Statins

djbjsy

Newbie
Messages
4
I am a newbie today.
I am type 2 controlled by diet.
I have been reading the boards and frequently see problems linked with statins.
I have been taking Simvastatin for some years. Am I likely to get side effects?
I am not aware of any at the moment, I think!
What are the muscle problems that are mentioned?
Many thanks
David
 

sugarless sue

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If you have had no side effects by now then you are unlikly to get them.Just the same as some get sick with metformin and others don't.However be aware of these side effects so that if anything does occur like muscle pain you can tell your doc.

Oh BTW welcome to the forum and happy browsing!
 

jeannieb

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
hi everyone how are you all doing? went to dn told her about all aches in my muscles especially across shoulders,now i do have arthritis and get the normal aches and pains but left shoulder does really ache anyway she advised me to see doc which i did today and he has taken me off statins for 2 wks to see how much simvastatin does affect my muscles.Will have to wait and see ,lost another 2pounds so pleased with "me"and all going well, so far so good not as apprehensive as i was at first but lot of that is down to you lot TY TY TY Jeannieb
 

totsy

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hi there,
glad things are working out now,i too was on simvastatin and felt like id done a few rounds with mike tyson, my g.p changed me to ezetimibe which work on the intestines instead of the liver my cholesterol is now 4 and ive not had one side effect so good luck :wink:
take care
totsy
 

jeannieb

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
thanks totsy for your reply will wait and see in the next week or so oh by the way welcome to the forum Jeannieb
 

Graham55

Well-Known Member
Messages
101
When I was given Statins my feet almost locked up. I could hardly stand without a great deal of pain.
No more I refused to take them.
 

chris1960

Member
Messages
11
i also reused to take them had them changed twice and gave me insomnia as soon as i stopped taking them a few days later i was back to normal
 

ROX7

Newbie
Messages
3
My doctor advised last week i should go to my GP and get prescribed statins, because my cholestrol is high. but i am well controlled, excercise and have a healthy diet. Should I worry? i dont know whether to take them or not but i am worried if i don't, something bad will happen... :?
 

SilverAndEbony

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
I've been taking simvastatin for a few years with no problems. I'm doing what sugarless sue suggested and will go to the docs if have any muscle pain - apart from when I've done something stupid like gardening :wink:
 

sugarless sue

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Don't forget,this is a side effect,not everyone gets them!Some people take Simvastatin quite happily and never get muscle pain.It's just something to be aware of if you do have otherwise unexplained muscle pain.
 

ally5555

Well-Known Member
Messages
850
Hi Ian

Statins are a difficult one alot do not get on with them but I have seen loads who do. Problem is you only ever hear about those who have problems!

I am not sure where that staement came from but alot of dietitians are using a sort of porfolio approach and overall you can achieve a 30% reduction in cholesterol.

What you need is

inc fibre
exercise
30g almonds
ditch the junk !
and have 2.5g plant sterol per day. You can take this in any food - yogurt , milk , spread etc. From the evidence taking more does not have any extra benefit

It does work altho the spreads etc can be expensive.

I think it is worth a try for 3-6 months rather than going down the statin route and there arent any side effects.
 

lowcarbfan

Member
Messages
8
My partner is Type 2 controlled by diet too.
If you low-carb then Cholesterol can be high(er). The overall reading is made up with good stuff - HDL and the bad stuff - LDL. Low-carbing increases the HDL. Get a test that gives a reading of your HDL and LDL, that will give you a better indication. (Your LDL needs to be below 3.5). The website http://www.heartuk.org.uk is good for information on this.
 

jeannieb

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
hi everyone sorry not been about due to decluttering my house for our move to spain which is oct 28th.last time i was on i had come off simvastatin i am now onPravastatin and it seems to be working well i get odd ache now and then but not like before so thats good for me hope you are all healthy and not too many problems jeannie
 

Dennis

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Oh dear Jeannie - your local PCT won't be happy about that! Pravastatin is made by a rival drug company to the one that is providing the funding that the DoH are using to pay GPs the bonus they get for putting as many patients as possible on Simvastatin!!!
 

jeannieb

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67
well dennis what do you think i'm supposed to do now they are working for me and thats what matters at the moment so where do i go from here
 

Dennis

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Hi Jeannie,
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear - If they are working for you then stick with them. I gather that some of the alternatives do have less side effects than simvastatin.
 

bluebird

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132
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I came off Simvastatin in March because I was experiencing muscle pain. It may not have been simvastatin that was the cause but I needed to go through a process of elimination. I e-mailed the manufacturers to see how long simvastatin stays in the body. Their response was a letter asking for contact info of my doctor. I e-mailed back a week ago saying that I only required an answer to my question and am not thinking of blaming them for the muscle pain. No further response as yet.

I still have the muscle pain if that is what it is, cannot make up my mind whether it's muscles,bones or ligaments only know that it's painful and wears you down when it's day after day. Visit to DN on Monday and will ask her if she can shed any light on the problem.

Cheers Val
 

sixfoot

Well-Known Member
Messages
989
Similar story here was put on Simvastatin and after a while started getting pains in joints and achey didnt go away so they changed now on Lipitor. No symptoms yet anyway.

Dave P