statins

I get my chocolate fix by making a chocolate chia pudding each day with flax, chia, oats, cocoa, maple syrup, blueberries, banana, stewed apple with cinnamon. It’s very filling and curbs your appetite, too. I take plant sterols each day. Have fat free tea bread each day spread with Benecol buttery or banana bread made with Benecol and add lots of walnuts to both of them. I haven’t had a cholesterol test since I changed my diet but I have lost weight without really trying and I’m not getting much exercise either because of my knee.

I avoid statins and yet know many whom are on them who swear by them. Try to avoid tablets if I can find anyway round it. My chloresterol is too high and I know it's my diet. I need to not have a pastry and chocolate each day, I am trying hard as it made my weight shoot up by indulging.

I’m sure that, when I worked at a surgery years ago,if someone was put on statins they were told to see a doctor straight away if they suffered any muscle pain. I wonder if they still mention it?

Shelflife

Susytish , I was taking statins as a precaution. First ones gave me heavy and painful legs and I developed a very nasty nerve pain in one foot. Went back to surgery and was prescribed a different statin, those gave me a very frightening sensation in my other foot! Kept waking in the night with my foot in a condition I can only describe as a combination of cramp and paralysis!!! I never expected any side effects . I am now taking
Ezetimibe , not a statin but does the same job . Been on them a few months now and so far so good! There is an alternative to statins! Do speak to
your GP and don't pull any punches. I took myself off both statins and made it very clear I was not taking any more. Make that appointment and good luck. I would be interested in how you get on.

I had the same on statins, and am now getting it again on bempedoic acid. Ezetimibe gave me diarrhoea.

I have had a heart attack, stent, pacemaker so have to make sure my cholesterol stays low, which by normal standards it is, but it is higher than the standard for someone with my problems.

I plan to ask for referral to a lipid clinic to look at other options. Can't continue like this .. numbness so bad I am unsafe when walking.

dalrymple23

My leg pains started about four years ago after having being prescribed Rosuvostatin. No doctor suggested that there might be a connection and it is only fairly recently that there has been publicity about the side effects. I have been changed to Ezetimibe but no improvement yet

Doctor's still deny that there is a connection. What I am unable to establish is WHY statins have these side effects and, if they have been taken for several years, is the muscular damage irreversible?

Does anybody have any views/insight into this? Please.

The researchers suggest that in most people, muscle cells can tolerate this calcium leak. However, in people already susceptible due to their genes or lifestyle, the leak caused by statins may overwhelm the muscle cells, giving rise to muscle pain and weakness

Several people I know say they feel depressed and irritable on them when cholesterol is too low. The brain needs fat to function.

That was years ago …..

A locum doctor decided I needed statins.
Started them, and my feet blew up like a balloon.
I rang the surgery and was advised to stop them immediately. I’ve had a few blood tests since then. Cholesterol still a bit high, and advised to watch my diet .

I think I am on the verge of being prescribed statins, my cholesterol level was a fraction higher than normal but as my bp and everything else was fine I was given a few months to think about it. I have another blood test next week and then an appointment to discuss the outcome. I’m 73, a little overweight but not massively, I exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet. i don’t drink or smoke.I don’t take any other medication and although not anti statins I really don’t want to take something every day for the rest of my life, especially if it could affect my body. If I did start but didn’t get on with them is it possible just to simply stop, or would I have to gradually cut down?

My leg pains started about four years ago after having being prescribed Rosuvostatin. No doctor suggested that there might be a connection and it is only fairly recently that there has been publicity about the side effects. I have been changed to Ezetimibe but no improvement yet

Doctor's still deny that there is a connection. What I am unable to establish is WHY statins have these side effects and, if they have been taken for several years, is the muscular damage irreversible?

Does anybody have any views/insight into this? Please.

Read "A Statin Nation" by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick.

Exactly the same thing happened to me. I am now taking Ezetimibe and have had no side effects. I see Dragonfly46 has posted the same thing.

Please don't suffer; ask him to give you an alternative.

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both my O H and myself were on statins for years , tried different ones because of pain , brain fog, and eventually raised blood sugar. we both stopped them, blood sugar returned to normal, I told GP I'd never take any more...some people seem to be ok with them others are not.

I also had problems with statins so the doctor prescribed Ezetimbe and I am fine.

The nerve pain on my foot was bad!One day I could scarcely put my foot to the floor. After that I stopped taking them , waited a month to see if there was improvement - there was! I then went back to the surgery. It took another month for my foot to fully recover. I know so many people who are fine with statins , including my 2 siblings , so I was surprised at the side effects. I urge the OP to go back to the GP and ask for and alternative to a statin - there is one.
Ezetimibe may be more expensive that a statin so not given initially.

If you haven't told your doctor, I think you need to. I have several friends who have experienced various issues, including facial nerve pain. I know the GP of one of them changed her prescription and she has been OK since then.

Susytish , I was taking statins as a precaution. First ones gave me heavy and painful legs and I developed a very nasty nerve pain in one foot. Went back to surgery and was prescribed a different statin, those gave me a very frightening sensation in my other foot! Kept waking in the night with my foot in a condition I can only describe as a combination of cramp and paralysis!!! I never expected any side effects . I am now taking
Ezetimibe , not a statin but does the same job . Been on them a few months now and so far so good! There is an alternative to statins! Do speak to
your GP and don't pull any punches. I took myself off both statins and made it very clear I was not taking any more. Make that appointment and good luck. I would be interested in how you get on.

Does anyone have experience of sinus pain and sore throat after starting statins?

Statins gave me heavy nosebleeds so I stopped taking them. My cholesterol level was 7. I started benecol drinks and plant sterols. I had my cholesterol checked last week and it was 5.6. Not ideal but better. I shall keep doing what I'm doing.

Or changing to a different brand, there are several.
My husband was experiencing the leg pains and also (as we realised after he'd been on the new ones a few weeks) he'd been feeling mildly depressed and his mood lifted.

Ask your GP- you may need your dose changing or a different prescription.