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My husband was on Lipitor and started having neuropathies in his hands (in hindsight, after dose, all through night). They changed him to Pravastatin, same, but milder. He's on crestor w/ no side effects. Initially, practitioner thought it was his neck. But, we knew it wasn't. Surprised no one had told her of that side effect?? And, why didn't she know of the possibility? Anyways, cuz of his hx he has to be on them.
I was prescribed statins for my high cholesterol. I took it for a number of years.
During this time I acquired peripheral neuroma and the stabbing/electrical/bee sting pains associated with diabetes. There were times when the pains would last a minute or more.
Wow. This is exactly how I described it to my primary care doctor a few weeks ago. My legs started hurting. Not terribly so, but enough to be bothersome. I teach elementary students and by the end of the school day I felt very uncomfortable. I would notice my legs hurting once I'd sit too and wasn't moving. After about two weeks I started noticing it lower in my legs and around the armpits and I thought, "This isn't right". At the minimum they felt strained. I told the doctor it felt like someone was pulling my leg hairs, or that bees were stinging me. I said it was almost like shin splints on the inside of my thighs. She sent me to the neurologist and he did some checks in the office. He then said, "How long have you been taking statins?" He asked if I exercised and I honestly told him I had been going to the gym for about a year and had actually increased my regimen. My legs would feel better initially after working out and then get worse later. He had blood tests done and called the next day to tell me to stop taking the statin cholesterol medicine right away. They did a creatine kinase test which showed my CK level at 571. The standard range is 26-174. On March 11 it was down to 461.
I am not offering any medical advice, just want to chime-in with some information.
One of the side effects of Statins is nerve damage. When nerves are damaged.....many times it take quite a while for them to fully heal. Unfortunately, sometimes damaged nerves do not fully heal......they remain damaged to one extent or another for the rest of your life.
I was born with a hereditary form of peripheral neuropathy. I can tell you that much of what people are describing.....burning, tingling, weakness, numbness.....is exactly what I feel in my very damaged nerves.
Long-term treatment with statins may have adverse effects: affection of muscles or peripheral nervous system. The frequency of affection of the peripheral nervous system has not been thoroughly investigated; our previous study showed the signs of peripheral nerve damage in the results of EMG assessment.
I'm glad I found this thread. Some of it reads as if it were written about me. I think it's time to do some research and start exploring the possibility of getting off of the statin.
I'm on Pravastatin 80mg - have been on it for over 3 years - and I feel like I'm one step away from a wheelchair. Can't use a cane or walker because it makes my hands hurt worse when I push on them trying to hold on to the walker or cane.
I am not offering any medical advice, just want to chime-in with some information.
One of the side effects of Statins is nerve damage. When nerves are damaged.....many times it take quite a while for them to fully heal. Unfortunately, sometimes damaged nerves do not fully heal......they remain damaged to one extent or another for the rest of your life.
I was born with a hereditary form of peripheral neuropathy. I can tell you that much of what people are describing.....burning, tingling, weakness, numbness.....is exactly what I feel in my very damaged nerves.
Long-term treatment with statins may have adverse effects: affection of muscles or peripheral nervous system. The frequency of affection of the peripheral nervous system has not been thoroughly investigated; our previous study showed the signs of peripheral nerve damage in the results of EMG assessment.
My creatine kinase level done on Friday showed a decreased level, now down to almost 400. My primary doctor followed up with the neurologist and I will get the kinase test done in about 6 weeks. My understanding is if it's still high and I'm still having muscle twitching, and the inflammed/strained feeling in my legs (sometimes underarms, hands or wrists), then he may want to do an EMG or nerve conduction study.
My muscles feel really good if I'm moving. For the most part they haven't been bothering me at all during the course of the day. It's not until later in the day, or when I stop and sit at night, that I start noticing it.
My creatine kinase level done on Friday showed a decreased level, now down to almost 400. My primary doctor followed up with the neurologist and I will get the kinase test done in about 6 weeks. My understanding is if it's still high and I'm still having muscle twitching, and the inflammed/strained feeling in my legs (sometimes underarms, hands or wrists), then he may want to do an EMG or nerve conduction study.
My muscles feel really good if I'm moving. For the most part they haven't been bothering me at all during the course of the day. It's not until later in the day, or when I stop and sit at night, that I start noticing it.
Glad to hear that you are doing better. Have you checked into taking niacin to improve your cholesterol levels...many people do very good with niacin.
To make a long story short....I believe that Statins put my father in the grave 10-15 years prematurely. He had a very sudden onset of symptoms...that I now know are many times very common with taking Statins.
Here is a website that has hundreds of comments from people who took Statins.....some good, many sound very troubling. I believe the percentage of people who get serious side effects from Statins is a LOT higher than the reported rate:
Anyone taking a statin should consider also taking Coenzyme Q10. It's available over the counter. The dose is 200 mg per day.
I am not one for taking supplements, but there is considerable evidence that Co Q10 can prevent some of the muscle effects of statins. I take simvastatin and Co Q10 and have no muscle problems or pain.
My doctor put me on a statin a few years back but I started to have leg pains and decided to stop taking them. Instead I started taking Krill and Flaxseed oil and it reduced my LDL while increasing my HDL to levels that were acceptable. I have continued with Krill only because I don't feel like taking another capsule but get the higher dose one now.
It wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor about a trial on these to see if they prove beneficial to you. I did it without consulting my doctor but don't want to recommend to someone else to do that since I don't know how bad your cholesterol is.
I haven't been able to lower my cholesterol with diet--it was the same before the diet as it was after the diet. I also tried oatmeal every day because of a presentation I went to where some people in the audience said it had worked for them. Not for me though.
Statins caused too much pain and I have heard horror stories even from nurses.
I was really scared and have never tried it again.
One time I tried red yeast rice capsules for cholesterol and took Coenzyme Q10 along with it. That actually worked. My cholesterol came out normal and I had no pain either. The main problem is that the red yeast and the Q10 are kind of expensive. Maybe I could take a prescription statin as long as I took the Q10 with it. The red yeast is actually a natural statin and the advantage of taking the prescription statin would be that health insurance covers it. I always tell people on statins to take the Q10--too many sad stories from people who have taken statins alone.
I'm glad I found this discussion as I have let the "a little bit high" cholesterol problem go on for too long.
I have just started a new blog about my experiences with Simvastatin. I am trying to build up a large enough database that eventually the blog becomes a main resource for others. And, I want to become a huge thorn in the side of Teva Pharmaceuticals and the billionaire George Soros, who is a controlling share holder in the company. The purpose? To force not only the pharmaceuticals, but the Supreme Court, to be responsible for the damage being caused to users of statins.
Currently the Supreme Court has ruled that pharmaceutical companies who are makers of generic drugs cannot be held liable for damages, therefore patients who have been harmed cannot sue. This is wrong and needs to be challenged.
So far my tenacity has gotten me as far as receiving contact from one of Teva's research doctors, who requested permission to review my medical records. However, this was back in October 2013 and they have since dropped the ball.
Please take the time to visit and post your story. Lets get the word out in one place instead of having to search all over the internet. Simvastatin Nightmares
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