Alternative to atorvastatin? Joint pain

[SnoozingFox]

Gp started me on 20 mg of atorvastatin a few weeks ago - my cholesterol is stubbornly high because of underlying under active thyroid issues. I am having quite bad pain in my knees which I was told could be a side effect? Have to go back for a blood test and review - what have others done in this situation - lower dose or different type of statin?

The thing is that I tried Simvastatin years ago and it seemed to me that it was stopping my Mirtazapine from being absorbed properly, I have IBS and bile salt malabsorption so do have trouble absorbing things, I am also vitamin D and B12 deficient for this reason

So I will try the newer statin but if the same thing happens again, if the docs will not change my Mirtazapine to the dissolve on the tongue one (which I doubt as it costs too much) then I will have to choose taking the Mirt over the statin, my mental health is not good and that is my priority over some future heart risk

I’ve tried just about every statin on the block, also ezetimibe, and bemp acid, and injectable pcsk9i - side effects were all terrible. Under the lipid clinic I was told to take a tiny dose of Rosuvastatin (I need to use a pill cutter as they don’t manufacture the pills in a small enough dose for me.) I started taking this tiny dose twice a week and have increased until able to take them daily. That is now my regime (1.25 mg each day) and my ldl has plummeted below 2 and my last ct angio showed my arterial plaque has stabilised and started to recede. It’s about finding the best statin for you and the optimum dose for benefit/ harm reduction. I was initially put on 40mg of the same drug and it caused muscle tearing and liver damage- as a 7 stone/ 5 foot tall woman that was a crazy dose anyway and more appropriate for a 20 stone trucker. Too often these prescriptions are doled out with little thought for the actual person taking them. Ask for a referral to lipid clinic if your GP isn’t up to the job of thinking creatively with you on this (and to be fair on GPs, they are usually just following their prescribing guidelines, which are often very generalised and lacking in flexibility.)

I have tried two different BP medications. The second one gave me appalling joint pain. I’m now on my third one. I didn’t know statins are liable to do the same. Doc wants to put me on statins too.

I’ve tried all the statins ending with ‘statin’’ too but with too many side effects and joint pains.

Ive been switched to Ezetimibe with no problems.

For those who have had joint pains with BP medications, did you find one that was OK?

Which blood tests in particular??

What are particular do we need to look out for? Is causing a problem???

Does anyone insanely itch from this?

I have AF and CKD 3 ( due to previous sepsis and kidney failure) so I'm on this along with blood thinners (edoxaban) for "protection"
I'm on 40mg though but ever since I started taking in 2 years ago the itch drives me absolutely mental....
I'm only 31 as well.

@Ihad2Strokes you should get creative kinase (CK) checked if you suspect rhabdomyolysis. Also always get liver function checked.

@Ihad2Strokes as above. Liver function tests and ck your doctor should automatically flag these up for issues. Also kidney function tests which is usually a urine sample.

I just don't want to take BP medication. The third one i have tried is giving me severe headaches and joint pain again.

I take Rovastatin on alternative days, this works well for me, it has along in body life of 19 hours,

I thought of doing this, would it still lower cholesterol?

Yes it is working for me, brought my cholesterol down from 7.2 to 5.1 at last test result, and I'm only on 5mg.

I had the same thing on 20 mg. It was reduced to 10 mg and the pain stopped. My cholesterol was still reduced enough on that dose so thats what I've stayed on.

Has anyone tried herbal medication?

Okay, thanks. I'm seeing her in the middle of next month, but she hasn't requested any blood test before hand🙇🏻‍♀️ nor a urine test

I would speak to them and explain your concerns earlier and ask if you can have the tests so they can be checked. Especially if you are having pains.

I don't want to either!!

I'm not very good with any medication.

But I'm very, very very keen not to have another stroke, so at the moment I'm taking everything they're throwing at me, but I feel bloody awful, 😞

I think the atorvastatin is the one causing most of the issues, but I'm sure the blood pressure tablets aren't helping. Last time I tried to take them, I tried all different kinds and I reacted badly to all of them in the end. I had to give up as I wasn't able to work.🙇🏻‍♀️

I certainly couldn't work at the moment, but after the strokes, I'm giving it a few months before I start job hunting again. I was made redundant last year so not getting sick pay or anything.🙄

I'm currently on 100mg of losartan in the morning and 1 mg of doxazdosin at night.
I'm having a lot of trouble trying to take my own blood pressure (even with the digital cuff) but I think it's come down to what they wanted, which was low 120.

The first one I want to cut Wright down though is the atorvastatin as I'm pretty sure that's the one causing most of the side-effects🤮

Thank you. I'll have a look when I get home to see if that was done on my last bloods or not.

I have spoken to them and asked but they just said the blood test will be requested when the doctor feels they are necessary. 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

Which is why I really want to know which ones will tell me if things are okay or not, and I can see what those levels were like on my last blood test and speak to her about specific things when I go next month.

It's ridiculous having to do so much research yourself to try and work out what's causing what and what options there are. If I could afford to go privately, I would. I'm not adverse to asking for the help I need, it's just working out what I need!!

@Ihad2Strokesthat should say CREATINE not creative (some kind of autocorrect gremlin at work here!)

This echoes my own experience around dosage. It seems quite likely that the dosage prescribed for many people is a total sledgehammer to crack a nut. If you are at all receptive to the statin’s mechanism of action then you will likely see your ldl drop on a small dose just as much as a larger one. And the pleiotropic effects of statins have been shown to take effect at tiny tiny doses (even smaller than the 1.25mg I’m on.) We really should start on a very small dose and only increase dosage /frequency if it’s a. Not working well enough and b. Properly tolerated.
Yet the reverse course of action seems commonly prescribed, and we wonder why we have these dreadful side effects!

I thought as much. I'm currently having to use voice to message, it looks fine as I'm speaking but as soon as I hit send it changes a lot of of the words, 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

No, I was just speaking as someone who's been at the sharp end and I'm keen to know as much as possible to minimise any further problems. I didn't know what statins did apart from lowering cholesterol. But turns out it's more than that and keeping blood vessels healthy (ier) and reducing inflamation is pretty significant imo.

DH is fine now, thanks. It mainly affected his eyes / vision followed by some epilepsy-type incidents. He's on medication for that and had to wait 12 months before he could drive again. Strokes are so variable in my experience of family members. I hope you're getting decent support / therapy but I know it varies a lot.

OK it sounds like I have options. I have been taking it in the morning with my thyroid meds as I found that easier to remember but will switch to taking it at bedtime. I need to call GP to book blood test for liver function this week and then she will call me to review statin once those results are in, so it could be she suggests reducing dose which I am happy to try before switching to another type.

My Q risk is very low, it really is just the cholesterol/thyroid - the GP picked up xanthelasma marks under my eyes which are pockets of cholesterol, I just thought they were a "getting old" thing. I did bring my cholesterol down to normal levels but it was drastic - no red meat, no cheese, no booze, only zero fat dairy, no cakes, no chocolate, lots of salmon. Not a particularly sustainable or fun way to live.