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Simvastatin nightmares

Posted , 11 users are following.

magdalenrow
magdalenrow

Took 40mg Simvastatin last night... within half an hour my hands and arms began to tingle like pins and needles and became quite stiff and difficult to move. I have never experienced more disturbing nightmares... I didn't think my unconscious mind was capable of the horrors which I experienced; my wife had to wake me up and stop me from screaming. In the morning my legs cramped and I felt like I had a major hang over all day. Does anyone know if these things get better or should I stop?

0 likes, 20 replies

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  • danny30136
    danny30136 magdalenrow

    Posted

    STOP trust me STOP diet and excerise don't listen to anyone just stop its not worth it I took them for a month and I'm still in so much pain.
  • alzheimer
    alzheimer magdalenrow

    Posted

    If I were you I would stop that drug immediately.... I don't care what your doctor says that is exactly what happened to me originally.... In particular the pins and needles along with muscle cramps.      Admittedly mine didn't happen so quickly -  but it is what happened  - and although in most people these effects can decrease with time.... with others they do not and I wouldn't risk it if I were you....so I wouldn't take another of those tablets  - honestly!

    All the very best and do let us know how you put get on.

  • linda36668
    linda36668 magdalenrow

    Posted

    Simvastatin is one of the worst because it can cause into your brain and mess up your brain's production of cholesterol.  Cholesterol is VITAL for proper brain function.  Stop the simvastatin NOW before you lose your memory and your mind.  If you take it for too long, you may not regain your full function even if you do stop it.  Simvastatin can make existing cases of carpal tunnel get much worse, can cause frozen shoulder-like symptoms, can cause uncontrollable explosive diarrhea, and lots more.  I was too trusting and let Veterans Affairs (here in the U.S.) keep me on simvastatin for over 3 years (at 80 mg dose for the last 16 months, and I am a short, 5-foot-tall woman).  My carpal tunnel symptoms got much worse (was taking over 20 aspirin per day at the end to tone down the tingling and such), my memory and general thinking processes got totally messed up, and I had the issues with diarrhea mentioned above.  A friend of mine had the frozen shoulder-like symptoms due to her statin, and another woman I know also had the explosive diarrhea problem.  I have no idea how much muscle pain I might have been experiencing because 20-25 aspirin per day can cover up a lot of pain.  The Veterans Affairs response to my mentioning how much aspirin I was taking was to say, "Oh, that's not good for your stomach.  Here, have an antacid."  Get more exercise, eat garbanzo beans and other food items that help your cholesterol, do anything EXCEPT take a statin.  The statins interfere with the production of seratonin, vitamin D, testosterone, cortisol, CoQ10, and various brain neurotransmitters, among other things, so they can really mess you up.
    • alzheimer
      alzheimer linda36668

      Posted

      I totally agree with you Linda as I have said often enough on this forum...I am a different person to what I was two a half years ago - all because of six months worth of SIMVASTATIN-  that cheap and nasty megabuck earner that Big Pharma keep on throwing down everybody's throats via our gullible GPs etc.

      WHY will nobody listen -  you need all of your cholesterol  to keep you alive  - without it you would die ...As it helps to keep your brain functioning  - as well as keeping your muscles and you're nervous system in particular from stopping working. 

      I can vouch for this - as six months of Simvastatin, more than two years ago has now reduced me to a wheelchair - need I say more. 

      My neurologist agrees with me  - now  - that those six months of statin therapy has caused me to lose 3 inches in height - as a result of considerable degenerative scoliosis of my spine...in turn caused by my inability to take any decent exercise due to polymyalgia rheumatica....and I now have advanced sarcopenia and total motor block all as a result of the nerve damage done by statins.

      Many people have suffered similarly  - the NASA physician Duane GARAVELINE for one ....if you read his books and go onto his website you will see what I'm talking about.  

      When I was told by one of my consultants that my case was progressive and irreversible I did not believe him

      Or rather I choose not to believe him  when he warned me I would be in a wheelchair by last Christmas ...he was only a few months out..... I take delivery of my motorised one on Tuesday as I can't use a normal wheelchair  - my shoulders literally dislocate if I try it. 

      I am going to be operated on next Friday to repair the tendons in my right shoulder....

      ALL BECAUSE OF SIMVASTATIN....

      I tell you if I could take on Big Pharma I would hang them out to dry  - which will happen in a few months in America.... and you know what they say when America catches cold - the UK then sneezes....

      The only people that are going to benefit at the end of all of this are the lawyers -  as they rub their hands in anticipation of a lot of money coming their way.....!

      Seriously though retribution can't happen fast enough in my book.... And I am not alone several good friends of mine have had severe reactions to that drug p-  one has become a bad diabetic and the other has particularly bad peripheral neuropathy...

      ,,,, I rest my case.

    • linda36668
      linda36668 alzheimer

      Posted

      I'm sorry to hear about your problems.  Sounds like I got off relatively easy so far, even though I took the stuff for some 40 months (4 months at 20mg, 24 months at 40mg, and 16 months at 80mg).  I just had a few bouts of transient global amnesia (and continue to have one occasionally), plus major changes in mood and in my carpal tunnel symptoms, plus major reduction in energy levels.

      I've gotten a lot of good information from Dr. Graveline as well. Personally, I think that the doctors and the Big Pharma executives should all have to take the maximum dose of simvastatin (or better yet, the same mg/lb dose I was on at the end, or about 1mg per pound, since I was overweight) for a minimum of three years before they're allowed to prescribe it or sell it.  I think we'd see a lot less of it prescribed.  However, you can't totally blame the doctors for their lack of knowledge concerning the side effects of the statins.  Their pharmacology textbooks do not do a very good job of discussing statin side effects (make them sound minimal).  I know this because I took an online introductory pharmacology class through my local community college about 4 years ago and the textbook listed only muscle pain/problems and potential liver damage as side effects for the statins.  No mention at all that the statins increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes, increase your risk of breast cancer, increase your risk of developing congestive heart failure (due to the reduction in CoQ10, which makes your heart have to pump harder to do the same amount of work), no mention of the sleep problems, no mention of the sexual dysfunction for some people, no mention of the increased risk of developing ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), no mention of most of the statin side effects.  In my case, Veterans Affairs did not include a full list of the side effects with the simvastatin prescriptions they sent me (less than 10% of the side effects were mentioned that would have been mentioned had I gotten the same prescription from a civilian pharmacy).  But the Veterans Administration here in the U.S. has a long history of conducting less than ethical medical experiments on its veterans.

      Anyway, DON'T take the stuff!

  • EileenH
    EileenH magdalenrow

    Posted

    Stop taking them and go back to your doctor. At the very least they need to try another sort - if the same happens with other sorts - refuse to take them.

    Try cutting carbs, especially sugars - by far and away the approach with lowest side effects! You might even lose weight too. 

    • derek76
      derek76 EileenH

      Posted

      A friend of mine has tried every statin with quite long gaps between them and all gave different side effects.

      On the other hand my GP takes Simvastatin and runs marathons.

  • sonya10
    sonya10 magdalenrow

    Posted

    Couldn't agree more with what others have said, please stop taking them immediately  and go back to GP. You are experiencing side effects that will probably increase the longer you take it and in some cases the damage is irreversible.

    can I ask why you were prescribed statins? Is it just a case of high cholesterol level? Or do you have a heart condition?

  • magdalenrow
    magdalenrow

    Posted

    Wow!  Thank you everyone... that was so fast... I thought no one was out there and my mail box exploded within a few hours! So thank you for your advice and I will find a different solution. Thank you
    • alzheimer
      alzheimer derek76

      Posted

      ...... been there .....done that and STILL got the symptoms

      SO please STOP them and as for "a different solution" - there  isn't one!    Just stop the dam things and forget about your cholesterols.... there's nothing wrong with it ...it's all a massive con story to line the pharmaceutical company's pockets with billions of shekels.  And don't let any doctor of any description tell you otherwise.

  • mike76241
    mike76241 magdalenrow

    Posted

    if simvastatin affects you, then worth a search on the

    side effects of tramadol (strong painkiller)

    sometimes given after an operation, worth  mentioning statin problems

    to surgeon, beforehand,

    I believe there are statins with less side effects but they

    are expensive, and seem to be given as a last resort

    • linda36668
      linda36668 mike76241

      Posted

      The VA (Veterans Affairs) is pretty chintzy and uses the cheapest they can get for most people, which is why they're big on simvastatin.  I don't trust them any more and have pretty much decided that NO health care is better than VA health care.
  • jude65855
    jude65855 magdalenrow

    Posted

    Was all this after ONE DOSE?   That's a very extreme reaction, you must stop taking it and contact your doctor
  • lisa09924
    lisa09924 magdalenrow

    Posted

    STOP IT NOW....my husband and I both took them...various types for years my husband's memory is terrible....he can hardly walk...and we walked most days....I was told I had type 2 diabetes 8 years ago...we both stopped taking them...(although the gp wasn't pleased...).about 4 years ago....some of the symptoms have gone...but not all....I think some are irreversable...and it's true...every organ in our bodies need cholesterol....I've spoken to people in the health service who tell me that once you stop taking them....the symptoms go away...NOT SO...these drug companies have a lot to answer for ...I hope they're sued for billions....when you get to a certain age ....and complain of stiff aching joints and muscle pain....and memory loss...it's old age of course....never the statins....
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