SIMVASTATIN HELL ?

lee, as a fellow peripheral neuropathy suffer for about 3 years did you shake this off. if so how? I gave up statins when I was diagnosed p-n but condition continues to deteriorate.

Yes,finally,i am back to normal. I did have some physical therapy. Best piece of advice i got from my therapist was,no matter what it is,the main thing is fo not quit moving. That in itself can caus muscles to freeze and deteriorate. Also can caus muscles to freeze up. Tight muscles i believe press on nerves causing even more nueropathy symptoms. I looked up everything on the web there are certain supplements that tend to help with nerve recovery.its been about 4 years since ive been pretty much back to mormal,so I would look up the supplements. I would check with a doctor or pharmacists to make sure they are ok for you to take. I was given basic stretching exercises to help unlock my body. I honestly thought I would never feel normal again. Please dont give up,honestly my nerve damage symptoms are now practically non exsistant and i pretty much can do everything I could do before. There is hope.

Physical therapy is a good start. Took me several years but my symptoms are virtually gone. Keep the faith and dont give up. You will get better.

Thanks for your support. I am confident that I will do whatever it takes to get back where I was a year ago, without simvastatin.

I lnow the internet has really enlightened people,now if doctors only would study articles on the net it would really help. Ive told doctors things they had no clue about. Frankly its hard to believe they don't look and study more on the net!

how true lee.  Not just with drug prescriptions where they won't or don't believe the patient regarding the side effects.  I have had a worrying time with a type of painful growth on one ear, which of course I worried might be cancer.  Two GP's at my group practice and one referral to a plastic surgeon/dermatologist specialist and none could/would tell me what was wrong.  Purely by chance I saw a different GP for an unrelated problem and just mentioned it to her, she took one look and said 'oh that's nothing to worry about, its chondrodermatitis nodularis helicis (CNH for short)' it's apparently a pressure sore from too much continuous pressure on the cartilage surrounding the ear - totally understandable for me as I use my work phone against that ear all day and I sleep on that side - easily remedied by avoiding all further pressure on that ear.  I googled it and it's fairly common and non life threatening.  Why the heck didnt two long standing experienced GP's and a specialist too not identify it? They get qualified whilst young and the only thing thereafter they update themselves on is which drugs to prescribe/earn money from - obviously they dont keep up to date on patient feedback on forums etc.

It's interesting that many doctor's are contemptuous of patients going online to research their health issues. Patients are at their most vunerable/worried when seated before their physician and look to them for reassurance and help.I appreciate that one's imagination can run wild during internet research of physical symptoms but, arming one's self with knowledge about the drugs we are prescribed can only be advantageous to a person and sites like this, where we can share experiences, be they good or bad, are invaluable. It gives us a voice when dismissed by doctor's who insist we continue medication that has an adverse effect, with side effects that outweigh the advantages. We are reassured that others, going through the same dilemnas,  understand and it gives us knowlege to make an informed choice about dealing with all and any prescription drugs.

Very wise advice MrBob.  You sound in control of your own wellbeing which is fabulous.  Unfortunately some doctors can be intimidating to disagree with and as has been stated frequently, are very contemptuous of patients doing their own internet research - understandably in many cases, as there is far too much anecdotal and unproven info online.  I just wish they would be a little more understanding of those patients who really do have issues with some meds and not just waft it away with the usual 'all meds have side effects' - exactly as you have commented with your doctor on this subject.  Being assertive but reasonable and upfront with one's doctor is very much the best way forward - however I myself encounter doctors in my group practice who make it so difficult to be honest because of their aggressive stance when they feel 'questioned' on their expertise or knowledge.  I gave up trying to be reasonable and just flushed my statins down the toilet - not once has any doctor at my practice ever asked if i'm still taking them, nor offered tests of any kind. I unfortunately feel very let down by that attitude and sympathise with those who feel 'scared' to argue the decisions of their own doctor. 

You are of course correct, one should liase with one's doctor and don't think I haven't tried. The past 9 months on both medications have been the worst in my life and I wasn't seeing any advantages. What made me decide to take matters into my own hands , added  to the many horrendous side effects,  was that of  breathlessness which was frightening to say the least. After two weeks of drug abstince I was slowly but surely feeling better and the side effects are subsiding. I feel more like my old self and once I am armed with enough " ammunition" to justify my going against the doctor I will doubtless inform him

I really appreciate your response!  I was in the situation  you so eloquently described! And as you so rightly point out, I felt too embarrassed and intimidated to stand my ground in the face of the doctor's mutinous attitude to my daring to question his judgement. All in all he's a good man but his belief in his being right and I but a fool, blinds him somewhat Your post made such a huge difference to my feelings of anxiety and daring to defy medical advice and brought me great comfort and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You are the person who hires the doctor,he works for you. No need to feel intimidated its your body. There are lots of doctors,if a person feels intimadated by a doctor its time to hire a new one. Xx

Oh Helen, I really do sympathise.  I'm normally a confident person, at work I am assertive and confident and able to handle very difficult and aggressive intermediaries etc., however medical professionals have a totally unique way of dismissing any patient opinion that differs from their own - not always by aggression but invariably with a quiet arrogance which is very disconcerting and confidence sapping.  I fully understand their years of training and experience versus my limited knowledge gained only by brief research but in the end I live in my body and I know when it's telling me things aren't right.

Thank you! Not so easily achieved sadly. I live in a village thereby rely on the local surgery.....however, it is a group practice and I shall doubtless, in a cowardly fashion, manage to evade confrontation over the issue, lol!

You have a wonderful sense of word flow...I say this as a fiction writer of many years standing by the way! If you are not persuing literary avenues then you damn well should be. To be able to paint a picture in words is a gift given to few. I like to think of myself as an intelligent, well read woman and yet, and here I smile, faced with my gp I am reduced to a  trembling 3 year old  Judging by his expression one would think I'd piddled on his carpeted floor, lol! That I have the temerity to question his judgement! How dare I ! Avoidance of confrontation might not be the right path to take but makes for a peaceful life. And I do so enjoy a peaceful life, it is, after all, short.

Thank you for the compliments Helen, blushing here.  I dont think I have the application or tenacity to write professionally, nor the imagination probably

I so empathise re confronting my doctors.  I go armed with a written list and a determination worthy of an arctic explorer, then one derogatory glance from my GP later and I've become somehow subservient.  Happens to a lot of us I guess - thus the fault is there 'bedside manner' not our lack of courage.  I do think you are right however in avoiding confrontation if you don't feel it's right - nothing worse than getting labelled as a troublesome patient, as next time they may not listen at all.

And there you hit the nail on the head. The fear of the doctor taking the stance that " You didn't listen to me last time! " I've witnessed the attitude towards problematic patients who dare to opine. Doctors, nurses and the reception staff close ranks, attitudes change and an element of hostility results in a sudden lack of helpfullness. Knowing I have not ruffled any feathers nor bruised the doctors dignity, I shall wallow quite contentedly in my cowardice