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Simvastatin.

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PlymouthDave

Active Member
Messages
38
Having read todays article in the Daily Mail, I am now concerned. I take 80mg daily and have done since I was diagnosed 3 years ago. I put down my memory loss to being 50 and sometimes my joints sound like a concerto for castanets!!!
Has anyone else had similar problems?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1084328/High-doses-statins-cause-high-rates-effects-like-muscle-pain-weakness.html
 
I had intense leg muscle pains with 10 mg simvastatin. I wasn't warned, but I read letters in "Balance" reporting the problem. It took about a week for the pains to clear. I then consulted the Dr. who confirmed that side effect. The manufacturers claim 1 in 10,000 have problems. A Readers Digest article by a Dr. reported 1 in 10 :!:

Like you, I thought the problem was getting older. Also, I have been taking a glucosamine/condroitin tablet daily since I had tennis elbow. It went away, & has not recurred. A month or so ago I had knee pain, & got out my walking stick & stopped playing tennis. I realised that I had run out of glucosamine. I bought a further supply & I am fit & active again, within 10 days, & out of pain.

When I was approaching 50, I was 14 st, unfit & resigned to getting older & declining. I decided I had to start exercising, & as I had played tennis as a youngster, joined a club. 20 years on I am still playing a good game & need no concessions for age. As for mental problems, I went to adult education at 65 for keyboard lessons & to join a choir. Now I'm church organist & often lead the singing, as well as frequent preaching.

I'm not boasting - keep active at whatever you enjoy, & don't put ANYTHING down to getting older.
 

Dave.

I had problems with Simvastatin some years ago. I saw my GP and discussed this. Result was I was taken off them and put on Lipitor (Atorvastatin). From that day to this I have had no side effects whatsoever. Not that I can remember anyway....... :wink:

If you are concerned about the side effects of ANY medications, discuss with your GP. There are usually plenty of alternatives.
 
Hi Dave,

I read your article/post with interest reson being is that my Dad began taking Statins 3 years ago and they have made his life an absolute misery since...

He has experienced both physical problems (as if he has had a stroke) and mental illness including severe depression, extreme paranoia, loss of speech etc... and this is man who successfully founded his own business etc.

Under the name John Gilbertson - Its the last post...

Please note I understand the side effects are not the same for everybody and I am not trying to "wage a war" against the drug.. But having seen someone I care about deteriorate so dramatically..

Thanks

Mike
 
I've just come of statins after talking to my doctor. I feel 100% better and my family say its like having the old me back.
 
I took simvastatin for a couple of years. I tried another one whose name I forget. Both caused me to have severe pain in my feet and legs which of course for a long time I didn't connect with the pills. I was finding it increasingly difficult to walk far due to the pain and then a liver function test showed a rise in enzymes which was unacceptable. Within a few weeks of stopping them I felt so much better and 18 months later my liver function test was back to normal.
 
I also took rosuvastatin Crestor which is supposed to be the better one of the bunch ! After just three months , I felt dreadful , aching legs and an upset stomach . I then noticed that my short term memory recall had become really poor and wondered if it was just my age ( 62) After a chat with my Doctor , I came off Crestor completely and now, almost three months later, feel human again :lol:
 
Hi All
I have read this topic with interest and first looked at it 3 weeks ago, i then went to see my doctor about it and discussed with him the possibility of coming off them to see if any of my symptoms improved, he agreed to let me try
I was having some short term memory loss, (see almost forgot why i was typing here!!!), aching calf muscles even when only walking at a reasonable pace, frequent leg cramps during the night etc.
well have been off the simvastatin for 10 days now and still having most of the symptoms so i would expect it takes a little while for your body to adjust???, realisticaly how long should i wait to see any improvement ( if any ),
i want to give it a real chance and dont want to kid myself about anything just to justify any supposed results too soon,
my blood control has been much improved over the last 6 months and i am monitoring this also to make sure that doesn't change while i trial my time without simvastatin
best of luck all and looking forward to your opinions
Crofty
 
Hi, it took my liver over a year to recover and the feet and leg pain gradually went after about a month.
 

The half life of Simvastatin is 3 hours which means that a 80 mg dose would be totally out of the system in a max of 2 days.

However the effects on the muscles could take a while to improve.
 
I worked in a place where there were more than a couple of people connected to it who were diagnosed with MND having never met anyone with this condition before. One was asked how long he'd taken statins for as there may be a link. When my doctor suggested I should go on statins as I have a very high cholesterol level I mentioned a possibility of MND and ALS (another muscle wasting fatal disease) and said I would rather risk the heart attack than get one of those diseases. His response? well, you have clearly researched this and I can see your point of view. Search links between statins and MND or ALS as make up your own minds!
 
Grrrr...Simvastatin 40mg!

I have been on 40Mg Symvastatin for two packs worth (28 tablets each) and finally quit them in exasperation last night.

Perpetually grumpy, perpetually sleepy, and brain stuffed with cotton wool. :evil:

This has been building up slowly - I have had several bouts of what felt like a viral infection where I was knackered and depressed and just wanted to stay in bed.

Over the last couple of weeks the mental slowness has become markedly worse. The tiredness has also become worse - yesterday I had to lie down for an hour in the middle of the day and doze/sleep to be able to get through the afternoon.

I have also had a lot of muscle ache but since I have been doing some heavy physical work I attributed it to that. The stiffness took longer to clear than it used to but then each year I get a bit older.

Now, having not taken an overnight statin, I feel as though an enormous weight has been lifted.
My mind is much less clouded, and although I am still tired I feel much better in myself and more positive.

I am seeing my doctor in about a week and a half, so I will stay off the pills until then to confirm that the improvement is consistent, then talk to him about alteratives.

I think there must be a threshold on the dosage, because for my first six months or so after diagnosis I was on 20Mg Symvastatin on the 'standard treatment' guidelines.
My GP then told me that new research had shown that although the risk of a heart attack for a Type 2 was the same as that for a non-diabetic who had already had a heart attack the causes were not the same and therfore identical treatment might not be as appropriate as originally thought.
On that basis I decided to come off the statins.
During my time on 20Mg dose I didn't see the same side effects.

My last cholesterol test showed an increase, so I was put on 40Mg by my new GP (have moved to a different part of the country).
This has really knocked me out.

Cheers

LGC
 
After I was diagnosed Oct 09 I was given simvastation to control my cholestrol It worked.
In Feb I went to Drs complaining of very sore calf muscles, poor memory, nausea, the wild sh' ites, and dizzy spells and suggested it may be the statins. He told me not to read too much on the internet. I had pain in knees and hips and couldnt walk more than 200 M without stopping . It was suggested I probably had arterial disease and was sent to specialists. The results came back negative, I was then told I must have spinal stenosis- a narrowing of the canal that carried the spinal cord. CT Scan and specialst declared nothing amiss. I went back yesterday and the Dr suggested with a triumphant look on his face....! "I wonder if it could be the statins"

I could have throttled him. 6 months down the line and he must have finally read the same websites I had :lol:

Off statins now for a month to see what happens and hoping to have my old self back soon. Will let you know.
 
I put down a lot of my problems (memory loss, lack of concentration, huge problems with hip pain, leg pains, shoulder pain)-I thought it was all statins. I was never told about any side effects, and I never took the time to read the instructions. As of April 2010 all statins had to include extra side effects warning on memory and depression and sex drive.

Mine apparently wasn't statins-but fibromyalgia. I still have to see a neurologist (tomorrow) to see if it is proxiaml neuropathy ot other type of neuropathy). I'm still not convinced on any of this, I believe now that the combined effects of the human insulin and statins have crippled my brain and given me unbearable pain. But at the end of the day, nobody is ever going to listen, such as NICE, Drug Companies unless it can be proved. GP's and consultants get paid to give certain drugs to people. I don't think I will ever see in my life time a truthful answer about the drugs that we all have to take, I think the drug companies have a huge grip over the NHS.

I stopped taking statins on Christmas Day 2009, but my pains and brain etc have not improved. I am off glargine now, but my pains and brain have not improved.

I have reported my side effects as a listing on MHRA yellow card for every drug that I have managed to get off, because I believe that something chemical/medical has caused these reactions in my brain and pain, but I know that unless I and others do this, our future generations will go through all the pain without any gain, until the drug companies are forced to recognise that the chemicals from the drugs in our bodies are giving us problems.

I wish I could help and say that for definite that statins were the cause of my health problems, but I think all the chemicals going in to my blood stream are causing me problems.

I hope that you may find something that is a definite cause, and that you will take the time to report the side effects to the yellow card scheme on MHRA.
 

I can sympathise with you. I went on simvastatin and soon after experienced calf and leg pain when they were increaased to 40mg. My Dr insisted it was nothing to do with SV but after a while I refused to take them. That was 9 months ago. I have had CT scans on my back, untrasound for arterial sclerosis on my legs and all have proved negative. My legs are slightly better now but I still have difficulty walking any more than about 50 ft. My short term memory and concentration levels are also shot to hell. I cant remember names or what I did yesterday, I'm in pain if I walk.

Simvastatin has ruined my life and no one seems to be prepared to admit there is a problem with these drugs.
 
I'm glad I found this. Although I was diagnosed some time ago, I've only just been put onto Simvastatin. Reading the information leaflet inside the packet, warning bells rang as I remember the devastating effect one particular drug had on my father. When I see "memory loss" given as a "side effect", even if it is not guaranteed to occur, I think of my poor old dad and consider that I get a lot of pleasure out of my longer term memory and I earn a living, such as it is, from the fruits of my short term memory, so the idea of a drug passing my lips that could affect all that is abhorrent to me.

When I consider that the pharmacist was so concerned about my use of Metformin yet neglected to say anything about the other drug... well, the Simvastatin can stay in its box until I have a more in depth explanation from the doctor, and it may stay there indefinitely! Find me alternatives if he will, but the list of side effects given is enough to put me off taking this. :x
 
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