Has anyone reduced the dose and had any ill effects? Had spoke with the Dr and she said try not taking for a month to see how I felt. Feel slightly scared tbh.I have Leg cramps, hands ache and memory loss. Worried about the high dosage for long term.
Any feedback welcome 🙏
why not just change to rosuvastatin which has far fewer side effects
I'll be 5 years post HA and stent later this year. For approximately the last 3 years I've been completely medication free. Check with your doctor first, but I do not believe there are any known short term risks from stopping statins.
There was some research in Denmark published late in 2021. The key points were:
"Question Is statin discontinuation associated with a higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events than statin continuation among older people receiving long-term treatment with statins?
Findings In this cohort study of 27 463 people treated with statins for primary prevention and 39 955 treated for secondary prevention, statin discontinuation was associated with a significantly higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events for primary prevention and secondary prevention compared with treatment continuation.
Meaning In this study, statin discontinuation was associated with a higher rate of cardiovascular events than statin continuation among older people receiving long-term statin treatment, but more definitive evidence is needed".
The question is though, who sponsored the research!
Yes, indeed so. And also, what sort of numbers are they talking about? What does "a significantly higher rate" actually mean? I fell for that once...
It was done by the University of Southern Denmark and the "Funding" section at the end of the paper says "None". It's a document which is easily accessed from a Google Search which you can read if you like. I gave up Statins for a while at the beginning of last year. I have never had a heart attack nor stroke before or after but my Triglycerides went up to a level where I was concerned about getting acute pancreatitis. Since resuming medication, my Triglycerides have gone back to what they used to be. I'm fortunate that I don't have problems with statins. I just wanted to know what would happen and I do now. I am 75 this year and the problem is the medical community doesn't know much about the effects of statins on the elderly. There are a couple of big studies going on at present, one in Australia and the other in the States but they won't be publishing results for some time. The Australians make quite a thing about being independent of drug companies but I don't know about the Americans.
It is my understanding that current UK thinking is that post 'heart event' - HA /stroke etc- statin doses should be increased to the max as 'secondary prevention'. And so from what you have said that applies to you and so I would have thought that your GP should be exploring other statins first with you, of which there are several, which might not carry the same side effects, rather than asking you to stop , even if for a trial. Certainly an equivalent dose of rosuvastatin appears to have been well received by some members on here although success is not a given. And if you still get aches and pains then that is then the time to trial a statin free 'holiday'.
I had problems with the statins that I had After my HA and stents. It was changed to Rosuvastatin 5mg that was a lower dosage. My cardiologist said that this statin was the best. That was 4 years ago. No problems to report.🤗
You would probably be better trying a different Statin rather than stopping Atorvastatin altogether with no Statin at all.If you choose to go without a Statin , I would never recommend that people just go " cold Turkey" if they have used a medication for a long time unless there is an urgent medical reason to do so. Every medication and even certain supplements can cause side effects as you withdraw. You could reduce the dose over a month.
Your aching limbs , if they are only symptomatic because of the Statin will still ache whilst you make the reduction and can possibly continue for months afterwards until the medication is having no further impact in your body.
The stain alone may not be the only reason for your symptoms, often various medications used long term can change stomach acid and slowly cause a decline in B Vitamins and Folic Acid causing Insufficiency even if you have a good diet which are a common causes for the symptoms people get using pain and nerve meds , PPIs like Omeprazole, antacids and statins.
If they symptoms you have didn't start within the first month or two of taking Atorvastatin it is unlikely to be caused by being intolerant to statins including that Statin.
It's a good idea to request blood tests to rule out deficiency or Insufficiency of Vitamin B12, Folate , Ferritin/ Iron, Full blood count and Vitamin D if you haven't had these in the last 12 months or since your symptoms began, you can request these from your GP on the NHS if you take medications that can affect blood nutrient levels before making any big decisions about changing or stopping a medication.
You should request or look up a copy of the results even if the GP says they are normal , because people still become symptomatic with Low Normal , High Normal or Borderline results as that can be a sign of Insufficiency which needs treating to prevent it getting worse.
If figures are low or normal you could still change your statin brand and try that first.
Working from the figures you can choose between making just diet changes or you may need supplements which can resolve the pain symptoms and cognitive changes you are experiencing.
You don't want to stop Preventative Care treatments after a heart event or surgery unless it's absolutely necessary.
Thank you very much
You don’t need to tail off a statin. There are some meds that you need to do this with but not statins. I’m a pharmacist.
I also have pharmaceutical training . There are many medications were you don't " have" to taper according to the medication guideline , that still cause moderate side effects of rebound pain , temporary digestives changes, and fatigue when you come off them after having them as part of your body chemistry for a long time.You can reduce these effects on these medications by also taking some time to taper off them giving the body a slower adjustment period.
So , unless you are being taken off them for urgent medical reasons it can help you cope generally not just to stop them. This is equally true when discussing supplements and even foods.
Pharmaceutical guidelines often don't take this into account .
As a patient , from experience, and seeing the experience of patients , I give this as a piece of advice.
My cardiologist said it was perfectly ok to come of a statin for a month as a trial as he said a statin only prevented a secondary heart event in 1 in 40 people over a 5 year period. He also said cholesterol is also not as dangerous as people think with lifestyle and metabolic issues being the biggest risk factors.
I echo this my cardiologist said the same. Dr put me on 40mg Atorvastatin for 5.6 total cholesterol and 3.8 LDL and the cardiologist reduced it to 10mg on the basis of lifestyle changes - he even said at those levels you do not really need a statin but its about reducing risk in the long term and see it like putting money in the bank for a rainy day
Have you had a heart attack or do you have stents , or arterial plaque?
Because of worsening pain and aching joints my GP took me off statins after a heart attack. I was surprised he did it for 3 months as he said it would take that long to see any improvement in the pain. it made no difference so I restarted on a different statin.
Yes , different doctors will say different things .Many doctors do that with many drugs they definitely shouldn't do it with as well.
But many doctors realise that even a medication like a Statin will caused other side effects in the body and that it can make it easier on the heart and nervous system to taper off any thing.
Obviously lifestyle can be the biggest factor , but your GP is presumably one of the small group of anti Statins.
As one of the 1 in 250 people in the UK with Familial Hypercholesterolemia, I'd have to disagree.
Most doctors realise that Cholesterol is important in stabilising arterial plaques , something Statin alternatives don't do well. And food or supplements don't do at all.
I also ask the question now , even though the 1 in 40 numbers are inaccurate, what if you are the 1 person in 40 whom didn't have a heart attack , wouldn't you think it was worth it?
Cholesterol actually has a part in causing negative metabolic factors as well.
It's everybody's choice if they take medications or not, even ones that save their life , there's no need to justify your choices . I just wish that people would stop quoting facts , often inaccurately to do so for statins.
Opinions and suggestions only, Statins lower inflammation and reduce cholesterol in the body, they reduce the progression of plaques and harden the plaques so they are less likely to rupture i.e. a heart attack. No one can answer your question as having a heart attack of this nature is a statistical event, i.e. someone can live their whole life with huge amounts of plaque and not have a rupture ( they would be lucky to do so), however statistically it would be unwise for you to just stop statins, this decision would be better addressed by a cardiologist, even if your cholesterol is low , Statins are pleio tropic a fact that some GP's are unaware of and act through multiple path ways to reduce inflammation, and not just cholesterol lowering. Would it not make sense to reduce the amount, or change to another Statin?
If its eventually found you are Statin intolerant, then PCSK9 inhibitors would be appropriate or why not ask your cardiologist to try a low dose statin + ezetimibe , which gives similar or better results than a high dosage statin alone.
You have lots of options here, so many medicines now available to lower cholesterol AND reduce inflammation.
PCSK9 do not lower inflammation and There’s growing evidence that inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and oxidative stress are the true drivers of heart disease, with cholesterol being a secondary player in the body’s repair process.
Inflammation: PCSK9 inhibitors may reduce inflammation by interfering with the IL-6–mediated inflammatory pathway
Oxidative stress: PCSK9 inhibitors may reduce oxidative stress by promoting autophagy.
I agree with the other parts that potentially Inflammation is a greater driver than cholesterol alone, hence why Statins are useful beyond reducing cholesterol.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/295...
This is however a relatively new area of science so its possible to hold different views on them, and the debate goes on.
I believed my 80mg artovastatin was contributing to many side effects post nstemi and quadruple bypass July 2023. Brain fog, zombie episodes, aches/pains in hands legs , periods of the day I couldn’t function., GP said to give it a trial stop, I felt fantastic for about 8 weeks. Didn’t get an option for lower dose, was put on pravastatin 40mg and got symptoms back within a week. Spoke to pharmacist and she wrote to GP and I was put on Rosuvastatin 10mg and had no problems .
I would think your Dr has told you to stop for a month to see if leg cramps etc go away ? It's perfectly safe to stop this statin with the permission of Dr. I'm statin intolerant sadly & have had to come of them. No lower dose & no ill effects. The best side effect was no more muscle & joint pain.
Do you know your cholesterol level?? You could always chat with the local pharmacist,or there should be one at drs surgery
Have you had to swap ? I’ve been on Atorvastatin since September and have had to stop due to bad muscle aches everywhere. I’ve just been prescribed rosuvastatin , but haven’t started them yet.
I went from 80g to 40g Atorvastatin approx 2 yrs after HA & 4 x CABG with no problems at all. But as you can tell from the replies, we're all very different! Hope you find a way forward that helps.
Hi. Following STEMI and stents I was discharged with the usual meds including 80mg atorvostatin. It was upsetting my stomach so I did some research and discussed with my GP. We agreed that the relative risk of reducing the dose to just 10 mg was acceptable to me. That was ten years ago. I had no problems on that dose but after 8 years my cholesterol crept up so I agreed to take 20 mg. That dose has controlled my cholesterol and not caused any side effects.
Pl
Hi
1 year after my bypass (2020) my 80mg was dropped to 40 mg by my cardiologist because my cholesterol was well controlled . The change made a small difference to my results but I am still well under the desired level.
We all react differently to these medications and hopefully working with your doctor you can transition to something that suits you.
In the last 18 months I've reduced Atorvastatin from the initial 80 mg, which made me feel lousy, down to 40 mg and now down to 20 mg. I certainly feel better and the aches or considerably less
I was told that post heart attack you take the most appropriate dosage of statin which gets your cholesterol to the lowest level possible.
This is a NICE relatively recent recommendation. The cardiologist increased my atorvastatin from 40mg to 80mg. I don't notioce any symptoms.
I stopped taking it for a week and did not notice any change to any ache and pains or anything else
I went from 80mg to 40mg six to nine months after my double bypass, but that was because the consultant had suggested that it might be right for me. So, my GP did before and after tests, and concluded that the lower dose was effective in my case. I've not had any side-effects, nor am I pressing to come off medication.
That change was five years ago. I did come off Bisoprolol on consultant's advice, as I seem to have natural low blood pressure and I had an episode of syncope.
I was on 80mg Atorvastatin for 2.5 yrs after my triple bypass. I started to get "brain fog" etc so my GP told me to stop for a month as a trail. Problems disappeared. Dosage went down to 40 mg and now 20mg but with Ezetimibe 10 mg added. I am waiting for next blood test to see iof this is the right level for me. In answer to the original question - no negative side effects for reducing the statin dosage - only positives - and my cholesterol levels are still "good".
I was on 80mg atorvastatin after having a heart attack and 2 stents. Reduced to 40mg as was suffering from constipstion. Had a second heart attack. Was put back yp to 80mg Slight constipation is a small price to pay. I think for me it's psychological. 80mg kinda helps keep me alive.
i can’t tolerate Statins , I get so much muscle pain and my liver blood tests get very elevated. So for years I was taking high dose omega 3 and ezetimbe ( not sure I spelt that right ) and Vit E. I was put on Apixiban blood thinners and the pharmacy advise to stop the omega as it also acted as a blood thinner, after a heart attack years later the hospital prescribed rosavastatin once a week just to help keep the arteries flexible and the Exetimbe daily . Amazing cholesterol levels and triglycerides down to normal . So every Tuesday I get a bit more aches . As long as you can take it once or twice a week lit still works I have been told . Oh my heart attacks are without blocked arteries called ANOCA . I still take Vitamin E as it works as an anti inflammatory for my heart and helped me through the menopause as well .
Hi,
I had all the same symptoms as you after 2 years of taking it, stopped for a month and then changed to rosuvastain 5mg for first month then up to 10mg after that. Brain fog has definitely gone away and most pains in knees and hips,
I was scared about just stopping but it was actually ok. Good luck.?
There are other statins, and other meds for that matter, that you could try. Definitely worth talking to your GP, Cardiologist or the Clinical Pharmacist at you local GPs if they have one. I too was put on 80mg of Atorvastatin after my NSTEMI in late 2022. That was halved by the cardiologist after a few months to reduce the statin load as my Cholesterol levels had reduced significantly. I started to experience leg discomfort and was switched to Rosuvastatin but, unlike others on here, I didn't get back to it. I'm now back on 20mg of Atorvastatin and I seem to be ok on that although the GP suggested I also take a COQ10 supplement to help with any side effects. Touch wood all seems to be OK. I queried the lower dose with my Cardiologist and was told the effectiveness of each didn't halve with each reduction so 20mg isn't a quarter as effective as 80mg.
Driving after a heart attack
After 2 stents fitted my husband has had 3 UTI’s 
Panic attacks and high anxiety 2 years after heart attack and quad heart bypass
Husband had a heart attack aged 38....
Loss of confidence after a heart attack
