Is it possible that Simvastatin 20mg taken daily for a year could now be causing terrible leg pains - so bad no painkillers help?

[Fiddlestix]

[Hidden]

In my opinion yes....but check out other possibilities like arthritis in a hip joint, referred pain from your spine, si joints, etc. Do you really need the statins after reading all the research and blogs here. Would you stop taking the statins for a while to see if pains reduce or disappear??

[Fiddlestix]

Thank you EveC. Actually my question refers to my husband who does not have arthritis and is generally fit apart from a ? tendonitis/ carpal tunnel syndrome problem now in its 8th week. Together with the leg pain he gets very little sleep and is waiting to see his GP having been referred back by the Physiotherapist who decided he was misdiagnosed. I'll suggest he discusses stopping statins with her.

[MikePollard]

A very common and distressing side effect:

spacedoc.com/

[Aliwally]

The only way to really find out is to stop taking them and see if the pains get better.

[zorro1]

Yes it is very possible. My mother was left in such agony with leg pain after a few months of simvastatin that she was unable to walk more than a few yards and was crying with the agony. She suspected simvastatin and stopped taking it. The pain decreased. Her doctor later confirmed that it was the simvastatin and that it was damaging her muscles. She no longer takes any statin. For several months she could only walk short distances with the aid of a stick but her legs gradually have recovered. As well as the leg pain clumps of hair fell out around her hairline, she complained of memory problems and was plagued by nightmares. All of these problems ceased after she came off the drug.

[Hidden]

I can identify with all you've said here, zorro....statins took my life for 6 months until I got the message and came of them. Saw my GP yesterday for a review....she wanted to do a cholesterol check ...I said I didn't want to know...she just said "ok then". Hopefully the younger members of the profession are not so influenced by the 'bad pharma'!!

[Fiddlestix]

Thank you all for your replies which have convinced my husband that Simvastin could be the cause and he is taking it up with his GP. I guess he also needs to know exactly what his cholestrol levels are. I wish they would give the patient a copy of the test results as leaving it to your GP may no longer be the best practise.

[allyg in reply to Fiddlestix]

Hi Fiddlestix. Tell your husband to stop taking simvastins, it will be quite along time before they get out of his system, muscle pain stopped me from leading a normal life, took about 4 to 5 weeks before the pain went. these are the cheapest statin that are prescribed by NHS and have bad side effects. I don't know why he was prescribed them unless he had high cholesterol, if so he should ask for the total results ie hdl, ldl, trigs etc as a print out. Regards. Allyg.

[Richbod]

Definitely possible, and in my opinion extremely likely. In my experience the statins will stay in your system for weeks, maybe longer before you notice an improvement. Then ask your GP for a ck level check! They are poison to a large number of the population!

[ggtone1937]

I was diagnosed with high Cholesterol in 1979 after a number of years on Statins, I came off because of various side effects, my latest test showed an high reading? of 7.9, I am still here, I will let you be the judge.

[Aliwally]

Hi Fiddlestix,

Always ask for a copy of test results, I do and never had any problem with my GP's. Sometimes you get a mild quizzical look like "why would you be interested", a comment not worth answering!

20mg is a small dose, but enough to cause problems ,but it probably means your husband's cholesterol is not that high anyway.

[Silversurfer4739]

yes,yes.and more YES!,I know they caused me years of agony,

and even though I stopped taking 40mg a year ago?

I am still in severe pain..............

[Hidden]

I've had pains and my GP said stop them for 8 weeks and see what happens. The pain went, but to be honest not sure it was the statins. So after I have another blood test, depending on the results, I'll decide what to do then. Trying to control cholesterol with "improved" diet now.

[Hidden]

Ask for your test results, my doctor just prints them off, no problem. I asked whether I'd need a follow up cholesterol test recently [mine was 5.9 last Feb] and was told not to worry about it. So I'm not! However she did say that it's standard practice to put patients on statins if their Qrisk is 20 or more. I don't know your husband's age but if he is over 70 and even if he isn't but has ticked any of the boxes on the form it's likely to be a risk over 20. Ergo - statins

[Fiddlestix]

Yes, he's over 70, and seeing his GP tomorrow to try to sort this out. Thank you all for the advice given.

[Silversurfer4739]

YES YES YES.I went through allsorts of agony,not knowing it was Simvastatins 40mg.

then I went onto strong painkillers,

only to find a year ago,that the Statins were causing the agony............

and the painkillers had given me Heart Failure,

plus kidney and liver damage,and now I have Rhuematic Arthritis also,along with a body full of Osteoarthritis,

I knew I had that.....

I did not know Statins were making my life a misery with so many side-effects too......

Patients,realised we were always fatigued,muzzy feeling which made us forget so easily,

weakness in the joints with severe pains.oh so many symptoms,,,,,,,,,

none of us guessed straight away..

I stopped Statins a year ago against advice..I can't say I am better......

but,I know I am NOT contributing to my problems,

I had stopped both statins and painkillers that were damaging my Heart.etc.

I feel that I would probably have had a Heart Attack big time had I continued with the pills...

even Drs. do not seem to know the true answer to our questions...

Good Luck xxPat........

[Fiddlestix]

My husband's GP stopped his statin immediately and ordered a blood test done yesterday. However as forecast by you all, the pains have not eased so far. She did not think any painkiller would help so he's drinking extra water and living in hope . Many thanks for the support and advice.

[Sonyajba]

I'm sure his pain will stop it just takes time, some people recover really quickly others take a little longer. Can I suggest some supplements that may help with his recovery.......Co Q10 is a must, in fact any patient on statins should be advised to take this important enzyme that we need for our cells and statins stop the production of it, when we stop taking statins we still need Q10 supplement to replenish all that's been removed from our bodies, another one and just as important is L- Carnitine this supplement helps with our energy levels.

I hope things improve quickly for your husband, I'm sure they will just give it time.

Good luck and keep me posted on how he's doing