I thought I had escaped Statin side-effects until a post here made me realise the Achilles Heel problem I'd had for a long time was probably Statin-related.
Telling my sister recently about my problems with Statins and Nustendi, which was prescribed as an alternative, she revealed that she'd had exactly the same heel problem when she was put on Statins.
Makes you wonder if we should look more at how medicines have affected our relatives.
Never heard of this before. Little bit difficult to comment without further information as to your lifestyle, general health/fitness etc, do you do anything that would cause the problem, which is very common amongst many sports and is very often down to lack of attention to stretching and warming up etc. Have you consulted a physio regarding your Achilles problems? The causes could be many there has been a lot of unwarranted bad press regarding Statins causing all manner of obscure problems that probably have their roots elsewhere.
The only proper diagnosis comes from the fact that my heel improved when I was taken off Statins for a month. I was sent for X-Rays on my ankles, but have had no face-to-face appointments with the doctor. Improvement ceased, and was reversed, when I was put back on a lower dose of Statins after the trial month.
I'm currently seeing a physio, because the strain of favouring my left foot caused Plantar Fasciitis in the right foot. She's treating both conditions.
My sister and I have very different lifestyles.
If my experience is anything to go by the only 'cure' for plantar fasciitis is time to allow the body to heal itself (if you will pardon the pun). Stretching the Achilles and plantar sheath under the foot might help alleviate the symptoms a little but it isn't a cure. Wearing shoe inserts is also a help too . I had a second bout of it about two years ago and it took longer to recover than when I had it 30 years ago, and the physio who saw me was up front with me and said there wasnt much he could do for me so I stopped going and it slowly got better after a few months.And in addition to physio I tried everything from acupuncture to TENS machines to exercises, all to no avail.
The physio has a "shockwave" machine, which might be worth a couple of sessions, but shoe inserts and stretching exercises are the main treatments I've been given. Just have to be careful with some of the exercises in Cardiac Rehab classes so I don't aggravate it.
Dealing with the left foot is also important to reduce the strain on the right. I should have paid more attention to that earlier instead of just putting up with it because I thought it was a left-over from Sciatica that would go soon.
I'd agree with this as I had PF quite severely several years ago..tried the usual things but time has fixed it and resting when you need too but still keeping moving gently. I've not had any problems since and have taken statins for approx 10 years.
Without any information regarding your age, fitness, exercise regimes or not, lifestyle etc it is very difficult to make comment really, other than this, as Lowerfield has alluded to, is a very common problem which does tend to just come and go for no apparent reason, I have been through it myself, before I was on Statins and have not had any similar problems on them (80mg same Lowerfield). It is not a common side effect or even a side effect at all of Statins, just a pretty common issue for all manner of reasons, and it does tend to come and go. I would urge you not to stop Atorvastatin for what is possibly no good reason, how old are you if I may ask the problems you are experiencing are very common at particular ages.
I am 71 and having regular Cardiac Rehab classes as well as walking, or nowadays limping, relatively short distances every day.
Although the Tendonitis side-effect may contribute a little to the PF, it's mainly the extra strain on my right foot from favouring the left because of the Achilles Heel that seems to have been pretty well linked to the Statins.
I presume you are doing the warming up and stretching routines before and after going walking? I would suggest getting your hamstrings and calves as supple as possible. If you are having to limp I would pack it in for now and maybe consider some sort of upper body cardio. Swimming is great but I am not sure they will be happy for you to do it at this stage. It is very painful though I know what it's like! As someone said despite all your efforts it just seems to come and go but keeping your legs will stretched will help.
Funny you mention the heel, I have a heel issue as well which I assumed was due to my cycling which would be unusual as you don't get many heel injuries in cycling.Also just started getting aches in my right elbow and shoulder
Mmm. I used to do quite a bit of cycling, way before I was on Statins. I also got PF during this time, as well as many other aches and pains not to mention in my rear end. Physio put it down to the very unforgiving shoes most cyclists wear.
so glad I e read your post . I’ve been on statins for years and for the last 8 months or so it feels like the back of my ankle is ripping as I walk . I through it was plantar fasciitis, but now I’m not so sure . Didn’t cross my mind it could be related to the statin , my joins in general are really stiff as well especially my fingers . Think I may have a couple of weeks off statins and see if it makes a difference . Thanks
I should probably stress that I only stopped Statins the first time with the doctor's approval and a blood-test arranged to check the effect after a month. The second time was because it was left off my prescription after I asked for a review, but I could not contact the doctor to arrange an alternative.
"Tendonitis" is a listed side-effect but I didn't associate that with my heel problem until Achilles Heel was mentioned here.
How long have you been on Statins though? Do you not think you would have had them earlier? I know where you are coming from, I have been through the same myself, even thinking (wrongly) that various aches etc went when off statins, but in the end it was just the general ageing process, possibly complicated by statins. I would urge you to not come off them without your GP's approval, maybe drop down, what dose are you on? Statins have been blamed for every known ailment to man, but none of them are as bad as a heart attack!
I’m only on 10mg rosuvastin but this is the 4th statin I’ve tried .
I was put on Statins as the standard precaution after my heart-attack in 2021. My angiogram showed no evidence of blocked arteries, even though I'd never taken Statins or, at that time, paid any particular attention to my diet.
I was on 80Mg Atorvastatin, but this was reduced to 40Mg once I'd had 6 weeks off from taking them. (A month's trial plus 2 weeks wait for the doctor to discuss the results of the blood test)
The change to Nustendi was done without any plans for a blood test to review any effect on my liver or CKD. The doctor should be well aware that bookings for blood tests have to be made 4 weeks ahead in our area.
Unless it was an April Fool's joke, I understand that NICE have now said that Cholesterol needs to be kept below 2.5 after a heart-attack rather than the 5 originally specified.
So what did they attribute your HA to if you don't mind me asking?
Hereditary Heart Disease. Basically, my heart is withering away.
Sorry to hear that. To be honest it makes you wonder in circumstances like these if there is much to be gained from Statins especially if they are causing problems, but I guess they wouldn't prescribe them if not, although it does make you wonder sometimes.
I survived for 68 years without taking Statins. They say there is a risk of stents getting blocked if Cholesterol is over 5 (or possibly 2.5). Given the likely number of years I have left, I don't think it's likely, but doctors have a checklist of treatments and I believe they still have targets for Statin prescription.
The doctor who put me back on a half dose of Atorvastatin even said that my kidneys showed improvement without realising the blood test was to see the result of stopping it. He said my Cholesterol had gone up despite being on Statins, so I had to point out, more politely than I felt, that he should read my notes to see the purpose of the test.
There are no definite answers to it. I ended up going to a lipid clinic due to problems that I thought the Statins were causing (still might be, but I exercise to a high level and just put up with it) and was told if Statins were preventing exercising (to any degree) then it would be better to either stop them or at least cut them down. I have another problem in that my LP (a) is towards the wrong end of medium risk, it's a genetic problem and there is very little I can do about it, other than just keep doing I'm told and keep my fingers crossed.
Please research Dr Aseem Malhotra and Professor Sultan on Statins. High cholesterol is not a heart risk unless you have inflammation in your coronary arteries. The correct analysis is to ask your Doctor for a cholesterol test including the L.D.L. part A and B, if no B is present no heart risk. The Japanese have the highest cholesterol readings in the world but the lowest incidence of Heart Attacks and strokes. Lifestyle, diet and food are the answer to a healthy heart
Almost as soon as I Googled Achilles Heel, YouTube started showing me videos on how Statins do more harm than good. Didn't really watch them until I was having trouble arranging discussions on an alternative to Atorvastatin with my doctor. Most interesting are the Australian ones which claim data hidden in appendices of the most quoted studies suggest they actually reduce life expectancy in many circumstances, in complete contradiction to the study conclusions.
The internet is a wonderful source of information. It is also a wonderful source of overnight experts and crap, you have to be very careful where the source of information comes from, especially from the US. A lot of so-called experts or even bona-fide medical people have big companies colouring their views and recommendations, to put it politely.
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