Statins

[sargeantwendy68]

Does taking statins cause insomnia and what time of the day would be the optimum?

[sandybrown]

Please read the paper work given in the medication box as each medication varies!

Doctors suggest to take statin medication before going to bed as the medication works in the liver.

What are your cholesterol numbers and what dosage are you on?

[lisalesa]

I take mine before bed as instructed but I really can not sleep dont know whether it is cause im stressing or the medication

[Andyman in reply to lisalesa]

I would suggest you are stressing my statin does not keep me awake my overactive mind does though.

[PeterWh]

Unfortunately most side effect symptoms are never reported back, particularly never after the first two or three years of release. Initially after a new medicine is released doctors are supposed to report all known or potential side effects but often do not. Also some medics believe that all side effects are picked up during trials and approvals and if they occur after this time it is coincidence or imagination.

[sos007 Ambassador]

I have not experienced insomnia due to statin use before bedtime. Metoprolol which is a beta-blocker that regulates blood pressure and your heart rate CAN cause anxiety initially or when dosage is changed. See if you are taking this medication as well.

[DakCB-UK]

I used to experience a few days of disrupted sleep whenever I started/restarted atorvastatin or simvastatin after a break. I did not have this problem with pravastatin but it's less potent.

It's not hard to see how statins might affect sleep. One of the key signallers in sleep is Acetylcholine which is produced from Acetyl-CoA, like Mevalonate which is disrupted by statins. Many biological processes are connected and disrupting one process may have consequences for linked processes.

Crudely put, if the Acetyl-CoA is no longer being converted to Mevalonate, where does it go? Maybe some people turn some of it into extra Acetylcholine, making it difficult for them to pass through the early stages of sleep that usually involve lowered ACh. Maybe my body adapted after a few days of statin-bombing. Or maybe it's something else entirely. Sleep is another topic that's still being researched in detail and I don't know if anyone's looking into the effects of statins on sleep.

[sos007 Ambassador]

They should not cause insomnia. They should be taken before bedtime as the night is when the liver produces most of the body's cholesterol. Read my psot 'Coming Off Statins'.