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stopped 40mgs Atorvastatin 2 weeks ago on docs advice

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david_25160
david_25160

hey hello from bonny Scotland! advice sought please, anybody else experience liver problems possibly due to long term statin use?? 2 weeks ago on mentioning sore leg muscles the blood tests indicated that the statin could indeed be causing this, also my liver function levels were raised, so I was asked to stop the 40mg Atorvastatin I was on, blood test again last Friday, the doctor rang me at home today to say the the muscle thing they test was getting back to normal smile but that my liver function thing had worsened sad so now I'm awaiting an ultrasound of the liver, and a further blood test in 2 weeks, so now I am worried to death, no pun intended, of liver failure looming or worse still, any advice please? apart from the obvious "do not worry" thankyou smile

0 likes, 18 replies

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  • jude65855
    jude65855 david_25160

    Posted

    David, I'm so sorry this is happening to you and I think you are far from the only one.  I stopped all statins last year after deciding I'd rather live with the possible consequences of high cholesterol than live with pain, depression, exhaustion and loss of libido.

    I have no advice for you except to document everything, because I believe it's only a matter of time before there's a huge worldwide class action against he statin manufacturers and have heard rumours this will take off soon  ... when/if I can find more info about that I'll share it on this forum.

    How long were you on them, which ones and what dosage?  This could be of help to others on here

    Take care of yourself, and PLEASE update us on how you get on

    • david_25160
      david_25160 jude65855

      Posted

      hey Jude! thanks for your message, I was on 20mg Simvastatin from 1989ish until 2014 when after a mild heart attack they suddenly put me on 40mgs Atorvastatin which by all accounts is not just double the original dose, it's also a more powerful statin. Will update as and when I find out more I promise smile
    • jude65855
      jude65855 david_25160

      Posted

      So presumably you were originally on it because of "high" cholesterol, for all those years and still had a heart attack?  Sort of proves the stuff isn't only dangerous, it's useless and is also an indication that maybe the argument that cholesterol has nothing to do with heart attacks in most people, has some validity.

      Was your cholesterol still high when you were on the lower dose statin? Or are you one of the unfortunate guinea pigs being prescribed it "just in case" with no evidence of high chol in the first place?   

       

    • david_25160
      david_25160 jude65855

      Posted

      yes Jude it makes you wonder if I have been a long term guinea pig does'nt it? I truely hope not! It started way back in 1984 my dad died of a heart attack, I'd recently lost an uncle, dads brother to the same thing, so my cholesterol was checked and found to be high, I was 29 years old then btw. various diets under hospital supervision did'nt help so the 1st statin was prescribed in 86 I believe, this kept my cholesterol hovering around the 5-6 mark for years, until last April, 2 minor heart attacks within hours, but I was thrombolised pretty quickly which broke up any clots. so after that in their infinite wisdom I was taken off the 20mg Simvastatin and put on 40 mgs Atorvastatin, which got my cholesterol down to an amazing 4.9 but they were monitoring the liver function thing and low and behold here I am now scared to death that I have some form of liver failure!
  • derek76
    derek76 david_25160

    Posted

    They say that the liver is very good a curing itself after damage from toxins.
    • david_25160
      david_25160 derek76

      Posted

      wow thanks for that derek, reassuring to know! although I as yet do'nt have a definitive answer to my problem, hopefully the ultrasound will give a clearer picture of the intricate workings of this marvellous organ.
  • RosemaryW
    RosemaryW david_25160

    Posted

    Hi David. So sorry to hear what you are going through. Good luck with the tests. Can I ask you what level of colesterol they considered as 'high' when they put you on statins in the first place and what level did it get down to? You will find as you follow this discussion that  the point that they advise statins has reduced over the years. However, I believe that GPs are not listening to us when we report bad reactions. Make sure that they have reported this to NICE- a yellow form I think. I'm sure my GP didn't.
  • lisa11194
    lisa11194 david_25160

    Posted

    David I can only agree with what the others have said ....you've taken the first step in the right direction by stopping the statins....my husband and I both took different statins over a number of years ..not knowing that our aches and pains and memory loss were caused by them...even after being... STATIN FREE...for 3 years we're not completely back to normal...and as you've found out....they didn't stop you from having a heart attack...our body needs cholesterol.....why else would it produce it....I wish you luck and hope that things turn out well for you wink
  • marco
    marco david_25160

    Posted

    Took statins for about 10 years most of that time on Simvastatin but when the muscle/joint pain became unbearable was switched to Atorvastatin. During this time blood tests for liver and kidney were apparently ok. About two years ago developed peripheral neuropathy and muscle wasting and now walking is difficult. There is evidence of a connection between statins and this condition and I stopped taking statins but my GP would still prescribe if I let him.

    Be warned, use the Yellow Card system of reporting side-effects..

     

    • derek76
      derek76 marco

      Posted

      Did you manage to Yellow Card it?

      When my wife asked a one time GP to do that after a severe side effect to a drug she refused saying it is a well know side effect!

    • marco
      marco derek76

      Posted

      so it's a well known side-effect makes it alright then. Some GPs are a disgace to their nprofession. You can Yellow Card online.
    • derek76
      derek76 marco

      Posted

      Have you tried and what response did you get?

      Not a yellow card situation but I commented to makers of Warfarin and Amiodarone on the lack of a warning of the need to reduce warfarin dosage when later starting Amiodarone and that the cardiology registrar and my GP were not aware of this. I had done some research and found the American packet inserts were specific on the combination.

      They each replied defensively and one phoned for more details then each sent questionnaires asking about other meds I was taking and wanted to contact my GP for my health details. I gave up at that point as they were avoiding answering my question. 

    • marco
      marco derek76

      Posted

      I have submitted my experience of certain drugs on the Yellow Card system but didn't expect and have never had a response. I would hope that the info would add to its database and if necessary raise issues of side-effects and change the side-effect info issued by the drug companies. Whether it does this is debatable. But if there is no patient feedback nothing will change.
  • james22226
    james22226 david_25160

    Posted

    You must take milk thistle evrey time you take ANY drug that interfers with yout liver. There are no side effects, except that it will also help type 2 diabetics amd lower your bad chloresterol. Take it now just to repair your liver. 250 mg tab every time you take any 'bad" meds, up to about 750 to 1000 mg a day.
    • david_25160
      david_25160 james22226

      Posted

      wow, thanks for that info james, i never knew that, shall order some today! cheesygrin
    • derek76
      derek76 david_25160

      Posted

      Plenty of Thistles that you can milk yourself in Scotland:-)

      If you search 'Webmd and thistle milk' there is a lot of information on it there. In the main saying that the benefits to use a Scottish term are Not Proven apart from with diabetics.

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