Atorvastatin and anxiety update

My father was offered Atorvastatin and never got on with he so moved back to simvastatin. If I remember correctly, Atorvastatin affects the muscles

I definitely wouldn’t go back on ANY other statin if I were you! They all affect the muscles, and I’ve read many reports from people who, after having issues caused by a certain statin, were persuaded to go back on a different one. What happened every time was that their issues came back but much worse and more quickly. A statin is a statin, they all work the same way.

I had really bad anxiety / panic on atorvastatin to the point of not wanting to move or get out of bed for fear of dieing, it was horrible !! , doctor's tried to tell me that statins' don't do that' stopped them had a break / counseling and started back on rosuvastatin with a lot of trepidation but was absolutely fine. So your not alone and not crazy to think that the statins' could do this to you I think they can. I have FH so would not be taking statins' at all if I didn't really need them .

Good luck

Hi Judthepud,

Not fun, I know. My thoughts; the Atrouvastatin could easily causing havoc in your system.

My endocrinologist insisted that I take a statin due to my Hashimotos hypo thyroid and now protein spilling from a kidney disorder.

I was initially given a low dose of Crestor which initiated back pain. Due to the fact that promotes proteinuria, he reluctantly changed me

to Atrouvastatin. The back at my right rear rib became violent and I was often sick to my stomach.

Simultaneously, my Synthroid controlled thyroid went out of control; which my endocrinologist insisted was due to a calcium interaction; despite the fact that I had been taking the calcium at the same time for 5 years with no issue. He also insisted that my back ache was rubbish..

After 8 months, he took me off that statin and the discomfort began to subside.

I looked both statins up on Drugs.com and printed out the side effects..also checked with my pharmacist. There it was!

Saw my GP a month after removal of the statin. She thoroughly examined me and

discovered pronounced skeletal muscular swelling in the area. The sad thing was that the statin did not significantly lower the cholesterol despite my now being vegetarian.

The Synthroid was tweaked a few months later as my low TSH was not going down rapidly enough.

My GP feels that I am allergic to something in the statin.

I have been off statins for over a year. My thyroid has returned to normal and my endocrinologist of 14 years and I have parted company.

We are all different..but look Atrouvastatin up on Drugs.com which is an excellent site. You will be amazed.

I now use Piper Plant Sterols in addition to diet and my GP just added Lecithin to see if we can get the LDL into the mid normal range.

Agree with both Mistydawn, Londinium and Mascha. And no need of you suffering.

Hope this was of some help!

B...

I

I had high LDL-C, I had triple bypass surgery 3 years ago, and I took statins and a fistful of other pharmaceuticals for about 18 months following my surgery. Nine months after my surgery due to the pain caused by statins, I completely transformed my diet and lifestyle and after 9 months I lost 40 lbs and stopped taking ALL medications. My biomarkers with some tweeking of my diet and vitamin supplements are now all optimal. The following is what I have learned after exhaustive research:

The standard lipid panel provides the following bio-markers:

Total Cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, non-HDL, and triglycerides; The LDL-C value is the one most physicians focus on in determining their treatment protocol. This process is 20 years behind the science of lipidology. The most important metric in the standard Lipid Panel is the triglyceride value - which identifies fat in the blood from the ingestion of sugar and other simple carbohydrates.

Elevated levels of triglycerides usually leads to elevated levels of LDL-C. Furthermore, a hypothyroid condition can, and is often (but not always), caused by elevated triglycerides.

General guidelines for optimal triglyceride values are below 1.5 mmol/l.

My personal experience in conquering my cholesterol and cardiovascular issues, along with extensive research suggests that the optimal triglyceride values are 'the lower the better' with a value of below 0.75 mmol/l as providing favourable outcomes as far as LDL-C.

That said, LDL-C is an outdated treatment target and does not indicate a person's true risk of heart attack or stroke. Half of all heart-attacks and strokes occur to people with normal levels of LDL-C. Furthermore, the 'total cholesterol' value can be completely ignored as those who have higher HDL-C which initiates reverse cholesterol transport (eliminates LDL-C from the body) can have high 'total cholesterol' but normal values for LDL-C and triglycerides.

The most important metric is known as LDL-P (LDL particle number). Studies show that when LDL-P and LDL-C are discordant (one is high and one is low) the more important value is the LDL-P. Do get an LDL-P value, you must get an NMR Lipoprofile blood test.

Aside from measuring your LDL-P, it also measures the size of the LDL particles as well as their density and provides a determination if you have a condition known as 'insulin resistance' (bad) or 'insulin sensitivity' (good).

Although genetics CAN play a role in hypothyroidism, the vast majority of people tend to experience this condition due to excessive consumption of sugar and simple carbohydrates, combined with a lack of exercise. Processed foods lack fiber which is critical to the body's ability to clear cholesterol.

I would strongly urge you, if you haven't already done so, to begin following the Mediterranean Diet. This involves cooking with 'whole food' and avoiding all processed foods (anything that comes in a box or bag at the supermarket).

This is NOT a weight loss diet (although weight loss is likely in the early stages), but a lifestyle diet.

This diet focuses on consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes (green peas, beans, lentils, and chick peas), with modest and infrequent consumption of animal proteins - ideally restricted to cold water fish species such as wild caught salmon, trout and arctic char. If you choose to eat chicken or beef, ensure you are buying only grass-fed varieties of beef and only organic, free-run chicken.

Your body only requires 3 oz. of animal protein per day (not per meal). I personally only have animal protein (usually fish, sometimes lean chicken breast) every other day and am vegetarian the other days.

I suggest that you eliminate sugar and all other simple-carbohydrates such as:

- sugar, agave, very limited honey (less than half a teaspoon per day), and all other sweeteners and sugar substitutes (chemical poison).

Eliminate these simple carbohydrates;

- white flour products like white bread, white pizza dough, baked goods and white pasta;

- white potatoes and white rice;

- fruit juices, soft drinks, diet soft drinks and limit alcohol to 3-4 small glasses per week, ideally red wine only;

- eat lots of legumes as the core of your diet, along with a daily amount of:

- greens - one of these daily - broccoli, kale, spinach, arugula, dandelion greens;

- eat berries daily - ideally blueberries or blackberries,

- one-quarter cup of nuts blended among: walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews;

- dried roasted chick peas (1 tablespoon); same for pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds;

- eggs - 2 eggs once per week - boiled

- avoid all fried foods including potato chips, crackers, pretzels and other such snacks;

- popcorn (air popped) with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt is fine - corn is a complex carbohydrate.

- an apple and an orange every day.

If you follow this diet along with daily exercise, both your thyroid and cholesterol issues are likely to resolve.

Good luck.

I used to take Pravastatin which caused me no trouble at all. After having been diagnosed with some cardiac problems I was prescribed 80mg of Atorvastatin daily. I've been on it for some time but have recently experienced quite bad muscle pain in all my limbs. I gave it up for a fortnight and felt much better. My GP suggested halving the dose . I tried this for a week and the pain returned. I hope to go back to Pravastatin, though I know it's less effective than Atorvastatin.

I've also noticed some slow weight loss which might be caused by this drug.

Sorry you're having such a tough time with it.

Best wishes,

Anne

Hi,

After a heart attack in Feb. 2011 I was prescribed Simvastatin 40g. After a couple of weeks I was getting deep muscle pain in my arm so did some research. What I found horrified me. I saw the doctor and said no more statins. Oddly enough she didn't try to stop me. I then began to lose weight, slowly and I was delighted assuming it was my new lifestyle. In a year I dropped from 13st. 9lbs to 11st. 7lbs. Great! Then I went to Australia for a month, developed hives, got bitten to death by mozzies and lost half a stone. My doctor said I had IBS! I've continued to lose weight ever since. I was advised to take CQ10 which I did but not sure if it did any good. Now I look like an inmate from Belsen. The irony of all of this was that my cholesterol level was below average. The statins were not necessary!

My advice is simple. Don't touch statins. Find an alternate route to reducing your cholesterol. However do your own research as I did and then decide.