My Doctor wants me to try Crestor...afraid of side effects.

Posted , 6 users are following.

I've been on statins before with bad side effects: muscle pain/aches, extreme lethargy, and joint pain especially in my left shoulder (when I raised my arm, my shoulder would ache).  It's like being caught between a rock and a hard place trying to decide between taking this statin-feeling awful  or the risk of a heart attack. I've been researching the use of acupuncture in reducing cholesterol. Has anyone tried acupuncture to reduce cholesterol? 

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Posted

    I have not heard of it .I'm.certainly going to look into it. I take amlodipine with Pravastatin and I have severe back pain my bones my hips ache at night and I would rather do accupunture than this

    • Posted

      Thanks Chris, for speedy reply. I'm so desperate to find away around statins.  I was also on Amlodipine but had my doctor change my prescription to Lisinopril 5mg because of side effects from it.  I was not sure if the side effects were from the Amlodipine until I stopped taking it for about three days.  My symptoms decreased so I'm sure it was the Amlodipine. I'm now wondering if the Amlodipine was keeping me from losing weight.  I exercise 7 days a week and watch my diet but cannot lose much weight.  I'll let you know how the acupuncture goes.  It's got to be better than these drugs.  I'm hoping it will help my blood pressure and cholesterol.  I've also decided to get regular message and one day plan to take yoga. There has to be away to escape these drug nightmares. 

    • Posted

      Amen to that Mesirm

      It's terrible I feel achey all the time .my muscles in my lower back one week contacted I literally felt them .it was terrible . I am concerned concerned about not taking them myself on my own without something else that I may I could have heart attack because of the cholesterol I am a bit overweight 64 female non-smoker non-drinker fairly healthy eating not a lot of red meat because of the cholesterol I am a bit overweight 64 female non smoker non drinker fairly healthy eating not a lot of red meat at night when I'm still and sleeping it hurts I can feel the achiness in my bones and my muscles

  • Posted

    No Mesirm! Don't do it. Noooooooo. As a survivor of statins (I'm still recovering 2 years later) I implore you not to swim with the sharks again. I had the symptoms you describe - and more. Quality of life plummetted as Type 2 diabetes lurked - when I could remeber having had to abandon long term passwords/numbers etc for ones I might remember, sleeping on my right side because the left was too painful, phantiom itches, aching joints -  felt like I had aged overnight! 

    There is no evidence that statins will prevent a heart attack. Diet and exercise in moderation will affect cholesterol levels favourably. Try anything, but not those pills. Noooooooooo.

    • Posted

      I agree with you M. My drs won't listen I' have muscle pain in lower back .my bones aches can't sleep well it hurts just turning.

    • Posted

      Thank you so much, Wayne!  I really needed the encouragement of not going back to statins. I tried to explain to my cardiologist that in the past I became almost bed ridden using the statins and that my muscle were sore all over my body. Once I stopped the statins, I felt so much better and the pain especially in my shoulder went away but it took several months and I was very nervous that it would never go away.  I was also on Amlodipine until recently because of its side effects. The Amlodipine side effects came on gradually so it took longer for me to figure out that it was affecting my digestive track and left side of my body.  My quality of life has improved significantly.  I feel so much better and will take your advice especially concerning diet and exercise.  
  • Posted

    Firstly - a big NO - stop taking statins, they are toxic and there is absolutely no evidence that they prevent heart attacks.  Quite the contrary, they actually heighten the risk in some groups.  Secondly, I had exactly the same arm/shoulder hurt and it took me over three years to get my doctor to acknowledge I had a problem.  I have very minor reduction in the discs in my neck and they kept insisting it was OA but it wasn't.  Finally after much pushing, I had a couple of ultrasound tests and they discovered I had ruptured tendons, full thickness tear on one side (rotator cuff).  As I don't participate in extreme sports nor is my job of a type that would cause such an injury, I got no satisfactory answers about the cause of the tears, other than my muscles were somehow weakened - yes of course they are, from being poisoned by statins.  If you remain physically active, eat a balanced diet and dont smoke, high cholesterol isnt the disaster that doctors try to make it sound (just in order to sell statins).  Please listen to your body and flush the statins and just maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

    • Posted

      Thank you for the encouragement to stay away from the statins.  When I was on them before, I started feeling the pain in my left arm/joints whenever I would lift my arm up. I thought it was odd at first but did not think it was the drugs until after the other symptoms began-muscle aches and pain. It is so refreshing to be able to share on these forums because it's almost impossible to get some Drs to believe it's the drugs causing more problems and decreasing the quality of life. 

  • Posted

    Ok. We've taken statins and got hurt. In my case currently hurting; thighs, lower back. This  has happened before, you'd think I would learn. Sorry, I have little faith in acupuncture lowering cholesterol, how would it do it. And I won't use it for the pain, since I'm gonna ditch the crestor. Then the pain/weakness will slowly ebb. But what other class of cholesterol lowering meds do people find satisfactory (if any, ever)??

    • Posted

      Hi, thanks for your input.  I'm still researching the acupuncture and how it works to reduce cholesterol.  I'm at a point that I need to find an alternative to statins and hoping that there is something less intrusive or natural that will help.  

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