Statins

I was told by letter last week I have moderate coronary heart disease and pericardial effusion after a ct angiogram. I was told I will receive an appointment for a stress echocardiogram but until then I have to take 20mg of Atorvastatin a day. I’m in limbo really as was shocked with diagnosis don’t really know what it means, can’t speak to anyone about it as I’m deaf and can’t use telephone and GP isn’t doing face to face visits. No idea how long I will have to wait for the test or see cardiologist. Looked into private but can’t do the test till February. I have been taking the statins for 7 days, I hurt across my neck and shoulders, sore throat, no energy so tired and this morning had a severe bout of vertigo and nausea. I’m so fed up I am thinking of just stopping these horrible drugs and taking my chances. Is there anything natural I can take to help me? I’ve never had a cholesterol test so I don’t know if it’s high or not, apart from some episodes of shortness of breath and chest pain over past two years which was diagnosed as GERD I’m pretty healthy, normal weight, healthy eating don’t smoke or drink so I am at a loss as to why I have this diagnosis. Any advice to help me through this nightmare please

[Hidden]

Looking at your last post I think you had some very good advice, and you really need to talk to your GP. You didn't state you were deaf in that post but obviously this makes your situation a lot more tricky. Do you have any family member or a friend who can go with you? I cannot imagine any GP surgery would not allow this - you could write down all your questions and get them to help you. Certainly you need to be told exactly what the diagnosis so far is, and under the circumstances I think you should demand access to your medical records, which is your right. You also need to find out what your cholesterol levels are and mention the problems you are having and if they could be Statin related. From what you have said I would be a bit surprised but you need to see a professional about it, however as was mentioned in the last post, do not listen to the Statin-critics, they have had a bad press and very rarely cause problems like this, and will very likely prevent any further build up of plaques while you wait for more tests. Good luck it must be very difficult for you.

[richard_jw in reply to Hidden]

One problem seems that the GP will not do face to face. I'm somewhat deaf, and I cannot imagine a GP being so unreasonable that they refuse a face to face consultation under these circumstances.

[Hidden in reply to richard_jw]

This bewilders me. I recently had a bit of a worrying problem (resolved thankfully) and my GP was more than happy to see me, seems it is a regional problem, however under your circumstances I think it is ridiculous. If I were you I would ask to speak to the practice manager and get him to actually put it in writing that they won't see you, and then take it further if necessary.

[Curlyman83 in reply to richard_jw]

This CANNOT be the case…GP’s cannot insist upon a telephone conversation, especially if you have hearing problems.

My wife works at a GP surgery…they are still seeing patients face to face. Go into your surgery and explain the situation. They’ll sort you out!

Let us know how you get on!

Best wishes!

[Hidden]

Your GP must see you face to face - as a duty of care . There are so many different statins , I had to change mine and new one is fine . If you can , speak to your pharmacist , they know the medications better than anyone . They could even speak to your GP on your behalf . Just go to pharmacy and ask to speak to pharmacist about side effects , they will see you in a private room .

Good luck

[Jax14]

Hi sorry to hear about your diagnosis,i was on 80mg of atorvastatin,for nearly 2yrs,got put on them because i had a few small strokes then found out i had a damaged heart valve so had to get valve replacement,not long after i started taking atorvastatin i started getting really sore shoulders and neck,my gp said it wasnt the tablets so i carried on with them still getting pain and moving down my arms ,i was always so lethargic and low mood,so at the start of this year i had another stroke,the pain was getting worse in my shoulders and arms so gp decided to take a blood test to see if there was any muscle damage im not sure what they call it something like muscle wasteage,anyway my test came bk and it was very high ,my gp phoned me to say stop the tablets straight away,so i did ,a week later i took another stroke,my cardiologist said i shouldnt of bn told to stop suddenly I hate statins but a do believe they did stop me having strokes but the side effects were horendous,,hope i have bn of some help .

[Hidden in reply to Jax14]

Sorry to hear your story. I wish you well. I have only been on them for 8 days and have the shoulder and neck pain, worsening of my tinnitus and ear pain and vertigo, I feel like I have a permanent sore throat cough and my breathlessness is worse. I have read that a low dose every other day works just as well so I don’t understand why they put me on 20mg every day. I’m going to stop taking them for a few days to see if it is them causing these awful symptoms I am getting I will have to take a chance because my quality of life has fallen significantly since starting these tablets.

[Jax14]

Let me know how you get on,take care,you will get there its not always easy but there is light at the end of the tunnel,

[Hidden]

Firstly thanks to those of you who have responded to my questions. My husband called the hospital on Monday and asked to speak to cardiologist regarding the letter he explained I’m deaf so he was calling on my behalf. He was told he would call back after his clinic but he didn’t. He rung again Wednesday when we still hadn’t heard and eventually got a call from cardiology nurse that evening. Basically was told I can go about my normal life no need to worry, must take the statins as will prevent blood clot forming and causing stroke or heart attack. Can change them if I want because of side effects but can’t change dose. But I do feel improvement now I’m into third week apart from gastric reflux at night. He said I Can take any time of day so will try mornings rather than night time. Fluid round heart is minimal. My breathing problems (can’t get a deep breath feel like I’m suffocating at times) could be the heart problems but not definitely. Can’t tell me anything more until stress echocardiogram and waiting list is 12 weeks for that, which would be mid February now. It has reassured us and made us feel more relaxed about the diagnosis. Just have to sit tight and wait for the test and see what comes from that. Thanks again everyone for your help and advice.