Raised cholesterol and the Statin effect

Crazy h. I take 20mg Atorvastatin and have had absolutely no side effects whatsoever.

Flakesdayout

I have looked but cannot find many comments about Bempedoic acid as an alternative to Statins. In the past, due to familial raised cholesterol, I have tried Atorvastatin and Rosuvastatin which caused muscle and joint pain. I am currently taking Ezetimibe which has the same effect alongside upset stomach. As my cholesterol levels have not improved much HDL 1.68 LDL 3.84 giving a total of 6.13 I have now been prescribed Bempedoic acid on its own. Has anyone experience of this and does it work? I have read there can be unpleasant side effects from this so am now quite worried. Having been told by one GP that familial raised cholesterol cannot be successfully lowered by diet alone I wonder what may come next if this doesnt work.

I found that I would have random bruises appear without knocking myself. Managed to lower my cholesterol by changing my diet. The Gp did another blood test and took me off the statins. Strangely enough the random bruising stopped . Made me wonder if there is a connection with the statins?.
If you have any doubts or questions either ask your pharmacist or gp

I've been taking Atorvastatin or years. No side effects, and my cholesterol is down.

Anyone prescribed a statin should try it. If you suffer side effects, cross that bridge when you come to it.

Been on Atorvastatin 20 mg for several years for familial high cholesterol amd have had no side effects.

Thankyou for all the comments regarding Atorvastin.
I wanted personal experiences of taking the medication, rather than read the leaflet. To cover themselves, the pharmaceutical companies list every side-effect under the sun. And me, being me, will let my imagination do the rest, Hence my question to users of the medication.

I've posted this before - for almost 3 years I have taken 20mg of Atorvastatin daily (at bedtime) and have had absolutely no side effects. It has brought my cholesterol down. When I started taking it I thought my cup of tea tasted slightly different.

RinseAndRepeat

www.heartuk.org.uk/getting-treatment/bempedoic-acid

Thank you for the link. I am now waiting to hear from my Haematologist to see if I can take Bempedoic Acid as it can affect red and white blood cell count and cause anaemia. Apparently Cyclosporin (which I was on) can raise your cholesterol levels (strange what you find out when you start digging with some help from AI)

Was on astorvastatin for a while with no side effect. Then gp increased dosage and then I had terrible pain in my ankles it felt like torn tendon to the point I couldn’t walk. Gp told me to stop taking them. Over six months later the pain has almost stopped. Won’t be taking them again

Flakesdayout

I have looked but cannot find many comments about Bempedoic acid as an alternative to Statins. In the past, due to familial raised cholesterol, I have tried Atorvastatin and Rosuvastatin which caused muscle and joint pain. I am currently taking Ezetimibe which has the same effect alongside upset stomach. As my cholesterol levels have not improved much HDL 1.68 LDL 3.84 giving a total of 6.13 I have now been prescribed Bempedoic acid on its own. Has anyone experience of this and does it work? I have read there can be unpleasant side effects from this so am now quite worried. Having been told by one GP that familial raised cholesterol cannot be successfully lowered by diet alone I wonder what may come next if this doesnt work.

My husband has inclisirin injections

Glutes not gluten

I was prescribed Atorvastatin 20mg at the beginning of the year. Within a very short time the muscles in my gluten and thighs began to ache. Soon I was struggling to walk and taking pain killers at night. Doc transferred me to rosuvastatin 5mg. Can't say there has been a great improvement still need painkillers to sleep and find walking very painful. Cholesterol is fine.

I’m on Atorvastatin,no side effects at all. May have been to start with, can’t really remember, but 5 years now and all good. Cholesterol level good too.

This year, not being aware I should have an annual check I attended for standard BP, Cholesterol, Iron, weight checks. All well and GP said even had Cholesterol been high I would not be given any statins as over 75. Perhaps there is a problem with them being effective.

i was prescribed simvastatin then atorvastatin a few years ago.
however neither of them should be taken with erithromycin (which i'm on long term) so I stopped them.
i had all sorts of aches and pains when taking them which completely stopped when I stopped taking them.
my cholesterol isn't that high so I recently refused to have statins again. thankfully my gp was ok about this.
however i've taken odourless garlic for several years which is for heart health (which high cholesterol threatens) and i've been told that black garlic tablets are good for cholesterol lowering - obtainable from Holland and Barratt or amazon.

crazyH

Today is my first day on statins - Atorvastin 20mg daily. Can someone who is on it, please tell me what are the side effects ?

Why not just read the leaflet that come with the tablets?

I had aches and pains in my legs when I first started taking Atorvastin but that was several years ago and it has eased off now.

For the OP, and crazyH, see the comments from Lucky, V3ra, and Ziplok, which are most relevant.

Just about every med you can take has an associated leaflet with reported possible side effects, read THOSE and you'll see that just about anything is possible, however unlikely they seem?! Doubtless somewhere in the annals of reported side-effects would be someone who fell off their bike (they got dizzy) and someone who burned some toast (got forgetful). Etc etc. (NB - for anyone who thinks that's not true, go research the reported reactions to Covid jabs . . . .).

I've been on Atorvastatin for several years (switched from Simvastatin, can't recall why!) and there are no especial side effects, but that's for ME, the reaction for you or Dorothy 3 doors down (?!) are likely to be quite different, so there's no point in asking.

This type of thread keeps popping up on GN, and it's pointless, our bodies are all different.

hi AuntClarasDoorknobs - initially I had muscle pain in legs. It passed, and now, years later, on a higher dose. Seems to work - I am now 10 years older than the longest living member of my family all of whom were gone by 60 with heart attacks.

I was prescribed Atorvastin 20mg following pulmonary embolism a year ago and slightly high cholesterol - very reluctant to go on it but thankfully no side effects at all and cholesterol lowered to acceptable range.

Flakesdayout I've been taking Bempedoic acid 180mg for over a year. Cholesterol lowered and no side effects - that I'm aware of.

I have a phone call next week about my cholesterol after having a blood test and it was high. I expect it will be to put me on statins but I am put off by the side effects and nervous to take them. I have been cutting down and it is still going up. I am not over weight, do lots of walking and active

Lots of people swear by plant sterols as an alternative to the dreaded statins. Just make sure you get the best ones (95% phytosterol) — genuinely clean, with no "nasties" such as fillers, binders, etc. But of course discuss this with your GP first, if you’re unsure about it.

My cholesterol was borderline, and doc said just eat better. Nurse stuck me on Atorvastatin. I did not notice at first, but mild, general aches and pains began to mount, and the brain fog. I read that these were common side effects. Doc would not change brands, and refused a retest.

I stopped taking and went to plant sterols - no raise in cholesterol and aches gone, brain instantly clearer.

www.heartuk.org.uk/getting-treatment/bempedoic-acid

My experience of taking statins( Atorvastatin 20mg) for 8 months is that the muscle cramps coincided with me having a glass of wine! ( or two) So I’ve cut down very considerably, have 1 glass about three times a week and drink lots of water at the same time and the problem seems to have gone away.