Went to see my MD on July 29, 2015 after suffering for about 2 weeks with increasing muscular pains and weakness in legs. He stated because the muscles involved were large that it might be a reaction to taking Simvastatin. I have been taking it for about 8 years and never had a problem before. He said the reactions can come at any time. He sent me for a blood test to determine if there was an indicator for kinase which would mean that the muscles were breaking down. Got the results "normal".
As I was seeing my Endocrinologist the next week, I told him and he said that it takes 4-6 weeks for the drug to leave your system. He said to discontinue taking the statin and if I still had the symptoms after 6 weeks, then Simvastatin was not the cause. So, I am waiting for the end of August-mid September to see. I also feel very tired all the time and bought a supplement containing glucosamine and chondroitin and am taking that 2x a day.
This Wednesday I am seeing my new cardiologist and will be interested to see what he thinks of my stopping the statin drug.
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I've read alot of stuff about people being on statins for years before side effects occur. Are you taking coenzyme q10 every day? Statins block the body from producing it so it's a must. I get aches and weakness and I did a little experiment, I stopped taking my supplements for a week and I definitely felt worse for it.
I agree, I had a hear transplant 27 years ago and now have hi cholesterol. cut down on fats and carbs, have taken statins for years with aching legs. changed to 10/20 mg each alt night. Taking Q10 is amazing for everything including skin/heart and well being. expensive, but worth every penny!!
The same thing happened to me, I just told the doc, I wouldn't be taking them any more and he went on and on about the benefits, but i stood my ground and i`m fine. That was over 6 years ago and he still tries to get me back on them when he sees me, I`m sure they get paid fron the drug companies for putting people on them.
By the way, my cholesterol was 5.8 its now 5.2, I don't think thats too high.
Might not suit everyone, but i wont take them again unless my levels rocketed
Hi there. I'm very sorry for you that you're suffering from side effects of statins, too. I've suffered greatly, in a very diverse way as well as for the biggest part - irreversible! - from Simvastatin. I'm very glad your doctor took your problems seriously, that he told you to discontinue the statin and that he did tests with you. So far he could not have done better, I would say. Many would not have chosen this correct way as far as I know from others and experienced myself unfortunately. However, you wrote "and if I still had the symptoms after 6 weeks, then Simvastatin was not the cause." In this your doctor unfortunately is NOT right. I think he thinks that all statin damage is reversible - this is what is generally thought within the medical profession - and so he seems to think that if you won't heal from stopping after some weeks, then the statin cannot be the reason. But, unfortunately this is wrong. You will find many examples on the internet, for example on groups about adverse effects of statins on facebook. Like me there are many others who suffer from irreversible damage. Mine for most of it did not disappear after 5 years while I do all I can to stimulate that, for example by taking high dosages of Q10 ubiquinol and strong fishoil. There are even those among us who's damage is still going on ... developing further negatively... long after they stopped with the statin. You might turn to the site of Dr. Graveline: spacedoc.com to learn more about it.
So, even when you won't heal during the weeks to come, you have to take well into account that you did suffer from the statin. If your doctor takes the time and effort to read a bit about statin adverse effects, s/he will see he was not right in this.
To heal I would advise you to take 2x a day 100mg of coQ10 ubiquinoL plus about 1000mg of cod liver oil or krilloil even better. Magnesium relieves the muscle pain a bit. It should increase the chance to heal.
Most people seem to heal from damage, so you have a good chance.
You should be very careful in trying out another statin. Simvastatin is one of those most often creating side effects. A hydrophilic statin might be better (water based). Simvastatin is an oil based statin. Simvastatin among others is not reacting well with diverse meds to lower the bloodpressure. You might have taken one of those like Amlodipin, by which the statin amount in your body is increased which might have caused the problem. Your doctor should investigate that. Be cautious before you take any other statin. Not seldomly you might suffer from others, too.
And if you might think you have to try another one... be VERY alert on all eventual side effects from the beginning. It might start almost immediately or only after years as you experienced. Myself I would not ever take any statin anymore. I've suffered much too much damage and most of it irreversible. I'm in my 40s and feel as if I'm in my 70s to just mention one problem which shows physically and cognitively.
Thanks, Sandrien, for your very excellent and comprehensive reply. I am very sorry for your sad experience with Simvastatin. I hope mine will eventually improve. I will try the CoQ10 and hope for the best.
I was exactly the same when I was prescribed Simvastatin a few years ago.
It was awful.
It took quite a while to return to normal.
I'm now on Lipitor and I don't feel just as bad but I do feel tired all the time.
I hope you feel better soon.
Regards,
Carol
Hello, your muscle weakness could also be caused by a lack of COQ10. Statins stop your liver making this, it's important in helping your muscles to work and giving you energy.
You can buy a COQ10 supplement in lots of places - Holland and Barrett have an offer on at the moment. Try taking 120-200 mg temporarily and see if it helps.
Do you exercise much? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi... cites an article which it says "we found that muscular side-effects during exercise clearly are related to statin treatment even in the absence of elevated creatine kinase (CK)". I am not a professional athelete but I have experienced this too: CK normal but awful awful pains.
I agree with the earlier comments about CoQ10 and that some statin damage is not reversible, so while cessation of symptoms correlating with cessation of statins suggests they are to blame, a continuation of symtoms does not necessarily clear statins. Sorry about that. Can you find a less definite and more knowledgeable doctor?
No, DakCB-UK, I don't exercise much, but 2 weeks before the pains began I
had a nuclear stress test and had to stay on a continually increasing in speed treadmill. I asked the doctor if that could have been the cause and he said that too much time had elapsed. But, now I' m beginning to wonder if that had precipitated it. Tomorrow, I'm going to see a new cardiologist and will ask more about the connection between statins and muscular pain. Thanks for your input.
Please write down all your questions and answers. I will be interested in finding out the connection between muscle pain and statin.
During stress test did you stop before the finishing time? If you carried on all the way the indication is that your heart is healthy. I had a 12-lead stress test. The blood pressure went up very high and I was asked if I had high blood pressure by the nurse, my answer was no and said this test has taken my blood pressure high!
Another question is why is it important to reduce cholesterol? I did ask this question and did not receive a satisfactory answer.
What do you find unsatisfactory about "too much cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of getting heart and circulatory diseases" according to heartuk.org.uk/health-and-h... ?
Apart from assuming the lipid hypothesis to be true, of course
What Dr's should be trying to find out is WHY the cholesterol levels are high! It has little to do with diet and more to do with damage and inflammation. The cholesterol is like a bandage on the inflammation. I once heard 'your body doesn't make mistakes' it's over producing cholesterol for a reason. Cholesterol always gets the blame because it's always at the scene, a bit like blaming fire fighters for fires because there's a correlation.
And if that reason is defective/dysfunctional LDL receptors in the liver, what then? Some of our bodies DO seem to make mistakes, dispatching fire fighters when there's no fire, so they just drive around the place, polluting it!
That is of course the exception. I presume you're referring to FH? In that case then statins play an important role, hence why I'm taking them. But in a lot of people with moderately raised levels Dr's just want to medicate rather than find the source. That's where functional medicine comes in because it's better at prevention than regular medicine...In my opinion
I was told by a specialist that with the coQ10 of the brand Pharma Nord you can be insured to have the right Q10 - made of the Japanese caneka, so I always buy that on the internet from different suppliers/countries - whereever there are offers. Important is that you better take the ubiquino-L variant instead of the ubiquinon-E variant. UbiquinoL is better, easier and quicker taken up by the body which you even can improve by always taking it together with fishoil (only omega 3 (don't use any omega 6, 7 or 9 complex / omega 6 you already get enought/too much by food) fishoil, better strong cod liver oil, best krilloil - quite some price difference).
Hi, Sandrien, Are you a pharmacist? You certainly know a great deal about these products. I will look to see if I can find them here as I live in New York. Thanks again.
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Really bad neck and upper back pain only two days in of taking simvastatin 20mg/day
Advice please
