STATINS - How do you feel?

[razors]

I'm on statins as is most of my family! We all have these mysterious aches and pains mainly shoulder and hips. When I sit for a while and then get up I hobble like an old woman for a few minutes. My feet are also mysteriously painful.

Any one else experience these pains on statins?

A family friend was on them but has stopped and claims he no longer has any aches and pains and feels much better. My cholesterol isn't high and when I speak to my doctor he just says how wonderful they are and I should carry on taking them!

Would be interested to hear your experiences

razors, check out Cytoplan Ltd, I buy the Antioxidant coenzyme Q10 tablets from them, until tomorrow they are doing buy 3 for the price of 2 (90days instead of 60) good deal & vegetarian. www.cytoplan.co.uk

My Mum was in agony, joints, and groin especially on statins.Came off them and is now fine.

I am on 80mg of Atorvastatin it means I can have grapefruit juice which you cant if you are on Simvastatin.

That's not the only reason I am on it though as I appreciate it is far more expensive then Simvastatin

Thanks Iamnotashoplifter I'll take a look!

Hi Bucharest I hear many stories like this, it concerns me. I hope your mum continues to get better.

Tigerbomb I don't like grapefruit any way :)

I disagree with some of the previous anti-statin posts. If you have had a TIA you can go on to have further CVAs (strokes). The best way you can modify this is with aggressive secondary prevention ie controlling your risk factors. Statins have benefits aside from lowering cholesterol. There is some evidence to suggest that they can stabilise unstable plaques in heart and head and neck blood vesseld. Unstable plaques can go on to cause strokes and heart attacks. I would suggest discussing things through with your GP or stroke physician. As an aside there is no evidence to say that nicotinic acid has any action independent of lowering cholesterol. It is an inferior choice. If you are truly intolerant of statins then I would consider second line therapies. Again it comes back to deciding how badly your symptoms are affecting you. Muscle aches do not mean you have rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown).

I would base your decisions on your medication on discussion with your GP and hospital doctors, not hearsay from posters such as LeonieDelt.

Have to say I agree with diablo. Niacin needs to be taken in very high doses to have any effect on cholesterol and even though it is "just a vitamin", at high doses it can cause side effects such as flushing and liver damage. The 100mg tablets you can get in holland and Barrett will not have any effect on cholesterol levels.

Go back to your gp, they are used to patients having side effects such as yours and can change your medication. The risk vs benefit has to be considered. I know people who have ended up partially paralysed through strokes and they are only in their 40's.

Thank you diablo and Igglepiggle. Your right I am seeing my stroke Doc next month so will see what they say then. In the meantime I'll keep researching and talking and carry on trying to be healthy :) It has been interesting reading everyone's experiences.

I have been taking them for nearly a year (pravastatin Sodium) They gave me muscle ache in calves but not too bad. Then this winter I developed a chest infection (nothing to do with statins loads of people had it) and I was coughing so much for about 3 weeks that I could not keep anything down so i just forgot all about the statins. Went back on them: muscle ache gone.Gp says I must take statins as too late for me to get cholesterol down?? I would rather take statins than have blood clot Friend has high cholesterol: never drunk or smoked and is veggie so very confusing. Gps only doing what govt says: get heart disease down and statins are one way, BUT LIKE ANY MEDICINE IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL