statins

[puzzler1]

One for Sue, really. I saw a comment about statins making RLS worse. My doctor wants me to stop taking ezetimbe 10mg and start taking atorvastatin 20mg tablets. He says it'll be more effective.

Many years ago I had a bad reaction to a silver (?) statin which I put down to a reaction with my levothyroxine and ended up in A&E. Eventually I was put on ezetimbe, which gave me no problems.

My doctor says statins have improved now, so this shouldn't happen again. I've got a face to face with my specialist tomorrow so any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

[Joolsg]

Atorvastatin worsens RLS for most so is a bad idea.Your GP is not sufficiently knowledgeable about RLS and drug interactions.

Refer him to RLS-UK website and 'medications to avoid'.

[puzzler1 in reply to Joolsg]

Thanks Jools. Very useful.

[SueJohnson]

Joolsg is correct. You don't want to take a statin. This is my usual advice.

Nexlizet (Nustendi (UK) is a cholesterol lowering drug that is not a statin, Ezetimibe (Zetia) - reduces cholesterol although It doesn't reduce it as fast as the statins, and then there is Bezafibrate (Bezalip) if you are not is the US. Nexlizet combines ezetimibe with bempedoic acid. And there is Fenofibrate which seems safe. Berberine may help if it is mildly elevated. You might want to discuss these with your doctor. A more difficult way to reduce cholesterol is to go vegan. My husband lowered his cholesterol from 221 to 131 this way.

Nextlizet would be a good choice as it is better than Ezetimibe alone.

[ChrisColumbus]

I was first tried on atorvastatin after a mini-stroke but couldn't tolerate it: it gave me terrible RLS, which made me very tired, plus aches in muscles and joints. It was the worst medical episode in my life.Not every RLS sufferer reacts badly to statins, but it is common enough that I was quickly warned to get off it if I could.

Neither my stroke consultant nor my GP at the time knew anything about RLS and considered it a very minor affliction. However, they eventually agreed: ezetimibe is prescribed in the NHS if one cannot tolerate statins.

Ezetimibe IS slower working than atorvastatin but it still worked for me in reducing cholesterol. I would stick to your guns unless there is very strong evidence that ezetimibe isn't working for you. In that case, there are also other alternatives listed in the RLS-UK Medications to Avoid section:

rls-uk.org/medications-avoid

[Eryl]

Many doctors are saying that the benefits of statins are overblown while their side effects are glossed over. There is also evidence that cholesterol is not the cause of cardiovascular disease anyway but rather the result of damage done by other things like smoking stress and high blood sugar. youtu.be/-RU3Ouxt1vs?si=eQQ...(Not working as expected?)