Hi, any suggestions as to how to recover from using statins, muscle pain is persistent, is it advisable to use a gym and exercise these sore muscles or is complete rest better, which vitamins are better suited to aid recovery? any advise stretching or acupuncture?
Recover from Statins: Hi, any... - Cholesterol Support
Recover from Statins
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pryor147
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Good question - I don't know if there might be some advice here or if it might be an avenue for giving an account of your experience of statins (if that might be useful to researchers there):
Have you had any blood tests to assess your vitamin or mineral levels to establish whether you might benefit from supplementation?
On a somewhat tangential note, I was surprised to learn that I'm severely deficient in vitamin D and that is frequently associated with extensive musculoskeletal aches and pains. Even after supplementation, I'm still deficient, but I've been pleased by the difference even the improvement of a few points has made.
Hi, they only checked vitamin B12 because I asked, they say it was normal, however dont think they checked for others. I have posted the effects I was having from Statins that were prescribed when I was only 0.3 over the limit on LHL reading. only took a doctor 10 mins to prescibe not alternative offered, gradual onset of muscle fatigue quite painful, very sore feet in the morning, bluish tinge from knees downwards and fingers, joint pain muscle pain in chest shoulders, felt like flu but without sore throat and runny nose. Tired like you cannot believe on all fours climbing stairs.
Leaflet insert, says contact DR IMMEDIATELY if these symptoms are apparent, Dr said give it time to settle they are not life threatening cholesterol is. I was on them for just over a year. Dr just wanted to prescribe other drugs to counteract effects of Statins. They gave me Duloxetine, which is for depression its a mind altering drug, coming off that was horrendous nightmares mood swings etc.
Wish I had read up on Atrovasatin long ago.
It is you body therefore you need to look after it. Doctors some time do not offer correct advice! OK.
If you are statin, just stop it. Eat healthy food, go for walks to free you mind and enjoy the different views.
One medicine, side effect, another medicine, side, effect and so on. Try to live without any medication.
One life enjoy it.
He told you that this substance that your body produces naturally and which your brain cannot function without is somehow life threatening. I am glad you dropped the Statins but I would also drop the GP
In response to your complaints about statin side effects, your doctor said "they are not life threatening cholesterol is." That's stunningly dangerous advice. Find a new doctor! If you haven't any heart problems, don't EVER take a statin. High cholesterol is not life threatening. Statins are!
Agreed, never see the same Dr twice they just go off the notes on system then they have nine minutes to prescribe a pill. Absolutely no time in the appointment to suggest alternative life style changes, extra exercise or dietary advise. Just put them on Statins thats the guide at 5.3 its ludicrous.
Thank you for your post, I am on the right track im sure.
Hi pyor, I found exercising made it much worse, unfortunately then you have to deal with the muscle wastage. Swimming is a good exercise, and the vitamin therapy is imperative!!
As I mentioned, I'm pretty much 100% better after 4 months of them, no muscle weakness or cramps or pain anymore. I DO have arthritis in my right hip-knee, which exercise definitely helps with, however its only since i have been off the statins and got my strength back that i can actually exercise. Vitmin D is very important.
Also what i have been doing, apart from the vitamins and COQ10, is at night, just before I go to sleep, I generate a feeling of love (a good idea is to picture something you love unconditionally, usually a pet or your children) and once the feeling has built, I flood my body with it. Especially the areas that are suffering. I actively imagine the love permeating every cell. It works very well (have got others to do it, with great results).
Another very useful technique is called "earthing " Stand on the grass barefoot, or better yet in the ocean, spread your arms out wide, and imagine drawing the enery from the earth and the sky into your body. Do this as often as possible. These may sound like way out suggestions, but they have really worked for me and others who have done them.
I only read up on avaorstatin (as I mentioned, i was on 40mg for over 10 years) when the side effects got so bad, no one would tell me what it was, and came across statin damage.
I feel you will be fine, try and not be to despondent, I was terribly depressed for months thinking I would be crippled for life, but gradually it got better. Just give it some time.
My advice would be first of all to start taking CoQ10 - or rather Ubiquinol, the concentrated form of CoQ10 which is absorbed better by the body if you’re over 40; start out with a fairly high dose (I started with 400mg daily which I divided into 2 portions of 200 mg taken in the course of the day), and gradually taper off when your muscle pain diminishes. I’m now still taking 100 mg in the morning, along with fish oil pills and turmeric. It has certainly helped me, I have now fully recovered from muscle pains and stiffness I got from being on statins (Crestor) for close to six months. I use Ubiquinol from Jarrow Formulas which is a good quality as far as I can tell.
Secondly, I don’t exercise that much but from many reports from other people recovering from statin damage I understand that (intensive) exercise, for instance by going to a gym, doing fitness and sports, etc., is really the last thing you should do! It will not strengthen your muscles but damage them even further. This has to do with the effect of statins which weakens the muscles and makes them incapable of getting stronger through exercise, as would normally be the case. Of course light exercise such as short but regular walks or cycling, is perfectly fine.
Hope this helps, good luck with your recovery!
I have been to see my gp numerous times about the pain I am experiencing with statins. I started taking coq10 myself after reading about it on here and then researching. The doctor had never heard of this and because it wasn't on NHS guidelines he couldn't comment one way or another. I have yet to see a difference made by these but have only been taking for 3 weeks. I am still taking statins. The doctor referred me for 3 months gym membership suggesting I exercise through the pain - not sure how that will help with the pain in my hands wrists and feet but am now thinking I will stick to the pool and yoga instead of gym in case this is the opposite of what I should be doing. I have never been tested for vit b12 or vit d but I did get a blood test to determine it there was muscle wastage and was told that was normal. I will get them to check my other levels. pryor147 good luck on your journey - I'm sure you feel a huge relief having stopped atorvastatin - you are now in recovery, enjoy as your body gets stronger!
As long as you’re still on statins, you’re perhaps unlikely to feel much if any positive effect from the CoQ10/Ubiquinol. Can’t you stop with the statins? I’m sure that will accelerate the improvement of your condition! Or is your doctor insistent that you take them?
Stopped stans 3 weeke ago against Drs advice.
changed diet, reduced insulin by 50%.
Insulin is the main driver of heart disease and when it comes to your lipids you should take notice of your Triglycerides to HDL ratio. In other words take your Tri's lets say 0.8 and divide by your HDL lets say 1.7 and you have 0.47 which would be very good. You should aim for less than 1.0
I have been diagnosed with FH so have been told diet will have no impact on my ldl cholesterol and statins are my only option to avoid a cardiac episode. Because I am not symptomatic they have only carried out a stress test which was normal but I have no idea about plaque build up etc. If I knew there had been no damage in the 40 years of having this condition (prior to taking statins) I never would have taken them but I just don't know and it's the not knowing that terrifies me!
I absolutely understand of course! And it’s certainly not my place to tell you not to take them. In certain specific cases, statins may be necessary! The way I understand it, high (LDL) cholesterol in itself is not always dangerous- what matters is the type, or composition, of this cholesterol. If it consists of particles that are small and dense, this may be a type of cholesterol that easily forms plaque that attaches to the arteries and thus increases the risk of heart attacks. And in that case, lowering cholesterol by whatever means possible (also statins) may be necessary. If, on the other hand, the particles are ‘large and fluffy’, cholesterol does not constitute a risk even if it is high. Apparently there are tests that can be done to establish this. And finally a disclaimer: I am not a doctor so this is just information that I got from the internet. Good luck!
I must see if I can find a test to determine this! More worryingly my 8 year old daughter has just been diagnosed and they want her to start taking atorvastatin straight away - I want to do the best for her,she eats well and is very sporty but you read such contradictory information to what the doctors say! It's a minefield! And I don't want her to obsess over this the way I do - she's far too young to be burdened!
I am afraid, in UK the GP's and specialist have guide lines and they follow them. Many mistakes has been made!
Private health checks and medication is very expensive.
In the 70's, we went though difficult time with morning sickness medication. You had to listen to your GP, there wee no multi media to check.
To day we are all very well informed, therefore it is our decision to take medication or not.
It certainly doesn’t seem right to me to give statins to such a young child whose body is still growing and developing. Statins block the production by the liver of all sorts of nutrients that are essential to human health. Bad enough for an adult, even worse for a child! I think statins should be an absolute last resort, the best way to proceed is through diet, I think, f.i. by avoiding processed foods, sugar, etc. Good luck!
Ahh yes thank you and noted, I think I have a tenancy to say I am going to beat this a go on a rigorous exercise routine.
I need to put the brakes on and listen to advice from this site, which has been far better than any Dr advise I must day.
Ok ,realized this morning at gym this is wrong and stopped, just went to stretch machines instead, often gentle walks, I will swim and cycle at GYM and no straighten exercise.
Already changed diet and reduced insulin by 50% reading more stable already.
Hi Pryor, I posted just a week ago about the terrible effect statin had on me. In short I was recovering from a spinal operation when I got chest pain and a racing heart. They checked and the ecg showed irregularities so as I was in a hospital without a cardiac ward they got me by ambulance to the nearest one that had. They checked various things and said my cholesterol was up so they put me on statins. I was on it for a short time and noticed extreme muscle weakness but due to my other conditions I did not put 2 and 2 together. Had half a grapefruit unfortunately and had the week from hell the week before last. Then went for a 3D heart scan Monday gone by and saw the specialist on Wednesday. My heart was fine and more to the point my arteries were as clean as anything without any plague buildup. So he said you can ditch the statins and did they give you any other pointless medication, if so you can ditch them too. So got of the statins and slowly the muscle weakness has lifted. I did just walk constantly around the house and garden and just slowly up and down the road. I think that was the best thing to do. I don't think exercise is any good at all until you feel better. I still feel extremely weak in my legs but keep walking and feel myself getting stronger. Other then walking I would suppose that swimming is good too but I cannot do that yet. Good Luck 👍
Oh thank you so much, I tried weights at the gym but I am too weak and my body said woe, might make this shit worse, so stopped and just did swimming and stretch exercise , I think I must really progress slowly with GYM. I have been walking as well however a bit restricted because feet are very sore from dam statins. Really think better methods of reducing cholesterol.
Statins almost ruined me. The first thing your doctor should have done is blood work looking at liver and kidney function, when statins start wasting your muscles, it shows up elevating liver enzymes and kidney function. Mine was so bad they even checked for hepatitis. The test came back negative but it took months after getting off statins (completely and never again) before the tests were normal. Meanwhile I tried to exercise and work in my yard even though my body said don’t, and I now have herniated discs and tears in 3 places in my lower vertebrae, along with a torn labrum in my left shoulder (per MRI’s). Don’t push until you have healed. I still take Co Q-10 daily along with a couple of different Move Free supplements to aid the healing process. This along with Physical Therapy twice a week. I take Plant Sterols 800mg for cholesterol but can’t vouch for it yet until I have another lipid panel check. Hope this helps.
I would read about Hi cholesterol first. It had been said that you should only be concerned for inflammation of the arteries because statins is more political then the medical advantage. I take aspiring and my inflammation is OK. The Heart Dr. said I needed Statins for my inflammation for my Cholesterol was fine. . since I have none or little inflammation, I quit the Statins.
Step 1, never put a statin your mouth (my experience only) (joke). I'm a retired physical therapist and that muscle pain can begin to be relieved with stretching or yoga. Anything that you can follow to stretch methodically from your toes to your head. These statins make our muscles contract and they need to be gently stretched to a normal tone. Until you can feel somewhat normal muscle tone exercise will only exacerbate the problem. Also be faithful taking CoQ10 which has also been depleted while taking the statin.
Thank you, just got back from GYM, mainly stretch exercise as energy levels still low. what are your views on the vibration pad machine. I used it today but the effects were quite severe from head to toe. I am taking CoQ10 quite often, wonder why DR did not recommend this as it seems quite a lot of people recommend this product, never heard of it until I posted on this site.
I love the vibration pad machine. I own one and love it. The machine produces waves of energy, you get a rapid muscle contraction that also gently tugs on your bones for bone strengthening and increased bone density from the tug. Plus it has another half dozen benefits.
Your muscle fibers have gone into contraction and stretching is the cure for that. Not exercise or weights. At least not now. You'll build up to that but you need flexibility first. My doctor also didn't say a word to me about CoQ10 and she's a personal friend of mine. We really have to take our own care into our own hands. You can't just turn your health over to another person even if they have MD after their name. It's scary.
If you find out, let me know. I have been off Statins since April and still have bought with side effect.
My suggestion is to exercise but be careful not to over do. IMO, slowly get your muscles functioning right again.
There is an interesting piece here about the use of Amla and how it can perform pretty much as well as Statins without the life threatening side effects.
sos007Ambassador
I titrated my dosage of statins over the course of 10 months, during which time I changed my diet and exercised vigorously. I walked up to one hour per day and also went to the gym and used light weights initially and gradually increased weights over time.
My pain was in my left shoulder, rotator cuff. I had virtually no mobility while on statins. I now have complete mobility again. My mobility increased as I gradually reduced the statins and completely regained mobility within a few months after stopping the medication.
Everyone's body is different, so try making small incremental adjustments over time both with your diet and exercise regimen. Muscles need oxygen, and therefore more blood flow. Exercise provides blood flow.
Eat foods that act as vasodilators (relax the arteries and lower blood pressure and improve blood flow). The best foods for this are dandelion greens, spinach, arugula, kale and broccoli. Dark chocolate (70% cacao or higher) is also an excellent vasodilator.
If you aren't taking vitamins consider starting on:
Vitamin D, B6, B12, and Folate/Folic acid, as well as Vitamin C and Vitamin E. The B vitamins are especially important to increase your energy, as is Vitamin D (1000-2000 IU).
Good luck.
Gym to strenuous at moment fearful of making it worse I have cut back and will just stretch and swim.
I take 600 mg daily of Vitamin B3 (Niacin) this was the default medication to lower cholesterol before statins where invented. Aside from a minor flush that accompanies this vitamin, there are no other side-effects.
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