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Statins and muscle pain

Posted , 11 users are following.

tony09890
tony09890

I read an interesting article on statin side effects today, the most common side effect of statins, which affects some 30% of those taking them, is muscle pain, the pain can range between mild to severe and can be localised to back, neck, arms and so on.   So for those on statins and still struggling for a diagnosis perhaps a discussion with your GP could be worthwhile!

2 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • Silver49
    Silver49 tony09890

    Posted

    I find this interesting because at the time of diagnosis I had discussed statins with my GP and we both agreed not to go down this route. It was borderline as to whether I should start them. He was concerned that they may confuse the issue and I was already aware of the fact that one of the side effects is muscle pain. I think it is good that you have raised this.
  • macas02
    macas02 tony09890

    Posted

    I too was borderline for needing statins but my GP was concerned that it would confuse the situation and decided against statins.
  • heather39822
    heather39822 tony09890

    Posted

    Wow...that's interesting. My statins have been reduced to 5mg daily in an attempt to tackle my chronic peripheral neuropathy - a tingling sensation that started some years ago in my toes and now has crept from my feet to my knees. This is also believed to be a side effect of statins. But haven't noticed any lessening of neck pain with the statin reduction.
  • EileenH
    EileenH tony09890

    Posted

    It's been discussed quite often - and at last there is some evidence coming to light that they aren't so wonderful after all.

    I was put onto statins just over 3 years ago after atrial fibrillation was diagnosed - I objected but was in a fairly fragile state and still in hospital at the time. They'd monitor me closely and it wouldn't be the bog-standard simvastatin which has the worst reputation. All that meant was I'd have to pay the cost myself (I'm not in the UK)! Seven days of atorvastatin/Lipitor almost had me in a wheelchair so I stopped taking it. The cardiologist was perfectly happy - it was other medics who were so keen for me to take it. It took me a good year to get back to the same level of fitness I'd been before being in hospital - and I'd been pretty well the day I was discharged.

    Never again - and my cholesterol is now in normal range. I cut carbs.

    • faye______00403
      faye______00403 EileenH

      Posted

      My doctor's put me on heavy duty statins after stroke caused by

      blocked carotid artery.....Crestor is a very powerful drug....

      I had both carotid arteries cleaned out and continued to take

      statins but feeling worse everyday.  I talked to my G.P. and he

      said I could stop since it's just one way to control cholesterol.

      I just made a few simple changes in my diet and got my cholesterol

      down from l98 to l61 (HDL and LDL were in perfect range)   My

      Gastroenterologist told me he came close to dying from taking

      statins....Millions of people can safely take them but not eveyone.

      If you are on statins monitor yourself carefully.  I have a Doppler

      done on carotid arteries every year and am doing great\

      according to my surgeon.without taking statins....

    • EileenH
      EileenH faye______00403

      Posted

      Quite - there is more than one way to skin a cat!

      My total cholesterol was much the same as yours. It is now just at the top of the acceptable range - because I have an exceptionally high HDL. Done by cutting carbs - I don't leave out the fat on the meat or butter! 

  • julian.
    julian. tony09890

    Posted

    Perhaps a different experience.

    I was reluctant to take statins based on statistics and risk as it all seemed a bit broad brush to me. For me, not enough of the data is publicly available to convince me let alone allow me to reproduce the argument. Seemed to be in the interests of public health cost reduction, which is not necessarily in my individual interests.

    Tests and coronary stent are a lot more individual so now I've been on statins for all of about 5 weeks. My feeling is there's a difference between taking statins for what may happen and taking them for what has happened and is happening. So now I'm an expert. I also take a blood thinner/anti clotter.

    I seem more fortunate with the side effects than pred side effects. Limited to a bit louder tinnitus and a bit of light headed when I stand up. But I seem to be adjusting.

    An interesting (to me) aspect of statins is the bit I read which questioned the whole cholesterol thing but also mentioned anti-inflammatory effect. I need to read a bit more but a different mechanism to pred and the jury is still out.

    Another aspect is possibly blood flow. Maybe wishful thinking that perhaps thinner blood flows better which may have an effect on reducing inflammation. I thought I'd invent a blood flow monitor but someone's done that already - the engineer in me suggests blood pressure is a poor indicator of blood flow and blood flow is important when nasty things build up in muscles.

    Which brings me to coronary rehab. Today I was walking on the treadmill at 6.1 km/h with incline 6% for 20 minutes. Quite pleased with myself. After 4 weeks of building up to that the effect on polywhatsit has been a marginal increase in stiffness early morning. None of the flare I was very concerned about. I guess nothing ventured nothing gained.

    In general I have more energy than I've had for a long time. With all the flow on effects that implies.

    I've watched my fitness steadily disappear over nearly 2 years. A 5km walk on the flat was totally draining a few weeks ago. Early in polywhatsit a couple of hours walking up Nepalese mountains was totally draining. Very different to pre-pmr when I could walk up hills all day. I'd put on about 9kg with return to Aus diet plus less exercise plus pred and managed to lose 5kg in the last 6 months by eating differently and less.

    Having said that, carrying groceries in from the car is a different kettle of fish. Twinges in arms from pmr.

    The stent has probably improved things. But I don't know by how much. The pmr/pred fatigue and loss of fitness were probably masking any heart symptoms.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is that my luck continues. I think of the stent as a gift horse. So far I'm not suffering any obvious statin side effects and quite unexpectedly I'm exercising at a level orders of magnitude higher than any time in the last 18 months with minimal effect on pmr. Aerobic exercise - not anaerobic or strength.

    So, not only do I not have muscle pain from statins I have a sense of turning a corner in the polywhatsit journey. It hasn't gone away, but its certainly behaving somewhat differently.

    Prior to coronary event I was about to reduce the pred from 4 1/2mg/day. A couple of days of 4 was no good so returned to 4 1/2. I stopped ideas of reducing while the exercise regime was increasing - change one thing at a time. Exercise level will soon be stable so I'll try reducing the pred again.

    I mentioned it somewhere else - the risk of a coronary event is significantly increased by pmr. Again, I haven't a clue whether I would have had a coronary problem regardless.

    Cardio on Monday and GP on Tuesday. Should be interesting how they unpack the story.

    • EileenH
      EileenH julian.

      Posted

      No, I'm far from convinced by the statistics concerning statins and their benefits too - and I absolutely don't believe the cholesterol story! But I never did from the beginning! Statins do probably provide a reduction in risk for many men and women who have already had a "cardiac event" - I'm female and hadn't, so no justification for a statin at all. Statins probably DO do something to reduce repeat cardiac events - but the reduction in cholesterol is a sign of what they are doing somewhere else rather than the mechanism by which they do it (does that make sense?).

      And yes - it is things like carrying the groceries and (for women especially) housework and things which involve repeated actions that is the bad factor in PMR and leads to muscle pain. Walking at any level, preferably the rate YOU can sustain for a good half hour at least. whether it is a gentle daunder or a good brisk walk is good for PMR. You start with the gentle daunder for 10 mins and get home exhausted - but you can build it up over time to far longer and far faster.

      Good to hear your stent has given you a new lease of fitness! I imagine it also contributed to your loss of fitness from the PMR - after all, you had 2 reasons for feeling out of sorts when you did too much. A heart that isn't entirely happy makes a big difference to energy.

    • Silver49
      Silver49 EileenH

      Posted

      I am a bit of a sceptic when it comes to medication so probably would have not gone for the statins. We are on a short break and it is bliss. Today I have walked more than I have walked in the past few months since PMR was diagnosed and I feel good with very little complaint from my body. I was making marmalade the night before our break and felt quite a bit of pain from standing. I thought I might suffer on the break but I haven't. Is it because I am so relaxed? I think it was the red wine with dinner last night!!😄😄. Why was I making marmalade in November one may ask? I had oranges in the freezer from January when I made my original batch and I am trying to empty the freezer. I miss timed the task as the planned weekend was taken up with other pursuits and it was brinkmanship. I think I have enough jars to last a year.😳
    • EileenH
      EileenH Silver49

      Posted

      I'm down to the last jar of dark Dundee marmalade I must have made at least 17 years ago since it was while we were still in Scotland! It has matured well I have to say. You might realise that toast and marmalade is not my usual breakfast...

      It is interesting isn't it - while we were in China I did things I would never have dreamt I could manage - especially steps! If I had known what was involved I might not have booked the tour. We have just spent a few days at Lake Garda - in UK summer-like weather. We walked from the site into town and back every morning and then had a short walk in the afternoon as well - and it has confirmed the feeling I had in summer that I do need to walk more. It is difficult though to summon up the enthusiasm to walk for the sake of walking I find. We do walk fast almost every day for a good half hour - I realise that at least an hour would be better. But I don't somehow see OH being willing to join me and I know he won't if it might rain. The trouble is there isn't a convenient pub a good half hour away...

  • tony09890
    tony09890

    Posted

    I've been on statins for around 12 years along with aspirin, thyroxine, minipress and coversyl, although I did stop taking the aspirin when uticaria visited me a few weeks ago.   I've decided to stop taking the statin for now as well and see what happens.   Doctors seem rather keen to prescribe all these medications but very reluctant to advise you of the side effects.   Still I suppose my fault, I should have looked these medications up.  
  • noninoni
    noninoni tony09890

    Posted

    Yes statins do cause muscle pain, and I also stopped taking them in order to not confuse the issue, even though I never had a problem with muscle pain.  But statins- maybe not the extreme new ones- have been shown to reduce mortality, not only from stroke and CHD, but from infections and respiratory illness, even years after the statins had been stopped.  This was a most surprising finding that apparently has been confirmed.   Statins have been rigorously tested in many, many double blind, randomized and controlled clinical trials and have been shown to be both effective and safe. 

          To get your cholesterol down without statins, a very high fiber diet can grab the stuff before it even gets into you. So eat beans or split pea soup every day.  I am serious here!

    • EileenH
      EileenH noninoni

      Posted

      I got mine down simply by cutting carbs - I eat a reasonable amount of fibre but not often legumes..

      However - it is often very instructive to check who funded any study that finds in favour of any drug. And even more instructive to read the results of the studies that WEREN'T published if they can be accessed - what the drug companies have put into the public domain is only ever the positive stuff. They have wilfully held back studies that have suggested bad news - in some cases (not statins that I know of) they have hidden results that would have saved lives had they been made public. But those would have reduced their sales of their new drug dramatically.

  • philoso4
    philoso4 tony09890

    Posted

    I am very interested in this discussion. I have been on statins for over a decade. There were never any indicators that I should be on them but I never took as high as the prescribed dose and regularly had testing for liver function.

    My most recent blood work shows very high good stuff and very low really bad stuff and low overall.

    Thanks to this discussion I will halve my simvastatin to 5mg. Besides the fact that reducing or eliminating it may help my muscle pain, I'd prefer a nice quick heart death than dementia or other horrible end conditions!

  • julian.
    julian. tony09890

    Posted

    PS there are possibly differences in the incidence of muscle side-effects between lipophilic and hydrophilic statins. Fluvastatin, rosuvastatin, and pravastatin are hydrophilic and possibly less toxic.

    One other task I've been working through is trying to marry dietary preferences for pmr and heart and diabetes (which I don't have). The language around food seems to have morphed from "diet" to "healthy eating", but still seems stuck on "healthy eating for healthy heart" rather than "healthy eating for health". There's not many changes I can make and there are few conflicts - for example things which are less good for heart and diabetes are also less good for inflammation. I mention it because I find it just as hard wading through the dietary advice as I do the statin literature, with the addition that there's more commercial intrusion in diet.

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