Lipid Lowering :: Atorvastatin Causes Muscle, Joints And Liver Problems
May 13, 2015
Was put on 80mg atorvastatin following a heart attack last October. Have had constant pain and muscle stiffness in both shoulders and cannot fully extend both arms. The cardiac nurse suggested I come off them for 2 weeks last xmas to see and ALL the pain went! After seeing the doctor he advised me to continue with Atorvastatin "and see". After one week I was in agony again. I reduced the dose to 40mg a month ago and it made no difference. Other side effects I have are twitchy eyelids, on and off loose stools and tiredness. I saw a different GP today as I cannot carry on like this. He has told me to stop Atorvastatin and has arranged for me to have an extensive blood test next Wednesday. He did say that there are risks with Atorvastatin re muscle and joint problems, liver etc. SO I will see what the tests say and how I am off the Atorvastatin.
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In the space of six weeks I have been put on two different types of statins. The first ones Atorvastatin, made my joints ache and I already suffer from osteoarthritis. I was then put on another type and my face swelled and I could not pass urine well. The doctor said to go back to the Atorvastatin but the chemical levels in my liver was high, the reason that I was taken off them in the first place. The doc said that it was ok! I have not taken any for a week now and I am just getting back to being able to walk! I am very confused and worried as my cholesterol is high. Having said this, I DO know why my levels are high, tis because I have not looked after myself for over a year due to having a lot of stress and eating rubbish. I am trying to look after myself now but I am very worried about the whole affair. I am 7 on the cholesterol scale
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I have been on atorvastatin for years, starting with 10 mg back in the '90s now up to 80 mg since I had a stent placed in my LAD in 2009. I am in my mid 60s but have always been very active, going to the gym, etc. the past 6 mos. I have increasingly suffered from severe back aches with it traveling down my buttocks down to my ankle. It is now so severe that it hurts to stand any length of time and walking in the grocery store bothers me as well. My PCP gave me muscle relaxers & pain meds which don't help at all. PT for a month hasn't helped either. Today I went to an orthopedist who suggests with permission from my cardiologist that I stop my statin for 3 weeks since all x-rays were negative. I am hoping this is the culprit bc the pain is debilitating and my summer has been limited to staying home.
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my Dr has prescribed me the GD-amlodipine atorvastatin Medicine and I have been taking this for more than a year now but I have noticed that whenever I skip it or wait for the refills, I have cough developed.
Now I don't have any medical history. He just prescribed me to prevent any future incidents looking at my family history.
I am not kind of a guy to depend on medicines on a daily basis but the DR suggests I will have to take this for the rest of my life.
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In November 2011 I had a heart attack despite never having had raised cholesterol. I now take a myriad of drugs that the hospital gave me one of which is ATORVASTATIN. I am now told that I am border line type 2 diabetic and that I should alter my lifestyle! I am normally a very fit, slim, recently retired 62 year old lady. I do not take sugar in beverages (use a leaf extract sweetener) I hardly ever eat biscuits or sweets as I prefer savoury flavours and I am busy most of the time (a little less now that I've been diagnosed with Neuropathic pain (ouch). People are astounded when I tell them that my blood tests are showing borderline diabetes and I am wondering how many other people have been given this borderline diagnosis since taking ATORVASTATIN.
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Just wondering how many people may be out there that have ruptured tendons after taking Atorvastatin.
I had an Acute Coronary syndrome with mild coronary artery disease back in January this year; I don't smoke, do plenty of exercise, drink in moderation, eat sensibly, not overweight, no hereditary disorders and so on, therefore was somewhat surprised at being rushed into hospital. Anyway ACS with mild coronary artery disease was the diagnosis.
I was put on a collection of drugs including Atorvastatin 80 mg. I was back on badminton and tennis courts within a month albeit was absolutely knackered.
Then end of March I rupture my left Achilles playing tennis; a friend who is a GP asked if I was on statins and I said yes he thinks that's what caused my tendon to go, GP at the surgery wasn't so sure but it does seem a coincidence that I have played for 30 years without any problems then as soon as I start medication I rupture something.
Obviously what has gone has gone, just worried about returning to the sport when the Achilles has healed - I am six months down the line now and it still hurts.
Yes I get aches and pains these got really bad when I was prescribed fluconazole which apparently should have reduced my statin dose at the time, but no stayed on the maximum dose!
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After a heart attack in May I was prescribed, amongst other things, 40 mgs of atorvastatin daily as a precaution. My consultant cut it down to 20mgs in September as cholesterol levels seemed fine and I have no further appointments to see the consultant. Latest blood test showed my cholesterol level at 5 which my GP said would be fine for most but, as I've had a heart attack, he'd like my level to be 4 and he's put me back on 40mgs of atorvastatin. He'll do another blood test in a month or two.
Obviously one heart attack was ample and I don't want another and my GP is great so generally trusting what he says but...was a bit upset to return to 40mgs.
Has anyone experienced up and down dosages with statins or have a view on my recent experience. It goes without saying that I do my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle, watch what I eat and all that jazz.
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I have High but controlled Blood Pressure, and my Dr Recently been put on this statin only 10mg for high cholesterol and already feeling some side affects, Muscle aches, Tiredness and feeling weak, so I've now stopped taking them as from to-day and after looking at loads of info and other reviews I feel that this is the right thing to do, But I do have a Question can these statins also suppress the Immune System ??
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I am a 65 female with a level of 4.6 I have angina which seems to be controlled. I was commenced on Atorvastatin 20 mg, 2 weeks ago, after 10 days of taking them I suddenly developed what seems to be sciatica which is very painful more so when sitting down.
has anyone had or heard if these can cause my problem.
(I have stopped taking them while I get an appointment with my GP which is in 2 weeks).
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i have been taken ezetrol for a long time now and have complained about muscle pains especially in my legs and as a runner it has restricted the amount of exercise i can do. I have had blood test and the enzymes seem to be ok. I have stopped taking them and the symptoms get better and i can run for longer but have restarted taking them. Also i have been told and am in the process of trying it out that the most effective amount to take is the first 10-20 mg after that the reduction is very limited and is not worth taking any higher dose. I was on 40mg and level was 4.6 am now on 20mg and level is 4.9 but the side effects have got slightly better. Overall i feel that these drugs have had a detrimental effect on my fitness
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My Cholesterol was 7.8 and I was put on Statins 3 years ago. Because they gave me pains in my legs and other areas I stopped them.
A year ago my Cholesterol was still high and I had changed doctors and was prescribed Atorvastatin 10 mg after 2 months my doctor sent me for blood tests and in a phone call when I was at work he told me that Atorvastatin had caused Liver damage. He said I should stop taking the tablets immediately, pity this advice was not put on my notes so that when I phoned for my blood results a week earlier the receptionist could inform me to stop Atorvastatin. She just said Doctor will be in touch via phone call next week
He referred me to a Liver Specialist.
I went to see Liver Specialist after having Liver Ultrasound. Fatty liver was diagnosed and Liver Specialist promptly put me back on Atorvastatin claiming this would help my fatty liver. I couldn't believe it but what could I do?
Local GP had advised me to have bloods done again after being on tablets for 2 months. When my results came back the Locum doctor I saw said "whoa your Liver is not happy" STOP the tablets and have a blood test in 2 weeks.
2 weeks later Liver levels are coming down so thats a good direction. Dilemma is I have to see my Liver Consultant 16 June 2015. Wish me luck!
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I was diagnosed homozygous C282Y in 2001 and have managed my HH successfully since with therapeutic venesection as a regular blood donation. I have to take statins after a recent heart attack and I'm concerned about their detrimental affect on my liver. Does anyone have experience and advice on this issue, please?
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After being on Simvastatin for 3 months I noticed that I had put on 1/2 stone in weight and my usual methods for keeping my weight down didn't work.
I mentioned it to the nurse at my review and she told me it wasn't the statin but just 'middle age spread'!
After a year on the drug I have put on a stone in weight and feeling fed up with this. My friend, who is a phamasist, says that weight gain is a common side effect of simvastatin but is not recorded by the drug company as a side effect.
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I am a healthy 49 yrs. old man and usually very active. I do not take any medicines besides Ramipril (Tritace) due to my high blood pressure. Unfortunately for many years I have rather high cholesterol level – 6.1 mmol/l total, 1.2 HDL and my doctor wants to put me on statins.
I am not a physician, but I have been working with information for many years so I did my homework and now I am absolutely confused!
The fact is that I have used many online cardiovascular risk calculators and I found a few rather odd things:
1. I have a probability of developing cardiovascular disease in next 10 years between 8.0 and 10 % despite my with high level of cholesterol. I can not explain this!
2. I was playing with the risk calculators putting different numbers and I have found, that even extremely high cholesterol level like 7 mmol/l just slightly increases the overall risk to 11% in next 10 years I can not explain this!
3. The most interesting thing is that even if I would manage to reduce my cholesterol numbers with statins to recommend level, my cardiovascular risk reduce very slightly!
So I have to take statins during very long period of time just in order to reduce the risk up to 7-8% instead of 8-11! Could you help me to understand where I am wrong?
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I am trying to do a bit of research behind why is it difficult to keep patients on a prescription of a statin drug.
I am aware of all the side-effects caused by the statins, but i would like to know the reasoning behind the choice to come off your prescribed statin or to try and change drug;
Is this because you feel your quality of life is lowered on a statin.
Is it lack of evidence behind the efficacy of a statin to lower cholesterol etc?
I am trying to find out if there is anything that could be done to convince patients to continue on their prescription of statins, or whether they would prefer to be offered an alternative medication.
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Just been prescribed Simvastatin 40mg for my cholesterol (which is 5.1). I also have raised BP and recently diagnosed diabetic; although neither is high and I am not overweight.
My question is: I am 60 with a 45 year old partner. We have a very active sex life and I am paranoid that if I start taking the Simvastatin it will ruin that part of our life.
Does any Simvastatin user have experience of it adversely affecting their sex life.
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all over my body started to itch like crazy. Worst if I take a little alcohol. I stopped taking it for about 2 weeks but it still is terribly itch on my hands, arms legs body and buttocks. I keep on scratching but no relief. I took some allergy meds (benadryl, claritin, prednisone 20 mg) it helped some but not much. What can I do to stop the itch. I took that because I have high cholesterol but not too overly high
On bad days my total cholesterol is 144
Triglyceride 223 > I eat a lot after Christmas (I can get like 120-140 sometimes)
HDL 35 > after Christmas (I can get 52-63)
LDL 64 >
Glucose 106
What can I do to make the itch go away. There are no blisters or anything. I am quite active, going to gym about 5 days a week for 2 hrs each. slim profile. 64kg on a 168 height. mid 40s. advise?
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I have taken Ezetrol for approximately 7 years having had considerable problems with statins and leg pain. 3 years ago I began to have sensations of heat and nerve pain in my legs . I was , a year later, sent to a neurologist but no determination of the cause was found. I also had a Doppler to assess the circulation, sent to a cardiologist who said it was normal. I thought the point of me seeing him was that the results were abnormal and were certainly very different from an earlier one at the time of the statins saga.I am now suffering pain in legs and the area of liver and a general malaise with some dizziness. This week I am to have a blood test to assess the liver function. I was never ill until the word Cholesterol came into my life and I have never been well since. There is plenty of information as time passes from Drs and other health care professionals who now seem prepared to stand and say that Cholesterol, statins and ezetimibe are not as they have been described to us. Cholesterol is necessary and statins and ezetimibe are questionable treatments.
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I understand that most Gps try to convince us that our cholesterol levels should be below 5. Does anyone/ has anyone come across facts/ studies that give a clearer idea what range is healthy/safe?
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Hi I'm female 60 years old recently put on meds for high BP. I also have Fibromyalgia I mention that because it seems whatever tablets I'm given for BP (,Losartan being the 4th tablet) my joint and muscle pain become some bad I struggle to even do the housework and where I used to walk the dog's for at least an hour I can only manage 15 mins also I could walk round the shops for hour's now can't wait to get my weekly food shop done and get back home . My BP when I take it at home is anything from 116/71 ,to 133/77 on the meds , I have stopped taking Losartan for 2 week's now and BP is 136/76 to 149/74 when I go to the docs the readings are always high 162/84 for example. I really can't cope with the pain when taking these tablet's especially in my knees has anyone else experienced this , is there even a tablet for BP that doesn't make you feel ill .I have stopped these but not told the doc yet as can't face being put on another tablet I am feeling so well at the moment I take my BP daily it's usually 140 something over 82 is that really too high for my age.
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I got diagnosed with ibs earlier this year, at the beginning it was dreadful. Their was no clear signs for me because one day the food that was giving me pains wouldn't the day after so it was all confusing. I tried healthy eating but that just made me worse so now I eat like I normally would but just lesser portions and I feel alright most of the time. Still haven't got used to my bowel movements yet, sometimes I'm really uncomfortable but this happens about twice a week now which I can handle if I take my buscopan regularly. Since I got diagnosed, my muscles and joints have been really weird and I read some information about ibs and the different symptoms and it did say about weakness of joints and muscles. I tore the ligaments in my big toe in both feet 3 times without even doing anything to them. Then I lost my balance in the shower because of my ankle pain and I sprained my wrist and that just feels weak all the time. Then Saturday last week, I was out with mates and my leg just gave way from under me, I was only standing there and it felt like it was cramp in my knee. Got rushed to the hospital and they sent me to the fracture clinic on Thursday, thank god it was just torn ligaments in my knee but the pain was so bad. I was just wondering has anyone else had an increase in muscle/joint/bone weakness since being diagnosed with ibs? I really need to find someone else to relate to with this because I'm only 20 years of age and I don't think my bones and stuff should be this weak.
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