SIMVASTATIN HELL ?
Posted , 50 users are following.
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
alison55279 Guest
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My husband has had a large stroke and two small ones is risks here high. His cholesterol isn't a problem infact it's very good stroke doctor said. Still need to prescribe this tablet and even though low doseage the blood pressure tablet he on increases the effect of the tablet also makes it work better. Last night he didn't take it and he stil had a bit of pain during night but didn't waken hm up crying in pain like rest of the time's he has. I'm going to keep him off this for a few weeks see how he gets on. A risk he prepares to take.
scott86884 alison55279
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Alison, It took me 6 to 7 weeks of being off statin before I felt better. Still have some vertigo issues. I too had pins and needles and some of my issues were muscle related and torn rotator which I didn't know I had. I started going to a chiropractor and accupunturist for pain and after a few weeks they both eliminated most of the pain. It could be a combination of both the meds and actual miss body alignment. If his cholesterol is good I would do everything I could to get off statins, or take it in low dose every other day.
alison55279 scott86884
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Hi Scott
He on a low dosage but his high blood pressure tablets make them work even more like a booster it gets of them. He stopped it and as far as I'm concerned he on enough medication to control his strokes. Sure a few months of them to see what's really going on will no be a problem. Pain in arm came over night kind of thing increasingly getting worse more so at night. Pins and needles came after third stroke as well. My gut feeling before I read anything on this page was the tablet, then reading all these comments has defo caused alarm bells now.
Thanks for repyling hope your well soon.
Alison
mrbob84 Guest
Posted
For anyone who has doubts about the side effects and whether they should quit the statns, you might want to google how much improvement taking the statins makes in your probability of avoiding heart issues.
When I was told by Stanford Medical a few years after my Hodgkins Disease in '80 that heart issues had come up from their treatments and they wanted me to come in for testing I did - did the treadmill and came out fine. But really? 30 years later 3 of my cardiac arteries had shriveled up from the radiation therepy in '80 and needed to be bypassed. So yes the radiation therapy had damaged me, I was in that risk group and got caught.
And so my being prescribed the statins after 2012's triple bypass heart operation even tho my cholesterol was fine and stays fine. "We like to have anyone who has had a heart operation of any kind to be on them."At that time I asked Stanford, here in Palo Alto CA about the percentages involved and they said that the increase in heart issues potentially related to the radiation treatments they had noticed was from about 3% to 3.5%. That was why they were concerned, that half percent increase in incidence discovered. Meaning that I was only 3.5% at risk max, and that the radiation therapy had increased my original risk by only half a percent.
But treatment for Hodgkins Disease had only been in existence for 25 years in 1980. It was still in its infancy. Such risks erupting unanncounced were to be expected.
Given the option of avoiding that percentage and staying with Hodgkins Disease - which would have killed me within 2 years, I also asked about that - of course I took the 3.5% risk fo having heart problems later, and lost. But Hodgkins Disease was not the risk factor - it was certain death within 2 years. Having future heart problems was the risk. And yes having the radiaion therapy and surviving certain death was worth the 3.5% risk of heart problems years later even tho I lost and did have to have a heart operation later.
Avoiding a similar potential say, 3.5% risk now by taking statins and losing my mind? Nep. Not worth it. I'll take that risk before I'll surrender the use of my mind and my memory.
What about you? How much at risk are you right now and how much will statins help mitigate that risk? I really don't know, but is being maybe 3.5% at risk for heart issues worth the potential of losing the use of your legs and being wheel chair bound for the rest of your life, as one of the patients here reports? Worth the loss of the quickness of your mind, worth risking eventual dimensia? Worth losing contact with all the deep-set memories of your lifetime that make you you, which is what happened to me? The list goes on.
It's a very valid question, this actual risk potential. Each of us here has a different and individual situation. Please ask your medical professional about your actual risk status and bring those answers here.
For me the answer was zero. My cholesterol was fine and stays fine, well within all acceptable limits with no statins involved.
The "benefit" I got was my mind being torpedoed by the statins, which lowered my cholesterol by 1/3 every time I went on them, sapping my brain of its needed healthy fats. Which my cardiologist never told me would or even might happen.
I had to hear it from my chiropractor before I was able to put 2 and 2 together and realize it was the statins.
scott86884 mrbob84
Posted
I too heard it from my chiropractor and quit them shortly after. It took me a good 6 weeks before I started to feel somewhat normal again, still have balance issue's once in awhile but heard threw a few others it could take 3 to 6 months before your body recovers. I too had good cholesterol numbers and was only put on them as a precautionary measure for the future, 30 years from now I was told.. I was on them for just 6 months and had brain fog, memory loss, cognitive issues, vision problems, balance and irratability issues as well. Thought I had a brain tumor, had an MRI come back negative so I knew it had to be the statin. I quit shortly after those results, quit on my own. Glad I did as I'm trying to get my health back still, 7 weeks later. I say No to statins as it can have very serious side effects. The Dr's kept telling me it's not the statin, I proved them wrong by quitting and getting better..
lee12629 Guest
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lee12629
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lee12629
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mrbob84 lee12629
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Dingle_dell Guest
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alison55279 Dingle_dell
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It's terrible they should be sued if it's proven this tablet is causing all these health conditions. My husband was fit but he taken strokes but pain he in since taken tablet is chronic no one seems to know what's causing it. This is reason I've stopped hm taken it. Doctors say no it's not from it, unless we can prove it not even going there to say. Made N appt to see a chiropractor, ask there hnst opinion hopefully get a diagnose at same time. Good luck never give up.
loxie alison55279
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Do get your husband to try taking Q10 for a while to see if it helps. Taking CoQ10 can really help to ease the symptoms of the side effects of statins. Any form of Q10 is good (dont be fooled into buying the most expensive ubiquinol - it's just marketing hype). You will never get a doctor to admit that statins are causing major problems, they have too much invested in them to publicly decry them and are too worried about it going on record to be used in future court cases.
alison55279 loxie
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Hi Loxie never heard of CoQ10 what are these? He on loads of medication due to his hypertension and strokes he taken. Need to ensure he allowed to take this. Made appt to see chiropractor next Friday morning, for this muscle pain 👍🏻
loxie alison55279
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Hi Alison. Q10 is a naturally occurring co-enzyme in the body, which can become depleted (reduced) either through illness or by certain medications. If you google 'Q10' you'll find many places selling it and lots of info about it. Do have a read about it before buying it. His doctor will advise him whether it's safe to take in addition to his other medications but I'm pretty sure that's its safe to take alongside almost anything. It's very good for helping to reduce muscle pain particularly.
Charley_02 Guest
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I took 40 milligrams a day for 18 years and my legs and feet are so numb, pins and needles, swelling, miserable. I'm not and have never been diabetic but I seem to have symptoms that I do. Anyway I don't see any improvement and have stopped taking the poison 2 years ago now. I wish to God I had never heard the name statins.
lee12629 Charley_02
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Charley_02 lee12629
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Yes, I certainly can believe that. I go to the Dr next week and will get blood work done, at this point nothing will surprise me when it comes to side effects from statins , and I've gained quite a bit of weight because I can't move around like a normal person. I have all symptoms of Diabetes but have never had it. When I stopped taking the rat poison my Dr said I had lost 10 lbs and my sugar number had dropped 10 points. I had been off the poison for 2 months but I didn't tell her then, I did next time I went. Prayers for your dear husband.