Statin users....

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inkjunkie

inkjunkie

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Wondering how many folks on here use statin drug to lower your cholesterol? And out of those folks how many experience muscle aches and pains?

Got the results of my latest blood test. Doc told me that I have an elevated muscle enzyme.....and this elevated enzyme is known to cause aches and pains. Doc told me that Simvastatin will sometimes cause this enzyme to be elevated.
 
Every one i know has muscle pains with them. Including myself.And once you start taking them you will be on them the rest of your life.When you stop taking them your cholestoral will triple
 
Been taking them for 15 yrs. I can't tell I take them.
 
I am on simvastatin, and have some muscle ache, but thought that was because of my age. I was unaware of the problem.
 
I started taking them this year but I have so many aches and pains anyway I didn't notice much difference. I did notice my cholesterol numbers were way down at my last check up. I have been taking a half a pill day instead. tmm
 
My wife can only take very low doses of Lipitor which is what I take also.She was on Zocar( Simvastatin) and had so much pain and got so weak it was scary...thought I was going to lose her.Dr. tried many different ones on her before we had success . Muscle pain is listed as one of the many side effects of all Statins.Might want to talk to Dr. about a different drug to at least keep pain to a minimum.
 
I take simvastatin for my cholesterol. I don't have any particular aches and pains that I notice outside what would normally come with the problems I have. My doctor has told me that their are other options for meds that they can try if the simvastatin causes the kind of side effects you mention. I think my dad had to try something else. Simvastatin is not the only choice available. It might just be the only generic choice which can make a difference.
 
my chlorestrorol had gotten somewhat high when I had my physical few months ago, he put me on a statin. he said that was the simple solution!!???? I am SOoooo tired all the time. getting up at 3:45 3 days a week to drive 30 mi to my piddly job might not help, BUT................
 
I think with Statins, muscle aches happens to everyone.. At 38 years old the doc told me i had high cholesterol. Put me on Statins. Switched me 3 times because of how it damages your liver. It is in my familys blood line. He says some people get it no matter their eating habits. On Zetia now, 40 years old, low body fat content, very active, and eat even healthier. Says i'll be on it forever. If you are willing to change your diet, you can get off Statins, and save that liver.
 
My doctor switched me from Simvastatin to Pravastatin about a year ago. Elevated enzymes here as well. I did have aches and pains, mostly wrists, elbows, and shoulders. She told me my body would adjust. She was right, I forgot all about the aches and pains until I read your post (LOL). Hang in there!
 
Doc mentioned last visit that my cholesterol was creeping up. He mentioned statins and Lipitor. He said that if I went on them, to expect the *****. He said I could quit them with no side effects. Hope that means the ***** stop too
 
I take Zocor, only muscle issue I've experienced is my hands will cramp now, kind of a bummer when I'm on a tower. Definitely check out options, there are a bunch.
 
I take Atorvastatin(lipitor), been on it for 15 yrs. Aches went away,but still had to have 2 stents put in last year.......genetics suck.....
 
Rheumatologist told me that none of the inflammation markers, both acute and chronic, were elevated.
Ernie will be calling our doc to make an appointment for us to go talk to him.
We have been avoiding talking about what very well may be the cause of a lot of my physical troubles...the fact that I am obese. When Ernie was reading the rheumatologist report as we were driving home she read the entire report to me, skipping that part. I have talked to her, more times than I can remember, about changing our eating habits. Normally the end result is friction between us. Have all but given up on changing things.

The thing that truly amazes me is how the docs have yet to come right out and say, to either one of us, that all the extra weight we carry is not helping either one of us.
I am beyond frustrated by all this. Between the stenosis and all this stiffness most days it takes a few hours for me to get moving....
 
I do know good eating habits, proper nutrition, the right exercise, having correct weight for your body type makes us feel better physically and mentally. not a cure all for our old age, but it goes a long way... IMO
 
barbee6043 said:
I do know good eating habits, proper nutrition, the right exercise, having correct weight for your body type makes us feel better physically and mentally. not a cure all for our old age, but it goes a long way... IMO
Click to expand...

This is a very touchy subject in our home. Every one of her docs has told her that exercise is vital with her having fibromyalgia. But she KNOWS better. She has every excuse known to man for us being obese.....A big staple in her diet, being Mexican, is rice and tortilla. Never mind the fact that she is diabetic....not even going to get started on this....it only leads to me becoming EXTREMELY frustrated...

I have asked my head doc for advice on how to deal with this. Have tried damn near everything he has suggested....end result being lot of friction between Ernie and I.

I am pretty much at the end of my rope in regards to being 75 pounds overweight...she is the better part of 65 pounds overweight....the rheumatologist I am seeing seems like the kind of guy who doesn't sugar coat things. When I go see him next I am going to ask him about the excess pounds....and make sure she LISTENS to him....
 
This is going to be controversial but I'm going to throw it out there, do not take statins UNLESS you've already had a heart attack.

The reality is that no studies have been performed that show that statins actually prevent a FIRST heart attack. And the studies that show that they help prevent a second heart attack are actually quite weak. i.e. They don't save a lot of lives.

Further, your total cholesterol has NO effect on your risk factors for a hear attack and therefore you need to do expanded tests that measure the various types of cholesterol and just as importantly triglycerides. Triglycerides rarely get mentioned as a risk factor for heart attacks but some studies suggest that they are more important than cholesterol.

My total cholesterol has been in the 240 range for years, doctor has pushed statins but the muscle and liver damage isn't worth the very little if any reduction in my risk for a heart attack.

If you really want to reduce your risk of a heart attack reduce your weight. Getting your waist mesaurement below 38 inches is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of a heart attack. Also, don't smoke.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
If you think your cholesterol number being high is'nt a concern you are mistaken.Mine was high like yours for years i would not go on statins.I had a widow maker heart attack and about died.All because of a blockage caused by cholestoral build up.
 
I have been on statins 3 months now, going back to see doc this month the 18 th. surely he will take blood to check chlorestorol. I would like to see what the results are.
and his thoughts on fatigue and muscle ache.

my arguement with people I care about and the issue of overweight. I explain it like this, just common sense. 65 lb. overweight.???? think of it like carrying around a 65 bag of feed, whatever. everytime you move, get up and down, whatever, you are taxing yourself to carry around an extra bag of 65 pounds!????? just think how less tired that person would be IF NOT carrying this!?????
 
No muscle aches on simvastatin for me.

I was on atorvastatin, but it caused me to have mild short term memory issues and difficulty in complex problem solving! YIKES!
 
Joe Dokes said:
This is going to be controversial but I'm going to throw it out there, do not take statins UNLESS you've already had a heart attack.

The reality is that no studies have been performed that show that statins actually prevent a FIRST heart attack. And the studies that show that they help prevent a second heart attack are actually quite weak. i.e. They don't save a lot of lives.

Further, your total cholesterol has NO effect on your risk factors for a hear attack and therefore you need to do expanded tests that measure the various types of cholesterol and just as importantly triglycerides. Triglycerides rarely get mentioned as a risk factor for heart attacks but some studies suggest that they are more important than cholesterol.

My total cholesterol has been in the 240 range for years, doctor has pushed statins but the muscle and liver damage isn't worth the very little if any reduction in my risk for a heart attack.

If you really want to reduce your risk of a heart attack reduce your weight. Getting your waist mesaurement below 38 inches is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of a heart attack. Also, don't smoke.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
Click to expand...
My Dad's cholesterol was high. He was 5'8" and about 165 pounds. Had 5 strokes. Hardening of the arteries has taken damn near everyone out on his side of the family. His Dad, brother and sister all became worm food from it. My cholesterol was sky high prior to starting Simvastatin. Was also 305 pounds.
I have this argument with my head doc all the time.....you do enough searching chances are you will find a study that backs up damn near anything one chooses to believe...

barbee6043 said:
I have been on statins 3 months now, going back to see doc this month the 18 th. surely he will take blood to check chlorestorol. I would like to see what the results are.
and his thoughts on fatigue and muscle ache.

my arguement with people I care about and the issue of overweight. I explain it like this, just common sense. 65 lb. overweight.???? think of it like carrying around a 65 bag of feed, whatever. everytime you move, get up and down, whatever, you are taxing yourself to carry around an extra bag of 65 pounds!????? just think how less tired that person would be IF NOT carrying this!?????
Click to expand...

Yup, no argument from me. This was also one of the first things I used in my talks with the wife. Just got the deer in the headlight look. One of her favorite responses is always it is normal to be heavy as your age. My counter to that is "what about your Dad? He is in his 70's, 5'7" or so and 160 ish. How about our 80 year old neighbor that is thin?" Her normal response is I don't want to talk about it.

Today's dinner, which we agreed upon last night is going to be some chicken breasts cooked on the Egg....sliced and diced into a salad. She just asked me about going to Jimmy Johns because she will be going past one on her way home.

Sad to say but I have just about given up all hope of ever dropping any weight. While back I had convinced her to go on an Adkins style of diet. This was slightly different. I had gotten al the info on it from a friend at work that was a power lifter, runner....very active guy. Anyhow, I dropped 45 pounds in 6 months. But she grew tired of it....we ate very little sugars/starches.

Rheumatologist just called. Bone scan showed a lot of swelling in my hands and wrists. Said it looks very much like I do have pseudogout......and that the damage is also consistent with overuse injuries.
 
I know we are talking here of statins, but all related to food. I really believe that food and eating is a habit. back the first time I found I had high chlorestrol, I cut out just about ALL fried foods except some bacon every Sun with pancakes! cut out ice cream. always plenty active and my "stuff" went back to normal levels.

that was 2004. NOW, the "cook" that has been in charge of the kitchen last 3 years, got me on a small dish of ice cream EVERY night. very little fried food, but eggs several times a week, she uses real butter heavily. she is overweight and states "food is her life" ??? WTF???? watches cooking shows like some watch football! anyway.....

I say eating is a habit, and we can change these habits, BUT we have to have the desire! and, we can stretch or shrink our stomach!? we can control amount of food. what we eat?? I could, lets say, cut out ice cream again.... now the doc said " don't bother", just take these statins!!!! WTF again???? but where she stuffs down a HUGE bowl every night, it would take some self control on my part!

take her eating habits. she goes to bed at 8 p m or so. sleeps 4-5 hours, wakes up, can't sleep. gets up turns on t v plays on the puter, eats what I don't know??? ( i'd guess peanut butter jelly sandwich). goes back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. gets up and has 2 slices of cinnamon toast. if home skips lunch, bout 2 pm has something to eat. what???? dinner bout 6, eats 2 BIG plates of food. big dish of low fat ice cream bout 7:30. with choc syrup! exercise is working at Wally world 4 days a week for 5-8 hours a day, runnin the register. NO real exercise. wonder why she does NOT weigh in at "fly weight" !??????? all this is a habit, and she has NO desire to change!!!!!!
 
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