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Could my back pain be from atorvastatin

Posted , 21 users are following.

Kaycee11
Kaycee11

I have been on atorvastatin for years, starting with 10 mg back in the '90s now up to 80 mg since I had a stent placed in my LAD in 2009. I am in my mid 60s but have always been very active, going to the gym, etc.  the past 6 mos. I have increasingly suffered from severe back aches with it traveling down my buttocks down to my ankle. It is now so severe that it hurts to stand any length of time and walking in the grocery store bothers me as well. My PCP gave me muscle relaxers & pain meds which don't help at all. PT for a month hasn't helped either. Today I went to an orthopedist who suggests with permission from my cardiologist that I stop my statin for 3 weeks since all x-rays were negative. I am hoping this is the culprit bc the pain is debilitating and my summer has been limited to staying home.

4 likes, 33 replies

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  • sonya10
    sonya10 Kaycee11

    Edited

    Hi Kaycee

    it could be the atorvastatin that is causing your back pain, I agree with orthopedist advice re stopping for a few weeks and see if there's any improvement. 

    If you find your back pain eases then next move maybe to ask doctor to lower the dosage to see if that helps.

    One question I do have is, if you've been on statins since the 90's  then needed a stent fitted in 2009 could be be that stains don't prevent heart disease? Just a thought

    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 sonya10

      Posted

      Yea, I thought the same thing and was shocked when I became ill. I have a family history: mother, father, brother. Plus, I was not eating well and did not take care of myself. Figured since I was on a statin, I was protected but at the time I was not on 80 mgs. I am eating much healthier and exercise 3-4 times a week, that is, until I started with the horrific pain in my back and elsewhere.
  • jude65855
    jude65855 Kaycee11

    Edited

    80 mg is a HUGE dose!  I didn't know an amount that high was ever prescribed and I thought I'd been on every brand there is since a heart attack nearly 3 years ago.   If I were you I wouldn't be waiting for permission from anybody to go off the statins and see what happens with the pain you're in.   The last time I went off them on 4 July (and as far as I'm concerned it IS the last time I'll try them) the side effects were dramatically improved within a few days and have now almost totally gone.

    The last statin I was on was 5mg crosuva - rosuvastatin - and after about a month on it the side effects were just as bad as on the 20 mg doses of other statins:  extreme fatigue, nerve pain, libido disfunction and depression, the latter  maybe caused by the other side effects & the fact that I had hardly enough energy to just survive, let alone live a full life.      The only thing which helped the pain - shooting/aching/tingling in any part of the body - was paracetemol with codeine, which of course no responsible dr will prescribe unlimited amounts of because codeine is addictive.

    My pharmacist says she's kept her cholesterol down for 20 years with huge doses of over the counter fishoil;  I've been increasing my daily dose up to 8000 mg per day and I'm going for a cholesterol test on Monday .... If my levels still aren't down I'm seriously considering giving up cholesterol testing and, as my gp puts it, risking another heart attack.  My Mum died of a heart attack at 86 and didn't have high cholesterol;  my Dad died of the same in his late 70's and did have high cholesterol.   I'm nearly 68 so I reckon I'll take the risk rather than trust in the statins to give me a longer but painful & restricted life.

    I'll post an update on here about how the fish oil has or hasn't worked.

    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 jude65855

      Posted

      Hi Jude- yep, I already stopped taking it and you are sooo right about the pain. My back, butt and leg pain have been AWFUL. Most of the summer I spent at home- limited bc I can't walk- the pain just grabs me to where I have to sit down. The pain in my butt is like a pinched nerve-drives me nuts. I wish I had thought of going off the statin first- but never ever thought it could be the meds- I was blaming the exercises at the gym!!  Yes, please let me know about the fish oil. I hope it's successful for you.

  • jude65855
    jude65855 Kaycee11

    Edited

    I always check for possible side effects on the internet... Nerve pain, extreme fatigue, sexual disfunction are all listed there and on the manufacturer's info sheet.   

    I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I've also lost 7k since I went off the statins and without trying to:  I think because I'm not bored & depressed & in pain.

    Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is that breathlessness and chest pain can be statin side effects too ...... I also have emphysema which I thought was getting worse, but has improved since stopping the statins.

    To be fair, I know quite a few people who've been taking them for years with no side effects .,... lucky them, I say!

    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 jude65855

      Posted

      I too know about the side effects but thought that only happened to people who were on the statin for a short period of time. However, I now know that is not necessarily true.  I will follow the orthopedist's suggestion and stay off the statin for 3 weeks.  Got my fingers crossed.
  • alex1970
    alex1970 Kaycee11

    Edited

    Atorvastatin is blockbuster molecule. Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effect as well. Back pain and muscle problems are the most common side effect of the drug. About one in 10 people who start a statin, reports a complaint of muscle ache and pains. This condition is known as statin induced myopathy. In most cases, these symptoms go away on their own or stop with a lower dose or a change to a different statin. Co-supplementation of coQ10 has been suggested to tackle this side effect of statin therapy.

    Alternatively, you can reduce the dose, stop the statin and then restart it or switch to different one. If not, then you can try non-statin cholesterol–lowering agent after consulting with your doctor. Sometimes, during this “statin holiday”, you doctor may ask you to take l-carnitine or fish oil.

    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 alex1970

      Posted

      Hi Alex, thanks for the info. I have been told all of that. Recently I have talked to more people who have been removed from certain statins or reduced dosage bc of myopathy. Could be more than 1-10. At any rate, one has to decide what they can handle- muscle pain or increased risk of heart attack/stroke. 
    • jude65855
      jude65855 alex1970

      Posted

      I spent quite a lot of money on coQ10 after it was recommended by my pharmacist, neither my gp nor cardiologist having suggested it after I reported side effects from many different statins and the only difference it made was to my wallet.

      Please, please, please!  What is a "non-statin cholesterol-lowering agent"?  That's exactly what people on this site are looking for!  If there are other medications which reliably lower cholesterol without the crippling side effects of statins, why don't doctors prescribe them first?

      I'm not a believer in hysterical "BIg Pharma" conspiracy theories, but statins are now the most highly prescribed drugs in the world.  I know people who've been prescribed them "as a precaution" even though they've never had high cholesterol and have no family history of it.

      I've heard that the "danger level" of high cholesterol was lowered considerably around the time statins first became available:  I'm still researching it and wd welcome anyone else's input.

       

    • sonya10
      sonya10 jude65855

      Edited

      Hi Jude

      you are correct that the so called ' dangerous' level for cholesterol was lowered around the time statins first came on to the market........ Reason? Well it could've had something to do with 9 of the 10 health professionals who sat round a table and reached this decision actually had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies producing statins.

      There are quite a few supplements that claim to lower cholesterol, I'm sure there are some people on here who could share their experiences and name the supplements they take.

      I myself simply take Omega 3 and eat a low carb diet whilst avoiding all processed food. This has kept my cholesterol lower than pre statins and as someone who does not believe cholesterol is evil but necessary for our health I no longer bother with cholesterol checks.

       

    • jude65855
      jude65855 sonya10

      Posted

      Thanks for yr response:  do you have any reliable references backing up this info?  Not disbelieving you, just wanting to research further ... This is what I keep hearing, but where's the actual proof?   When was this?    Without solid references I don't know if this is factual or just another unfounded internet rumour.

      As I've said earlier, I'm trying out Omega 3 (now up to 12000 mg per day) and am going for a cholesterol test tomorrow:  if it's still "high" I'll probably just give up having the tests.  I also eat very healthily and yeah I agree about cholesterol not being evil, but in some levels necessary to the body  .... I recently heard of some link between low cholesterol and Altzeimer's.

       

       

    • sonya10
      sonya10 jude65855

      Posted

      Hi Jude

      yes I do indeed have reliable references but it's difficult to post on here. I found out all I needed to make up my own decision re statins by reading books and using internet.

      im happy to recommended books if you'd like, these contain actual references. 

      If you simply google ' statin corruption' you'll also find lots of information.

      I am happy to dig out my books and find relevant information and post on here, it'll be a long post :-) but I'm happy to do that, just let me know 

      SonyaSonya

    • jude65855
      jude65855 sonya10

      Posted

      Could you at least tell me who these "9 our of 10" people were who had connections to the statin manufacturers and  changed the cholesterol danger rating and when it was?

       

  • usch
    usch Kaycee11

    Posted

    I had been on atorvastin, and my conclusion is that this statin - and probably most statins - do enhance an inherent weakness in  your genetic make up.

    I am a slight asthmatic, but atorvastin induced the symptoms of a fully blown asthmatic, like not being able to breath in deeply without using a reliever.

    I also have a slight deformity in my pelvis, and the pain in my back became excruciating afteer just a few week; I was generally very active before.

    I also have a tendency to having vivid dreams, but my dreams became true nightmares, like 'feeling the presence' of something in my room.

    I had been suffering from mild depression from time to time, but atorvastatin made me feel not wanting to get out of bed, and I could not give an explanation to myself as to why?

    Most of the symptoms have dissapeared now, as I stopped taking any statins about 8 months ago. The lower back pain remains.

    So, what is positive about this drug?

     

    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 usch

      Posted

      While I have only been off the statin for 6 days, my back is not feeling any better, however, my wrists are!! Always thought this was arthritis when having problems opening jars. I'm now thinking that my back may just be severely strained. I will continue my "holiday" of  Lipitor but so far no difference. 

      I have a very mild case of scoliosis but was told it would not affect what is bothering me since it is higher up near my shoulder blades. 

      How ow long did it take for your symptoms to finally disappear?

    • sonya10
      sonya10 Kaycee11

      Posted

      Kaycee it does take longer for any muscles repair if at all in some cases.

      ive been off statins for 18 months now and still have pain in my neck musles although less frequent and not so severe.

      please don't worry I'm sure your back pain will subside over the next few months, although I cannot say you won't be pain free 24/7 onwards, I'm sure you well definitely see an improvement over time, the healing process from taking statins takes a long time.

      good luck and best wishes.

    • jude65855
      jude65855 usch

      Posted

      Well, it does lower cholesterol very efficiently!  I know quite a few people who've been on it for years with no side effects, but I've decided not to take any of them every again.

      I went to the GP yesterday for my cholesterol results and they are still high after 6 weeks or so on very high dose fish oil.   She's given me a script for Ezetimibe,  a non statin,so I'll see how it goes and report back here.   My regular GP was away and I'm wondering why she or my cardiologist didn't try me on this medication earlier, given that I've been reporting statin side effects for over 2 years.

      Anyone else tried Ezetimibe?   From the net, looks like it cd have similar side effects to statins, so I"m wondering if it's the lowering of cholesterol (which the body does need at some level) that results in the side effects?   

    • usch
      usch jude65855

      Posted

      We ae duped into thinking hat lowering cholesterol is the panacea for many ailments, why, in reality it is simply not true.
    • Kaycee11
      Kaycee11 usch

      Posted

      Unfortunately I think you're right...
    • jude65855
      jude65855 usch

      Posted

      The only condition I've heard about that is supposedly due to high 'bad' cholesterol is artery clogging leading to heart attack or stroke.   What are the other "many ailments"?

      Having had one heart attack and not wanting another one, I'm not about to give up on trying to lower my cholesterol, just not with statins!

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