]

Hi Rycon, are you getting any other suggestions side effects ? I was making a great recovery from Nstemi heart attack & quadruple bypass july 2023. Then about 4-5 months in advance felt really lousy, stopped my training, felt like a blanket of joint/tendon/muscle pains and cognitive impairment plus some other symptoms. I think I could tick 5-6 or more possible side effects of arvovastatin (was on 80mg, along with 1.25mg bisoprolol, half a 1.25mg Rampiril, pantaprazole, clopidogrel, aspirin) . I told my GP that I felt worse than pre heart attack , I was doing everything in my gift to rehab , cardiac rehab training (to run 5k, yoga classes , tweaks to my nutrition, no ultra processed food, making my own bread , occasional pint or glass wine). I said that I could tick a list of the side effects and he agreed to a trial stop initially of 2 weeks after I had hit the 6 month mark post surgery. I stopped 22nd Jan, ended up a month without and I certainly feel better , less general aching and cognitive is much better . I can’t say the other symptoms (tinnitus for instance) has gone but I’m on a cocktail of meds 🤦🏼. I think you should pursue a change . Maybe contact the BHF on line nurse for advice on how to re engage your or consultant ? It’s well known that people change their statin!

I’m now trying 40mg Pravastatin , started last night , fingers crossed.

Please keep us posted , I know it can be a bit of a quest to get meds right .

[Lowerfield_no_more]

It sounds to me that you have every right to have little faith in your GP. The NHS atorvastatin website as well as the patient information sheet plus many other reference sources, all list muscle pain or myalgia as a common side effect and anecdotally it is most likely to affect the legs. There is also an NHS statin intolerance pathway linked below. I suggest you return to your GP armed with some of this evidence and request he/she changes your statin to rosuvastatin which seems to be a common swap and works for many people eliminating the muscle pain effect. If your GP refuses tell him/her you want a second opinion. And if that doesn't happen complain.

england.nhs.uk/aac/wp-conte...

[Hrty]

My GP practice has been the opposite. My arorvastatin does has been reduced from 80mg to 20mg because of muscle aches and pains, especially in the legs. They even tried me on Rosuvastatin for a while but that was worse. I have a blood test booked for next week to check my levels are still OK (2.2 total at last check) before any additional meds or changes are considered. When I asked what the recommended statin dose was I was told it was the "maximum I could tolerate". This has been discussed with my cardiologist who is happy with what's going on and has agreed my bloods gave me some wiggle room. I'd not be happy with what your GP said either.

[fishonabike]

i support what Lowerfield_no_more says

i feel that many doctors have been brainwashed by the "Statin lobby" and automatically reject any negative comment on statins from people taking them and people who decline them

but if doctors want us "patients" to "comply" (i hate that term!) with the treatments they prescribe i feel they should be prepared to hear us out and take our feelings and needs into account - we are a vital part of our own health care team

any professional can only expect a client to follow their recommendations if the client understands and agrees with these - it is part of the professional's responsibility to offer relevant information and explanation - in health care this is part of the "informed consent" process

if doctors don't offer this we, unsurprisingl, tend to consult Dr Google, with variable results - so it is in their interest to put the effort into explaining properly in the first place

[MoretonCross in reply to fishonabike]

Absolutely agree with what you say!

[Fynndog]

hi Rycon. I had awful stomach upsets daily for 18 months( admittedly this was during the pandemic) I saw doctors about 4 times telling them about this nothing was done. Eventually I got to see another doctor who gave me a blood test. I had the aches too and weight loss. They rang me to say not to take the statins any more because I was severely allergic to them.

This does not seem to be so rare either. They tested me for CK and I had Rhabid ….( spelling defeats me) but it’s muscle wastage caused by statins.

Statins are a miracle drug for much of the population but there are folks like me who can’t take them.

I hope you havnt got the same problem as me and wish you well. You really do have to stand your ground with the doctors now. You can get lost in the system if you don’t push.

Good luck