Heavy legs

[Looking_4_support]

hello all. Posting for some tips before i have my medication review with my gp’s surgery tommorow (phone consultation). I had my NSTEMI in December 2023, had 3 stents and am on the usual medication which is as follows.

Aspirin 75 mg

Atorvastatin 80 mg

Bisoprolol 2.5 mg in the morning and 2.5mg at night

Omeprazole 20 mg twice a day

Losartan 50 mg

Tricagrelor 90 mg twice a day

i suffer with fatigue most of the time especially when waking up and in the afternoon and have lower legs that feel as if they are filled with lead. Anyone else had this and adjusted their meds to get more energy back. Will discuss with gp but just wondering what others have experienced. Thanks in advance for any ideas/experiences that may trigger some discussions.

[RF260]

Hi, 64 year old bloke here, HA in April discharged with all the usual meds, no stents needed yet.. I note you are on 80mg atorvastatin which is what I was started on but suffered bad leg ache so switched to rosuvastatin 5mg which gives less muscular ache, got my first cholesterol check tomorrow so I reckon the 5mg might need to go up a bit if cholesterol has not reduced. The other thing that may help the legs is CoQ10 supplement, I took that for a while and sure it helped but don't need it on the 5mg statin but will restart if any more issues. I too am knackered, I've asked GP to do all bloods as people on here have suggested anaemia or hypothyroidism could be causing the tiredness, Aspirin and Ticagrelor can contribute to anaemia. The other thing that may cause the tiredness is the bisoprolol, I'm on 2.5mg once a day. And finally some say look at timings as to when you take the meds, might evening be better for those that knacker us out...I'm using lots of trial and error and I'll update if any news too..

[Looking_4_support in reply to RF260]

Thank you, will look into the side effects of the atorvastatin.

[AAJJTt]

Hi, nstemi type ll - 2019: no intervention or stents ; discharged with medication and exercise.

Similar medication- Bisoprolol, Tricagrelor, Aspirin, Atorvastatin, Ramipril.

I was pretty fit with a naturally low HR. I found the beta blocker was pulling it further down and I was feeling very tired and fatigued. Discussed with my GP and it was removed. Felt much more lively.

I regularly run, cycle and climb, enjoying an active lifestyle.

Due to a subsequent PAF diagnosis: I still have Bisoprolol prescribed but not daily. It’s part of my PIP in the event of an Afib episode.

[Looking_4_support in reply to AAJJTt]

Thank you.

[sandandkev]

I would look up side effects of meds as I suffered awful fatigue on 1 of my cholesterol tabs,take it you have regular blood tests for statins to make sure liver ok?

[Oldgimmer66]

Heavy legs was one of the first signs that I had heart issues. I mentioned it to my doctor and got no response. I’ve had the condition for 2 years now with no resolution. I’ll be interested to hear if you find a solution.

[DWizza]

Hi , I had Nstemi last July and quadruple CABG. I had issues with my artovastatin 80mg ( bisoprolol 1.25mg , half a 1.25 tablet rampiril, aspirin, pantoprazole, clopidogrel) . I was rehabbing really well then started getting zombie episodes , could barely lift my legs when walking my Lurcher, vacant feeling, cognitive impairment, and everything seemed to ache, blood pressure dropping from 115/75 to 100/60 felt awful. This would happen most days . A Locum suggested actual stop of statin then get it reviewed . So I stopped for a month and felt fantastic! Couldn’t get a GP appointment for another 3/4 weeks so was off a statin for about 7-8 weeks. GP put me on 40mg pravastatin and I got the zombie episode la back after a week . Now on 20mg rosuvastatin and quite happy with it. GP thought the stations were reacting with my other meds to cause the issue 🤷.

I’m on lowest dose bisoprolol and ramipril, I had low resting heart rate prior to heart attack low 50s and it now averages at rest 45-47 bpm . No mention of those meds needing to be changed or stopped at the moment a year since procedure .

[Dee717]

Hi Looking_4_support,

I see many people have already pointed it out but I was on 80mg of Atorvastatin and had exactly the same heavy lead in legs feeling and general fatigue. Coming off them made a huge difference within a couple of weeks.

For context i had a triple bypass CABG 10mths ago.

Whilst I’m now on a much lower dose of Rosuvastain which is way better, I can still get heavy legs sometimes. I’ve been offered the Inclisiran bi-annual injection as the next step but still on the fence as long term side effects are unknown but you could enquire.

Good Luck I know exactly how you feel with those lead weight legs but I’m 99% sure changing the statin will greatly help remove the fatigue symptoms! 😊

[MikeBB]

All I am going to say, is that I stopped taking Atorvastatin and felt much better. I also stopped taking Bisoprolol. This, of course was done in conjunction with my GP. As ever, do engage with them rather than just stopping taking medication on the basis of other peoples experiences.

[aviation1]

Suggest a different statin and actually a lower dose - the dose appears high after so long (unless your choleserol is still too high) - also, try a different beta blocker ...... it is a strong med and bisop" has quite a few side effects

[Jamontoast]

hi there - I too am on atorvastatin, bisoprolol and omeprazole plus Edoxaban ( whereas I presume aspirin is instead of that)

You are on quite a high dose of atorvastatin and when I started on it I was told by the cardiologist it can give you achy legs and pains in the legs and if that was the case to report it to the gp. They may be able to change the statin you are on if it’s giving you side effects. I too have achy legs but liveable with but am not on as high a dose as you

Good luck - I would check out the statin issue as it may be that. It may be a case of going through the meds one by one to see what is causing the side effects but I would start with the statin

[-007-]

Hi L4S,

December 2016 I had a heat attack at the age of 63. I was put on 5mg Bisoprolol and 40mg of Atorvastatin.

March 2017. Five stents. After recovery I felt great. Meds remained the same.

Early 2018. Angiogram revealed my arteries and a few stents clogged back up and was in a mess. Atorvastatin Increased to 80mg

March 2019. A quintuple bypass (five bypasses) I was reduced to 2.5mg.

2021. Started to feel really tired. I had felt tired ever since I had the heart attack and meds but this was going back to bed after breakfast type of tired. On occasion I found it hard to get up from a sitting position or even raise my arms up.

They reduced the Bisoprolol to 2.5mg. I felt better.

2022 was getting tired again. They reduced the Bisoprolol to 1.25mg

After a short time I was getting tired again so I was told by a cardiologist I could stop them, so I did.

Wow. Heart thumping. Waking up in the nights sweating and heart going crazy. After a week I started taking them again.

A month later, still getting tired, I started taking one every other day for a week or two, then stopped again but this time my heart was better.

I’ve been off Bisoprolol for a couple of years now and I don’t get the tiredness I had when taking Bisoprolol. I still get tired but nothing like I was when taking Bisoprolol and at 71 years of age and after a few heart attacks etc. I don’t think I’m doing so bad.

So Bisoprolol was the problem with me but different strokes for different folks.

Always but always see your medical team before changing medication though.

Hope that helps a little.

-007- (Licensed To Pill 💊)