Side effects of statins.

I’m also on atorvastin I was given mine because I was having high blood pressure in lockdown watching the bbc all day but my Gp also said because I’ve have a higher risk than most ppl with heart disease on both sides of my family I was under the impression that once you on them you can’t stop taking them I’m sure that’s what the doctor said at hospital but I was half out of it at the time when they were stopping all my medication as I’d been rushed in with a bad reaction to some other pills 💊

As a retired GP I find it insulting to read ' most GPs are clueless about side effects from the array of drugs they prescribe'. GPs may have to look things up sometimes which is perfectly acceptable as there is too much to remember. We learn a lot about drugs , their interactions and side effects.

mags0412

I think most GP's are pretty clueless about side effects from the array of drugs the prescribe.

Interesting view. I think that most prescribers are clued up about side effects.

But everyone has their own opinion.

I was prescribed statins last year after high cholesterol diagnosis. I took for three months but became depressed and anxious. Apparently statins can affect other drugs I was taking so I stopped the statins and joined the gym.

It's not true that GPs are paid to prescribe statins. They get paid for bringing down cholesterol levels, which isn't the same thing. If patients can bring down their levels by diet and lifestyle changes, they still get paid.

A couple of years ago I was told by the nurse at a health review that my cholesterol was”slightly higher than we’d like” and that the doctor had recommended I take statins. My husband has a drawerful of the things and I’m sure they have affected him in some of the ways mentioned in this thread. So I said no thanks, I’ll try to do something about it myself first. I agreed to go on a healthy diet course, and started taking plant sterols.
Six months later all was well.
GP practices get money from the government for prescribing sterols. It’s much needed money, I know, in these times - I have a GP dil. I just wish the suggestion to try myself had come from the doctor first.

vampirequeen

I started to take statins a few months ago and have not side effects.

I couldn't understand why I'd been put on them because my cholesterol number was 4.1 which was in the norms. It turns out that they now separate the number again into two types of cholesterol....lets call them good and bad. My good cholesterol was OK but my bad cholesterol was 2.4 and it's better if it's under 2.

Maybe that's a similar reason to why others have been offered statins when their numbers seem to be OK.

The figure they look at is the total cholesterol/HDL (good) ratio.

I have to see the nurse next week about my high cholesterol it’s 5.8 I don’t fancy the tablets. I’m going to see what she suggests. My DH takes simavastin, and is very forgetful, always resting his eyes 🤣 and suffers a lot of aches and pains. Difficult to know what to do for the best.

I was offered choice if statins or life changes to get under control. As I am on lots other medications I decided to try to change diet ect. Assuming my body doesn’t naturally make lots of cholesterol…my check is in 3 moths .
So has anyone had any luck with plant sterols?

I started to take statins a few months ago and have not side effects.

I couldn't understand why I'd been put on them because my cholesterol number was 4.1 which was in the norms. It turns out that they now separate the number again into two types of cholesterol....lets call them good and bad. My good cholesterol was OK but my bad cholesterol was 2.4 and it's better if it's under 2.

Maybe that's a similar reason to why others have been offered statins when their numbers seem to be OK.

Stella14

Something that is rarely noted is that there is no evidence of benefit for statins in women! All of the research has been done on men and due to hormonal differences etc, you can’t simply extrapolate the results to women.

That's not true.

openheart.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001900

I was first prescribed statins 15 years ago but suffered depression (I was on the verge of tears all the time) and muscle pain. My GP tried two further types but still I experienced the same side effects and she referred me to the hospital where I was prescribed Rosuvastatin. I think my GP was more relieved than I was when I went back to her for a repeat prescription as I had not experienced any side effects with it.

If you’d experiencing difficulties with statins I would ask your GP to prescribe a different one, I only got the right one on the fourth attempt. A friend of mine was advised to take statins but didn’t because she’d heard about the side effects. It was only when she suffered a mini stroke that she started on them without any problems.

I can't take Statins and it seems to be a familial thing as one of my family was actually hospitalised after taking them. After trying a few different ones, I refused to taken them as the pain was awful. I'd sooner live a shorter, better quality life thank you. I was eventually prescribed something that isn't a statin but has helped my cholesterol levels. I am happy with that.

I think most GP's are pretty clueless about side effects from the array of drugs the prescribe. Also, we are individuals, not text book cases and respond differently. I tried just about every statin on the market and they all made me violently sick with the runs too. Each time I'd dread being a guinea pig for a new one - advised because I have diabetes too, and the docs want us to have a lower than recommended cholesterol level owing to higher risk. Finally was able to tolerate one, Rosuvastatin but only at a very low dose of 5 mgs which I've been taking for 6 years, but as more meds have been added due to age, auto-immune illnesses, etc, I'm keen to ditch the lot. So many side effects now and unable to work out which is causing what.

I was prescribed statins last year although my cholesterol level was only 5.1 but only took two as I suffered from severe stomach problems. Since then I have modified my diet and cut out high fat food and hope this will remedy the problem.

Something that is rarely noted is that there is no evidence of benefit for statins in women! All of the research has been done on men and due to hormonal differences etc, you can’t simply extrapolate the results to women.

I've been on statins now for about five years, and have cramps, sleep problems but worst of all, after having perfect sight for 69yrs, developed cataracts, which I was told, was a side affect of the statins. Wish I'd been told this by my GP in the first place. Want to stop taking them but have been advised not to. However the cramps and no sleep are driving me mad. Had one cataract done, now waiting for the second one. Should I come off them?

I take my statin at night as prescribed but when I get up in a morning my legs are hurting. I tried to make an appointment for next week at my surgery and after 20 questions was told that I can only make an appointment on the day. So now I will have to ring first thing Monday morning and will no doubt be 10th in the queue and by the time it gets to me all the appointments will have gone.

I'm on statins and have pains in my ankles and hands,also severe stomach problems. I put it down to being 70. I'd be frightened to stop taking them as mum died of a heart attack aged 67.

I've been on 20mg of Pravastatin for several years. I started to get a lot of muscular leg pain but my doctor put it down to my bad knee but it's not only on that side. I read recently about this muscular leg pain side effect. I have prescription only co-codamol tablets but I only take them when it's bad as they are very strong and only take one. I will mention this next time I go because I don't want to suddenly stop taking the statins. I don't have any heart problems and non in my family.

I have been taking statins for 30 years now but stick to a lower dose, despite medical advice,because I find the higher dosage recommended gives me such painful rheumatic type pain it just isn’t worth it for me. I can cope with the lower dose and it does lower my cholesterol to a certain extent. I have tried different versions but the one I am on now is best for me. All my family had high cholesterol and they all died from heart attacks so I don’t see I have much choice. We are all different and we must all judge what suits us, with the help of a good GP , hopefully.

I've had no problems with being on statins for several years now. And my cholesterol is well under control.
It seems they suit some people better than others.
I take Atorvastatin. 10mg.

I won't take Statins - they made my late mother ill, and make me feel so unwell.

I have no heart disease history, my cholesterol is low, so I'll plod on without medicating for it.🙂

I literally couldn’t get out of bed in the morning after taking statins. Every part of my body ached. It wore off during the day until the bedtime dose when it all started again.

I had never suffered from aches and pains and I still don’t, six years after stopping them.

I don’t have a cholesterol problem, but even if I did I think I’d rather feel well for a few years less.

I’m on statins and suffer terribly with severe debilitating cramp. It can be so bad in thigh or calf, I have been known to rush out of a restaurant etc as suddenly attacked.
My family has a strong history of strokes and heart attacks so I want to continue, but possibly a change of statin might help.