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SIMVASTATIN HELL ?

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Guest
Guest

I have been taking Simvastatin for over two years. During this time I have got progressively worse. Started with tingling and pins and needles in hands and fingers, sore sole of the feet and a little bit of joint stiffness, lumpy legs, severe lethargy, tireness and irritability.

NOW I have muscle wastage of the shoulder muscle, severe joint pain in spine, chest, hips, wrists and fingers. I have lost the grip and strength in my left hand, finding it difficult and clumsy to use. My sight is progressively getting worse, I feel as if I,m looking through a slight fog. My memory loss was becoming a real problem. Diarrohea, chronic muscle spasms - I was beginning to think I was going to die.

I have only just been made aware that the cause could be Simvastin - stopped taking them 5 days ago and I am feeling a little better having good days and bad days.

My concern is that if these problems have been caused by Simvastatin - it looks like they could be irreversable!

7 likes, 185 replies

185 Replies

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Instersted in your experiences as I have been on Simvasatin and seem to also bve having problems some quite similar. How were you made aware that it may be the Simvastatin causing the problem and why do you think that some of the problems may be irreversable.
    • lee12629
      lee12629 Guest

      Posted

      Pain,weakness,no real andwers from doctors,then research on the internet,drug reviews by patients..thats what made me stop the med,and the symptoms stopped.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    There is always a leaflet enclosed with your medication. It lists possible side effects and if people took the time to read it, then perhaps they wouldn't end up with permanent health problems.
    • chris00938
      chris00938 Guest

      Posted

      This is easily said, but when you're faced with a doctor who is telling you that your life is at risk if you don't take these awful tablets, you're getting biased advice, so you get frightened into taking them and hoping for the best! 

    • loxie
      loxie chris00938

      Posted

      Very true Chris.  My doctor indicated I was a 'stroke waiting to happen' and could be dead before leaving the office - I'm not exaggerating!  The leaflet lists every possible reaction known to man - from a blocked nose to total paralysis - they list everything on earth to cover their backs, so its not always possible to see the wood through the trees and know which side effects are common and which are either rare or almost never occur, nor to determine a true impact upon an individual.  My doctor made statins sound like a miracle cure and of course, being a trusted medical professional, I was prone to believe him.  I'm sure a good proportion of GP's are totally brainwashed by the pharmaceutical industry.  I also remember that when I had severe adverse reactions to the statins, my doctor totally refused to accept it was caused by them and didn't log it as such, thus the records of side effect problems are seriously flawed.

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I got put on simvastatin 6 weeks as i am a type 2 diabetic and according to guidelines, over 40's should have this and asprin. last cholestrol test was spot on (although i am over weight)

    Wow, scary, i am now off work with stress related, i have mood swings, depression, was just getting over this, constant headache , cant remember what i did an hour ago, never mind yesterday, myalgia, constipation, very unhappy boy .

    my doc took me off, with a view to getting back on my feet again and putting me a lower dose of a different one.

    Praise God that my Doc is sensible enough to see the rapid downturn off my over all health.

    glad i off them

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    The contraindications do list this as the main side effects!
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    i quite agree with all you say--------i was convinced i was dying when i took them i felt so ill-----stiff painful joints hardly could walk somedays and my eyesight weel that was odd to say the least---went to optician didnt need glasses but couldnt hardly read !---back to normal now since i stoppeed taking them ---------pure poison !
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I came off them after having 7 months of lumpy breasts, lumps in my legs and agonizing leg pain. I honestly didn't think I would see this Christmas. I couldn't wear a bra because of the pain and I could actually feel the blood running in my veins like spiders running up and down. Overall I felt wretched and must have spent £50 on Solpadeine to give me a decent night's sleep. I visited my doctor more times in 3 months than I had in 30 years.

    I came off them myself. I was not told to do so. Since then my symptoms have gone and I am back to my old self. I wouldn't advise anybody to take these. You might as well take Hemlock!

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    message for Jackson 1957 - a bit smug if you don't mind me saying. These symptoms creep up on us almost overnight. I had just a slight ache in my leg which could have been anything, and all of a sudden one morning I woke up and could hardly walk. I have suffered agonising pains ever since even though I stopped the medicine straight away. I had read the leaflet and suspected it may be these, but even after reading all these notes, it is hard to believe the devastating effect this drug has. It obviously must build up in your system for quite some time and then wham! God knows how long it is going to take before I get any ease.

    I am wondering what you have suffered? You must have had some reason to be reading this. We are all just desperate people in agony and can do without the snide comments, thankyou!

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Guys

    I've gotta say, reading all your reviews and experineces that most of you are incredibly depressive about this. I donlt see one person saying - yeah i may ache but at least my cholesterol is down and my risk of heart disease is reduced. I'm 27 and i recently found out that there's AT LEAST 3 generations of heart disease in my family. Went to to the doctors, got myself checked out, was a smoker (packed that in now, albeit it's only be a week so far!!) and had a cholestrol of 6.4. Not high but with the history in the family, high enough.

    Doctor was incredibly helpful, honest, upfront about the tablet and risks. It was my choice to go on them. According to him, even if i avoided every bad bit of food, exercised all the time and generally kept myself in tiptop condition, i'd only lower the level to 6!!! Don't know about you lot but i'd far rather ache a bit/lot than die of heart disease by the age of 40.

    Lets all cheer up hey... you all say you feel better once you've come off them!

    Steve

    • nancy35517
      nancy35517 Guest

      Posted

      Congrats on the smoking but you have no idea what you are talking

      about. These drugs have turned me into a cripple, seriously

      affected my breathing and made quality of life not worth living.

      continue on your drug but beware, it might not happen to you

      for a while, but sooner or later this drug will strike.  There must be a lot 

      of other people out there who are enraged by your ignorance.

      your Dr shoul lose his license for putting you on this drug,

      especially at your age.  Please do some more research on the 

      subject, and give us an apology.

    • alzheimer
      alzheimer nancy35517

      Posted

      I have to say, Nancy - that I could not agree with you more about this smug post by an obviously youthfully ignorant lad who hasn't lived yet....LOL

      By the sound of his history - his chances of having a heart attack by the age of 40 are fairly high - but his knowledge of statins is very low!!

      If he really thinks that we all just "ache a bit" then I rest my case!  

      I for one, like many more on this forum have suffered the agonies of the dammed with progressive and irreversible side-effects of statins .... which have virtually reduced me, in just under two years -  to being wheelchair bound after only six months of being on these dangerous drugs.   

      I would bet he would find it very difficult to say "cheer up" were he to be in my position....

      Frankly when I first read his post, Nancy - I treated it with the disdain that it deserved... Realising that he was speaking from a position of the ignorance of youth....

      However this evening when I read your reaction I could not help but cheer that somebody has said what needed to be said!

      With any luck he is still alive to give us that apology ....and I sincerely hope he reads our messages and ponders on his crass and selfish ignorance of a year ago...hopefully too by now he has learned a thing or two....about life ..as well as statins!!!

       

    • alzheimer
      alzheimer Guest

      Posted

      I hope you are well Steve ...and well enough to read the reactions that appear below....

      you just might learn something... 

    • nancy35517
      nancy35517 alzheimer

      Posted

      Thanks for your support. I have just stopped my statin drug about

      2weeks ago.  I am feeling much better mentally and physically.

      i just hope I have not done permanent damage to my muscles

      after 6 years of this poison. I had a stroke 6 years ago. No permanent

      aftermath. Consequently, I have been very afraid to stop the pills. Dont

      know whether to eat meat and eliminate sugar, which I have 

      pretty much stopped, or become a vegan which really dosent 

      sound too inviting. Everything I read says something different.

      i guess I will be doing a lot of praying.  Thanks again, Nancy

       

    • alzheimer
      alzheimer nancy35517

      Posted

      There are no hard and fast rules Nancy I am afraid I am a great believer in what you fancy does you good as far as food is concerned!

      personally I haven't eaten meat for 40 years certainly not "farmed meats" -the very idea makes my stomach turn.  I am verging on being vegetarian I suppose -  however in order to keep the protein level up I do like pieces of fish and the occasional egg and prawns of course are my staple diet...LOL.  Along with cheese - my dietary downfall!!.

      I really regret the day that I mentioned to my doctor that I was having very occasional episodes of PAF paroxysmal atrial fibrillation..... that is when my downfall started and I was put on statins for my sins whether I liked it or not!

      I had totally refused to be put on warfarin of course as I live alone and have no relatives so I felt coerced - or made to feel obliged to except the statins...BIG MISTAKE,  

      Sadly of course the doctors and the consulters don't want to know as they are all on their pay role of Big Pharma one way or the other.

      I really do hope that I manage to live long enough to see the "worm turn"....

      but at my current rate of irreversible statin-induced  "motor block"   I have my doubts.

      Cheers, Nancy ... I hope you continue to improve - and with some Q enzyme10 added to your diet and lots of oats as well - you should make old bones yet...LOL 

      Yours aye. Carol 

    • loxie
      loxie nancy35517

      Posted

      Nancy - my doctor was very adamant that my high cholesterol (a reading of 9 at one point!) was NOT due to dietary issues.  I'm not overweight, I eat very little if almost no saturated fat, I exercise very regularly and have normal blood pressure and blood sugar levels.  Mine apparently is entirely 'familial' ie hereditary.  As long as you ensure you eat a [u]healthy[/u] balanced diet without excessive amounts of refined sugars or saturated fats, eliminating one thing or another will just cause vitamin deficiencies so not recommended.  A vegan diet is not a healthy choice as it is very restrictive and can result in lack of essential nutrients.  As a previous stroke patient, it's quite understandable statins were considered but this has to be balanced against the damage they cause in some (not all) people.  However these things are always a balance and if statins adversely affect you to such a degree that permanent damage is being done, is it worth that to 'possibly' safeguard against another stroke.  The jury is out on whether high cholesterol readings are or are not a primary cause of heart attacks and strokes - new research clearly indicates that patients presenting with these medical issues have a range of contributory factors and not just the one issue of high cholesterol.  I'm not medically qualified and can only speak for my own situation - statins were causing me severe damage and therefore I took the decision that the cost of reducing my cholesterol by that method was too high a price to pay.  I will continue to live what I consider to be a healthy lifestyle and take my chance.  You will have to determine what is the best route for you in your own personal situation but one thing is clear - do NOT be bulllied by doctors who are being subsidised to prescribe this toxic rubbish.
    • budgieb
      budgieb loxie

      Posted

      hi Loxie nicely said I feel as I ambeing bullied not only by  the doctors but also by works medical practitioners both were advised of the symptoms  (muscle cramps severe headaches) works practitioner told me to stay on them and doctors proscribe yet another type (with no side effects). I really don't want to take them for any length of time, but will wait and see if I get any side effects (that they don't have) and let you know.
    • Powerwalker
      Powerwalker nancy35517

      Posted

      I think your response is over the top - Steve is only expressing his opinion and feels comfortable with this drug because of his high potential to die of a heart attack. There's no need to apologise Steve - you are entitled to express your views on this Forum

       

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