I had been taking Simvastatin for some months when my right calf muscle sort of "cracked" while I was out walking one day. I had to come home on one leg. I had previously read the bit of paper in the pillbox and it said to contact the surgery if this happened. Over a period of a month off the statin the leg improved.
DN said she had another statin she would like me to try which I did and the same thing happened as before. It didn't take so long about it this time but it did take another month off my legs before it got better.
I had made a pact with DN that I would never lie to her or stop taking pills without her agreement ............so.
She prescribed a third type saying that absolutely no-one had ever complained about these ones. Over a period of a few weeks I got more and more stiff in all my joints. When I next saw DN my shoulders were glowing and I couldn't move my head at all and my arms had lost much mobility. She panicked, took a blood test and sent me to the GP who stopped the pills and sent me to the physiotherapist.
The fourth statin caused an ongoing gastro enteritis like problem. I only had to look at food at the end of it. Doctor's again and bottles of stuff.
DN has now formally recorded in my medical notes that I am "Intolerant of statins".
I only wrote out this detail because elsewhere I have come across the inference that I stopped taking pills without the knowledge of my GP. Rest assured, he knows.
"Professor Collins has said previously that evidence shows statins are “very well tolerated” by patients, with a small increase in diabetes and one in 10,000 patients suffering muscle weakness."
I Yellow Carded Simvastatin.
I would be prepared to bet a small amount of money (with no expectation of losing) that most of the people who cease or change statins due to side effects are not reported up by their health team, and so there are no no accurate statistics.
/QUOTE]
I wouldn't dare take that bet - even though it is only a 'small amount of money' - the unfavourable odds would would for sure send me out on a very thin branch - and I would hate to crash
annelise
What are the odds of two of us (one in 10,000) living in the same street? That's when my suspicions were really raised.
Actually the odds are less than one in ten thousand, depending on the number of people who take statins. If there are a hundred people in your street, and one in ten of the whole population are on statins, then the odds of another affected statin user being on *your* street is 1 in 1000.I think that those odds come out at 1 in 100,000,000 if Professor Collins is correct. Have you considered buying a lottery ticket?
Best
Dillinger
With 10 mg simv I developed debilitating muscle pains, that I attributed to age & diabetes, until I read 2 letters in "Balance." I stopped taking them & within a week I was free from the pains. Dr approved my stopping, & did not suggest alternative statins.I just used to think it was extremely unfortunate to be that one in 10,000 before I read a little more about it. Also a friend of mine was taken into hospital with what was thought to be a stroke but was diagnosed as a statin seizure.
What are the odds of two of us (one in 10,000) living in the same street? That's when my suspicions were really raised.
It took hubby a couple of months before he was rid of the pain so it can take time.With 10 mg simv I developed debilitating muscle pains, that I attributed to age & diabetes, until I read 2 letters in "Balance." I stopped taking them & within a week I was free from the pains. Dr approved my stopping, & did not suggest alternative statins.
Whe my wife developed muscle pains, we were assured that with a rarity of 1 in 10,000, the likelihood of otherwise unrelated husband & wife developing such pains was negligible. They did clear, but in the last few months, leg muscle pains have become intense, & stopping the simv for 6 weeks may have given a little relief, but not significant. Are such long term effects possible after (virtually?) no adverse effect? And after 10 years of taking them, how long would the effects take to wear off?
The current simvastatin leaflet has the warning:
Contact your Dr immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness....
Muscle pain heads the list of rare side effects, RARE occurring in 1 to 10 users in 10,000.
There would appear to be NO common side effects - less than 1 in 1,000.
My wife has been taking them for 10 years - since a heart attack - Her total chol was before 4 with 20 mg simv, but the consultant doubled it because he believes chol should ideally be below 3.
At this rate we must have the entire UK population of statin side effect sufferers on this forum... :-/
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
So far we have only had 39 voters on the poll so I think that no-one cares who has side effects.At this rate we must have the entire UK population of statin side effect sufferers on this forum... :-/
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Interesting thought actually.Or maybe there is something about being diabetic (carb intolerant) that predisposes diabetics to statin side effects.
Just a thought.
Or maybe there is something about being diabetic (carb intolerant) that predisposes diabetics to statin side effects.
Just a thought.
Or maybe it is that diabetics regularly are prescribed statins.Or maybe there is something about being diabetic (carb intolerant) that predisposes diabetics to statin side effects.
Just a thought.
Yes, but the interesting point is that if diabetics are more likely to be affected, that would help to explain why the high incidence of side effects we anecdotally appear to see in our own community, isn't reflected at all in the official side effect stats. Not the whole reason but maybe part of the reason.Or maybe it is that diabetics regularly are prescribed statins.
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