Problems with Statins

[Grenard]

I take 100mg Levo and am now on 20 mg statin(simvastatin). I ache all around my rib cage and some pain at waist level. Does anyone else have problems while taking a statin.

Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Grenard

Why have you been prescribed statins?

Muscle pain is a common side effect of statins. Statins aren't recommended for females. The NHS tells us this:

nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...

People at an increased risk of side effects

Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage.

Things that can increase this risk include:

being over 70 years old

having a history of liver disease

regularly drinking large quantities of alcohol

having a history of muscle-related side effects when taking a statin or fibrate (another type of medicine for high cholesterol)

having a family history of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis

If one or more of these apply to you, you may need to be frequently monitored to check for complications. A lower dose of statin may also be recommended.

If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.

What are your current thyroid test results? Are you optimally medicated? If you are undermedicated then this could cause raised cholesterol and statins are not the answer, being optimally medicated is.

[Grenard in reply to SeasideSusie]

I have high cholesterol-just under 7 - so have been prescribed the statin

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Grenard]

High cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism so if you are undermedicated this could raise cholesterol. What are your latest thyroid test results?

greygoose has good information about cholesterol.

[Grenard in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks Susie, I’ll read it all

[SlowDragon Administrator]

What were your most recent thyroid and vitamin results

Did you get B12, folate, ferritin and Vitamin D tested

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

[Miffie]

I unfortunately need to take a statin as I have familial high cholesterol. I must have had three different statins before finding rosuvastatin which for me is the best. It’s often trial and error. If you have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism hold out against the statins until your thyroid is optimal and stable.

[Grenard in reply to Miffie]

Thanks Miffie, I’ll try and change the make of statin as my GP says I have heritageCholesterol

[JAmanda]

Simvaastatine did the same to me. I came off pretty quickly. Turns out statins don’t work well with hypothyroidism. Also untreated hypothyroidism leads to high cholesterol. Mine has come down from 8.1 to 6 now that my T3 is high in range.

[penny]

I would recommend the work of Dr Malcolm Kendrick; ‘The Great Cholesterol Con’.

drmalcolmkendrick.org/