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Arghhhhhh damn Statins :-(

Posted , 5 users are following.

debra97721
debra97721

Since having major heart attack and stents fitted at the age of 45 I battled with my GP for 2 years on Atorvastatin (Lipitor) as having major muscle pain. My Doc wouldn't listen to me. Eventually another practice GP I saw agreed it was the statin causing my pain and switched me to Rosuvastatin 5mg (Crestor), I literally cried when he listened to me.  This was 3 months ago.  In the past month or so I have been suffering with Tendons/Muscles with what I think is tearing and causing severe pain and bruising.  This is happening whenever I try and do any form of sport/exercise.  I golf and fish and have done all my life and only recently have these areas been 'tearing'.  I am a secretary and even lifting a lever arch file from a shelf will cause me great pain in an arm or back muscle/tendon.  Does anyone else suffer from anything similar on their statin or am I falling apart.  Surely not at my tender age of 48!

2 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • debra97721
    debra97721

    Posted

    Forgot to add that I am experiencing absolutely awful pins and needles in the whole of my arms from shoulders down to fingers and bad cramps in ankles and toes.

     

  • diane98246
    diane98246 debra97721

    Posted

    it's not you !  you need to be totally OFF the statin for several months to find out what part of that pain situation is you and what part is the statin.  personally i found out that it's almost ALL the statin and am feeling more and more renewed as time puts that drug more and more behind me.  
  • lili05242
    lili05242 debra97721

    Posted

    It seems that the most common side effect of lipid lowering drugs is muscular.

    i have tried 3 different statins as well as bezafibrate and ezetimibe,with all experiencing pain and loss of energy in my arms and legs and general lethargy

    for the past 3months I have not taken any medication,I continue with my 3x

    weekly swimming and gym and ordinary diet,I have some aches and pains due to

    osteo arthritis.few friend who have been taking statins for years are absolutetly

    side effect free!its so difficult to make comparisons.

    i am certain your GP would able to give you advice about alternative medication

    good luck

     

  • EileenH
    EileenH debra97721

    Posted

    One possibility is that the stain triggered an illness called polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) It is mostly found in over 50s (not the over 70s most articles in the media seem to claim, apparently there will be another next week!) and can happen without statins - but there are doctors who believe they can be the trigger and the manufacturers of simvastatin admit in their data sheet it is a possible adverse event but they don't exactly advertise it!

    Anyway - have you any other symptoms besides the shoulder pain and stiffness? This site has both information pages on PMR and a forum for PMR - have a look and see if that rings any bells as to how you feel and go to your rather more helpful GP and discuss it maybe.

    There is a lot of info in sites found through the links in this thread on this site:

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-and-other-website-addresses-35316

    • diane98246
      diane98246 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen and thank you for the information.  I have a question.   Would the PMR condition linger on indefinitely after the statins are eliminated or would it subside?
    • EileenH
      EileenH diane98246

      Posted

      It would depend - if the statin had triggered the autoimmune process which underlies PMR and is the cause of the symptoms that are called PMR then not necessarily. If the statin has only caused the symptoms which are mimicking possible PMR then stopping the statin would lead to an improvement with time. It took me several months to really get over the statin-induced muscle problems that appeared within days of starting a statin but I noticed a difference in a couple of weeks.

      The trouble is PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica, "many painful muscles", just describes a syndrome which has several possible underlying causes. One is this autoimmune disorder which appears as painful muscles and joints. In the case of this form of PMR, a moderate dose of prednisolone (15mg) achieves a dramatic improvement (about 70% overall, not necessarily all gone but very much better) in the pain and stiffness within a couple of days. If the autoimmune disorder has been "switched on" so to speak it can continue for some time (years sometimes) before burning itself out and going into remission - there are probably many different factors that contribute to it but they are not known for certain. About the only certain one is having Scandinavian ancestry and it being "in the genes".

    • debra97721
      debra97721 EileenH

      Posted

      Historically with the first statin causing me so much pain and coming off it ceasing all those problems and now after 3 months of starting a different statin other totally different muscles and tendons are involved.  I am truly hoping it is simply a problem in the statins not agreeing with me and that it is not something more sinister taking shape :-(  I am hopeing seeing the GP who listens to me on Monday will prove fruitful and we come up with another plan of action.
    • EileenH
      EileenH debra97721

      Posted

      I hope so too - I wouldn't wish anyone the PMR I have! The only consolation is that pred removes the pain and stiffness to a great extent and it doesn't kill you!

      The concept of hundreds of thousands of perfectly healthy people being given a statin makes me shudder. There is a place for statins for patients with your sort of history, I won't deny that but otherwise I'm less convinced. 

      If only they could identify what it is that statins do that reduces the risk of further events - it isn't reducing cholesterol, it is something else - and find another way of achieving it. But then, that would cost money and statins are something of a gravy train!

      Ah well - good luck.

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