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Pain in calves

emzy40

emzy40

Member
Messages
22
Location
West Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago with type 2. Diet controlled at the moment.
On diagnosis they put me on statins and said I might get pain in my legs and within the first week if was too happen but its very rare.
Nothing for over a month but now im constantly suffering with cramps in my legs or the feeling im getting cramp.
Has anyone else been like this

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It is not "rare"!
Statins are the drug from hell for me and thousands of others. Not just calf pain... I ached all over, was continuously exhausted, nauseous, couldn't eat so lived on water. Frequent visits to various GPs and even one to A&E was put down to my age! This went on for three months. When I had my diabetic review my consultant was delighted by my 2.3 cholesterol level and low HbA1c. I eventually went back to see another GP who was horrified by my cholesterol level and stopped the simva. Within three weeks all symptoms has disappeared. He then prescribed Ezitrol which I've subsequently found out to be equally bad so I've stopped that too.
This is a very emotive topic on here, as I've no doubt you will discover, but I know what happened to me and will never take statins again.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/healt...rrible-side-effects-as-prescription-escalates
 
Thanks I will read the link in a minute. Sorry to hear how hellish its been for yourself :-(.
If I aint got cramp it then feels like I have lumps stuck behind both knees.
I think now I need to go back.
On a night as soon as I move my foot I get cramping in my calves

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Must admit I've been on them for a year now and I have certainly noticed my legs are not as strong as they used to be. My last review with doc proved my cholesterol was OK but I may as well keep taking them "just in case". I'm seriously considering stopping them now and see how I feel.


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emzy40 said:
Thanks I will read the link in a minute. Sorry to hear how hellish its been for yourself :-(.
If I aint got cramp it then feels like I have lumps stuck behind both knees.
I think now I need to go back.
On a night as soon as I move my foot I get cramping in my calves

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Click to expand...
Thanks, I learned the hard way! Yes, that's how it feels and I'm sorry you're having problems too. The link is short and well worth a read.
Take care
Geri :)
 
mo1905 said:
Must admit I've been on them for a year now and I have certainly noticed my legs are not as strong as they used to be. My last review with doc proved my cholesterol was OK but I may as well keep taking them "just in case". I'm seriously considering stopping them now and see how I feel.


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Hmmm.."just in case" ! :doctor:. Am going to behave myself, don't want my posts deleted by new mod....old ones yes, but not new one ;):p
 
mo1905 said:
Must admit I've been on them for a year now and I have certainly noticed my legs are not as strong as they used to be. My last review with doc proved my cholesterol was OK but I may as well keep taking them "just in case". I'm seriously considering stopping them now and see how I feel.


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I'm with you on this one. The uncomfortable legs, lumps behind the knees.
I see my RAConsultant on Thursday and will see if he feels,it could be aggravating my RA.



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Alanp35 said:
I'm with you on this one. The uncomfortable legs, lumps behind the knees.
I see my RAConsultant on Thursday and will see if he feels,it could be aggravating my RA.



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Don't bank on him saying yes Alan. Do a bit of reading via Google and go prepared ;)
I hope your appointment goes well.
Geri ;)
 
Beachbag said:
Don't bank on him saying yes Alan. Do a bit of reading via Google and go prepared ;)
I hope your appointment goes well.
Geri ;)
Click to expand...
Thx Geri
Will be good though to look him in the eye and know that he is not being truthful.
I always go armed with current information (my GPHates this) and phrase questions around that info. They know full well that I know
And is great to see them squirm even a little.
He is in for an easy ride on Thursday.



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emzy40 said:
I was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago with type 2. Diet controlled at the moment.
On diagnosis they put me on statins and said I might get pain in my legs and within the first week if was too happen but its very rare.
Nothing for over a month but now im constantly suffering with cramps in my legs or the feeling im getting cramp.
Has anyone else been like this

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Click to expand...

Hello,
Calves pain is one of crucial pain of body from which you cannot even stand properly. Here you can do one thing do massage with balm on calves and if possible do skipping exercise for 30 min's frequently and see the result...
 
Just a suggestion.

Quite a few people have had problems with statins.

Many haven't realised that the problems are due to the statins.

A lot of people who have tied their problems in to taking statins have only realised this after they have stopped taking them.

Personal experience - I was on Simvastatin but stopped when I was reduced to a zombie having to sleep in the middle of the day just to keep going. I stopped, and the improvement was almost instant - like a cloud being lifted.

I changed to Pravastatin and thought I didn't have any side effects.

However after I had been on them for a couple of years I stopped so that I could get a 'baseline' reading on how my body managed without statins.

[I feel that this is always a good idea if you are on long term medication which has a cumulative effect and where short term withdrawal is unlikely to have a critical effect on your health.]

I didn't feel different but my partner told me she noticed a big difference. I was much more relaxed and easy going. Apparently I had been short tempered and irritable but she very nobly hadn't mentioned it because if I had to stay on the statins for the rest of my life then there was nothing I could do about it.

So as long as the use of statins doesn't seem to be 'mission critical' in the short term, I would suggest talking to your HCPs about taking a holiday from them for say 3 months (followed by a blood test) every 2 or 3 years just to see how you manage without them.

By most reports this should be long enough to identify and side effects which are statin related.

My main beef is that I'm pretty sure that adverse reactions to statins - including people ceasing taking them - are very rarely reported back to the NHS and drug companies, so the statistics we see about side effects are almost certainly understated.

Cheers

LGC
 
Hi, just have to add something hereabout statins. My husband can relate to everything you are all saying and has tried them al except two. One that works in the stomach which docs are reluctant to give because hey hoist too expensive ! And another called CRESTOR or it's other name ROSUVASTATIN .
When my husband was diagnosed type 2 just over the limit 2 weeks ago, we saw a diabetic doctor . Due to my husbands history of statins he has been taking a break from them for the last 7 weeks. His levels of cholesterol went down 3 points. This idiot said he had to take a statin because of his medical history. I asked about ROSUVASTATIN because I had done my research on those available. He said that was the one he wanted him to take, it had the least side effects and it was the most expensive, we did not kiss his feet and thank him ! He would take it himself if he needed it. So Ian was given a prescription like it was a medal how lucky are you to be getting it.
Came home read the leaflet.
Doctor has to keep a close eye on you if you have diabetes and we were told to come back in 6 month es, oh better make that 3 months doc had said, thats not a close eye.
Read further, can cause diabetes in 1 in 10 and, 1 in a 100, or if you have it make it worse by raising blood sugar levels.!!!!! Need that like a hole in the head.
So seeing doc different one in morning. Watch this space.
Muffy1



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P Are people who problems have them more likely to comment?. I don't know, when I took them I had no problems.
Here's some more reading.
The first is a study into statin side effects. This is very recently published . One of the researchers was Ben Goldacre so I think that it will have been done with utmost probity.
Here is the abstract http://cpr.sagepub.com/content/21/4/464
and here an NHS interpretation of the paper :
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/03March/Pages/Statins-side-effects-are-minimal-study-argues.aspx

On his blog though Ben Goldacre explains his position more (he very much believes in the power of the nocebo effect) and also explains that he thinks that the analysis should be done again with fuller data.
http://www.badscience.net/2014/03/s...ws-and-why-trials-transparency-matters-again/
 
phoenix said:
Are people who problems have them more likely to comment?.
(snip)
On his blog though Ben Goldacre explains his position more (he very much believes in the power of the nocebo effect)
Click to expand...
I think the drug companies and NICE work on the assumption that if you don't report side effects you don't have them, so non-reporting by satisfied patients doesn't affect the statistics.
My doctor didn't tell me about side effects, and I wasn't aware of the bad publicity, so both he and I can be sure I genuinely had severe and frightening side effects with Simvastatin. However, in my notes he says only that I suffered from muscle pain, as apparently loss of cognitive acuity isn't a recognised side effect. And of course if everyone takes this approach then it will never be recognised ...
Kate
 
kesun said:
I think the drug companies and NICE work on the assumption that if you don't report side effects you don't have them, so non-reporting by satisfied patients doesn't affect the statistics.
My doctor didn't tell me about side effects, and I wasn't aware of the bad publicity, so both he and I can be sure I genuinely had severe and frightening side effects with Simvastatin. However, in my notes he says only that I suffered from muscle pain, as apparently loss of cognitive acuity isn't a recognised side effect. And of course if everyone takes this approach then it will never be recognised ...
Kate
Click to expand...
I think that you should read the NHS summary, it seems to me very fair and objective showing what it found and what it didn't.
" the researchers were more cautious in their conclusion.
It has not comprehensively looked at all side effects, and it gives no indication of the severity or frequency of side effects experienced.
The media also did not report how small the benefits of statins were found to be in this study. This is an important consideration for people who want to make an informed choice when weighing up the risks and benefits of statin treatment"

And bid EDIT, calf pain can be related to other causes so it's really important to discuss it with your GP

The side panel about the nocebo effect is also relevant.

the nocebo effect is its evil twin.(ie the opposite of the placebo effect)
People can develop what they believe are side effects, even though they have been given a dummy treatment.
Ben Goldacre, one of the authors of the study in question, says that if you want to see the nocebo effect in action, when sitting on a sofa with friends suddenly ask: “does this things have fleas in it?”.

There really aren't simple answers to seemingly simple questions.

AND big EDIT, probably the most important thing.
Calf pain can be caused by other things, it is really important that you speak with your GP about it.
 
phoenix said:
I think that you should read the NHS summary, it seems to me very fair and objective showing what it found and what it didn't.
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I have read the NHS summary, and I wasn't criticising it. Nor was I denying that the nocebo effect may exist. All I was trying to do was (1) address your concern that the experience of patients without side effects isn't taken into account in studies and (2) give anecdotal evidence (my own experience) that not all reported side effects are due to the nocebo effect.
 
There are lots of different types of statins and you will always be started off on the cheapest. You know your body best and if they do not suit you request them to be changed.


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varlitang said:
There are lots of different types of statins and you will always be started off on the cheapest. You know your body best and if they do not suit you request them to be changed.
Click to expand...
Also, don't take the chemist up on his helpful offer to issue you with three months' supply until you're sure you're on the right medicine for you. I did, and since I had a bad reaction and had to stop after three days, I was left with eleven and a half weeks' supply of Simvastatin, all but one packet with packaging intact, that had to be destroyed by the chemist, as apparently the rule is that the risk of using a packet that's been taken home by a patient is unacceptably high. Such a dreadful waste.

Kate
 
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