1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Statins and Other Lipid-lowering Medicines

Simvastatin side effect

Posted , 8 users are following.

andy69280
andy69280

Hi I have been on simvastatin now for seven years and I have been suffering from muscle pain and weakness and also a sore shoulder and very low energy never really put it down to the simvastatin but recently read a article on statins this led me to look into it more and I am shocked in finding so much peaple suffering with thus drug I have now stopped taking simvastatin to see if my symtoms will go I was wondering if any one else has stopped there statin and how long before you started feeling well again and what else could I do to help my recovery 

3 likes, 54 replies

54 Replies

Prev Next
  • diane98246
    diane98246 andy69280

    Posted

    I heartily agree !  No pun intended.  There's a very strong inclination in me at age 70 to not allow any more suffering and/or deprivation than I have to and that means eliminating various things from the menu - including a drug that makes me crippled with pain.  

    For the rest of it we let the chips fall where they may and trust the good Lord to take care of us and not allow us to pass until our allotted time.  

  • roy91968
    roy91968 andy69280

    Posted

    Hi again andy-told my gp yesterday i was going to stop taking simvastatin and he replied---o.k see how you get on and come back in a month. but i am concerned about something{couple of days ago i was having breakfast  and my friend came in while i was eating grapefruit with my cerials-he said--WAS YOU NOT TOLD BY YOUR G.P that you must not have grapefruit while on simvastatin-was he correct-if so shall i mension this on my next visit to my surgery
    • alzheimer
      alzheimer roy91968

      Posted

      Actually your neighbour was correct when he advised you not to eat grapefruit and in fact any of the other citrus fruits such as oranges as in mamalde  can interact with many medications - not just statins.

      This can and does occur even if it is it eaten/drunk many hours before taking your medication and I do believe that with simvastatin in particular the concentration of the drug is increased by something like 300% of the drug's effect which if done on a regular basis of course could cause life-threatening damage.

      I agree that this should be more widely known as many older people in an attempt to increase their five a day eat grapefruit

      if I were you I would avoid grapefruit in all forms-  better to be safe than sorry.

    • EileenH
      EileenH alzheimer

      Posted

      It won't matter if Roy's decided to stop taking it though.

      There are quite a few drugs that interact with grapefruit and it almost certainly says on the sheet that is included in the package with the blister pack. It is always a good idea to check with your pharmacist - not the counter staff at the chemist -  that there isn't anything that is forbidden. The same applies to any health supplements - natural they may claim to be but they canstill affect prescription medications - and each other!

    • derek76
      derek76 alzheimer

      Posted

      Most meds have a warning on the instructions on the front of the packet if you should not eat grapefruit. Does simvastatin not ?

      It is in the patient information leaflet inside:

      "Simvastatin with food and drink:

      Grapefruit juice contains one or more components which may increase the amount of simvastatin in the blood. Therefore, you should not drink grapefruit juice as it could increase the risk of muscle damage"

  • roy91968
    roy91968 andy69280

    Posted

    Hi andy-have now stopped taking simvastatin-how long do you recon it will be before inotice wheather i have done the right thing ie- pain relief?
    • alzheimer
      alzheimer roy91968

      Posted

      Of course everybody is different but I would suggest a couple of weeks before you do know for sure that there is any improvement and even as much as a month.

      Jolly good luck I'm sure that you will feel a lot better without the dreaded things and if I were you I would take some Co enzyme 10 to mitigate any damage that has been done already as these statins actually BLOCK our natural enzymes which are so important for survival.   So go have have a look at the blurb for coenzyme 10 and you will see what I'm talking about.

      cheers!

  • jude65855
    jude65855 andy69280

    Posted

    If you read back thru the posts on this site you'll find yours is a very common story.  Stopping statins is the first step and it seems most people find the side effects begin to recede within a week or so, sometimes less, possibly depending on what level of dose you're on.

    I hope I don't sound critical or judgmental, but how come you've put up with the side effects for so long without checking the manufacturer's information sheet, either the printed one or on the internet?  The side effects of statins aren't kept secret, but doctors keep prescribing them:  they do reduce high cholesterol very efficiently and some people can take them without side effects, but for those of us who do experience side effects our lives often don't feel like they're worth living.

    • diane98246
      diane98246 jude65855

      Posted

      I just want to say that you've worded it perfectly when you said "our lives often dont feel like they're worth living."  It took me a long time as well to identify the ogre behind my experiencing crippling pain and physical exhaustion and off the charts anger that I was the equivalent of an 80 year old at age 69.  I even described this horrific situation to my doctors all of whom failed utterly to pinpoint the culprit.  
    • EileenH
      EileenH diane98246

      Posted

      I have an autoimmune arthritis that has a very similar effect to the muscle problems with statins. It was fairly well managed with pred, but that increased my cholesterol level so the medics decided I must take a statin - I wasn't happy, I knew they weren't innocent smarties but I did feel a bit bullied. I was already having a flare of the arthritis which was bad enough but after 10 days I was worse than I have ever been with the arthritis at its worst and stopped taking the statin - but it took me the best part of a year to get back to where I had been.

      The cardiologist was fine about it - she got it, so did the pain specialist: taking a statin might add a few years to your life by avoiding a heart attack (maybe) but I'm far from sure those extra years would have been worth having given the state I was in. I'd already started to consider getting a mobility scooter because I couldn't face being so helpless and unable to go anywhere unless I could park at the door - with this I couldn't even move around the flat without feeling I was about to collapse. 

    • jude65855
      jude65855 diane98246

      Posted

      dI found that although both my cardiologist and my GP believed me about the side effects all they could suggest was another statin or the same one at a reduced dose.   It's over 3 years since I had the heart attack and I never felt really well until I went off the statins completely.   

       

    • EileenH
      EileenH jude65855

      Posted

      Sorry! Prednisolone, a corticosteroid used to reduce inflammation in many disorders including very severe chest infections, asthma and many autoimmune sorts of arthritis.
    • jude65855
      jude65855 EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks for the info:  I guess I may one day learn how this drug affects me, as I have first stage emphysema
Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.