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Statin side-effects?

G

Greenpatches

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Prediabetic here and due to have another blood rest next week after the first four months ago flagged up raised blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels. I refused the offered statins as I was concerned about the possibility of them exacerbating leg cramps I’ve had on and off all my adult life. Just about got them under control now , fewer of those ghastly episodes being woken out of sleep, so the last thing I want is to rock the boat. But…I now know both brothers are on them . Is it inevitable I’ll need to accept them ? What are folk’s experiences of side-effects? What are the pros sbd cons of the different statins (or other cholesterol lowing meds?
 
Should also say I’ve lost a load of weight over the summer , am fairly active and forever out and about. You hear sone horror stories about formerly fit folk being rendered immobile. Any truth in that either?
 
I have always feared the side effects of statins. However a few years ago my cholesterol level reached a level I was concerned about. I did my home work and found a cholesterol lowering med (not a statin) called Ezetimibe. I started that and I also drink a Benecol drink everyday. This combination has bought my levels to a much more acceptable level which my GP is happy with, so am I as I have no side effects from Ezetimibe.
 
Like @Rachox I also take Ezetimibe - just half a normal dose and can tolerate this plus it has reduced my cholesterol. For me statins caused bad muscle pains, which didn't make me immobile, but did stop me doing any proper exercise.
 
Thanks both. Some useful things to think about there. I’ve heard about Ezetimibe before. First things first, see what the blood test results show, then raise the subject if statins are indicated.
 
Oh just reread your posts. I have heard that weight loss can skew cholesterol results, well the fat has to go somewhere?
 
Ah…skew negatively, do you mean? I was told that losing weight generally indicates that your cholesterol level is dropping.
 
Greenpatches said:
Ah…skew negatively, do you mean? I was told that losing weight generally indicates that your cholesterol level is dropping.
Click to expand...
Sorry i wasn’t clear. Yes cholesterol levels can be raised initially after weight loss, but then drop.
 
I put off starting statins for years because of fear of side effects, probably influenced by what I'd read online, and some aversion to being on a pill for the rest of my life. When I did start it was absolutely fine, no muscle or joint issues whatsoever, still working out hard and getting stronger. I did notice a slight uptick in my insulin requirements around the time I started, but that settled down after a few weeks, and could also have been just my usual seasonal change. I wish I'd started sooner. The grim facts are that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death of diabetics, and we are at up to 4 times the risk of stroke and twice as likely to die after a heart attack compared to non diabetics.
https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/533

Bear in mind that Atorvastatin is the number one most prescribed drug in the UK, there are many millions of people on it, so even a tiny percentage of those experiencing side effects is a large number. The millions who take them without any issue are less likely to talk about it then those with a complaint. There's also the 'nocebo' effect, where expectation of negative side effects tends to produce them. People prescribed statins are also often at an age/condition where various aches and pains start showing up, and after reading stories from others it's easy to attribute those to the pill. There was also an interesting study a few years back that compared statins to placebo and found that 90% of people's reported side effects were also elicited by the placebo.

Prevention – SAMSON

The SAMSON trial empowered individuals to test for themselves whether taking a statin caused them side effects.
www.bhf.org.uk
 
Yes had a bit of a read about it, Hopefully if there was an initial rise, it’ll have levelled out by now.
 
Think the dose suggested by the pharmacist was very low, so hopefully (any) side effects would be minimal. Yes the whole nocebo thing and peoples’ suggestibility is a complication. I’ve tolerated beta blockers for over five years now and most of the side effects people report haven’t happened for me (bar the chest ‘discomfort’ which set bells ringing and led to the prediabetes diagnosis).
 
I was put on Rosuvastatin. I resisted for a year or so as my Triglycerides were very low, but my LDL’s were high. My Dr wasn’t pushy and took the time to explain why going on statins was a good thing. He also explained the possible side effects.

Initially I was put on 10 mg. This low dose brought my cholesterol down into the normal range. I had a bit of brain fog, but no other side effects. My lipid apoB results were in range . They did test my lipoprotein (a) or Lp (a). This was found to be very high. Both apoB and Lp (a) levels are a good indicator as to your risk of CVD and stroke. To bring my Lp (a) levels down he’s trying to see if increasing my statins will work. So I am now on 20mg Rosuvastatin . After this increase I did suffer from an annoying low grade headache for a week and a fuzzy head, but this has since gone. No other symptoms. My blood sugars have not increased. If the statins shows signs of reducing my Lp(a) levels then he’s upping my Rosuvastatin to 40mg. I’m expecting some side effects at 40mg, but for me if I can live with the possible side effects then I will, as my high Lp(a) levels pose a significant risk for CVD and stroke.
 
shelley262 said:
Like @Rachox I also take Ezetimibe - just half a normal dose and can tolerate this plus it has reduced my cholesterol. For me statins caused bad muscle pains, which didn't make me immobile, but did stop me doing any proper exercise.
Click to expand...
I’m interested to know, did you go not Ezetimibe straight away or did you try out statins first? I’d thought that the formers iquite a recent med and that statins are usually the first meds to be recommended.
 
I was so resistant to taking statins, my GP actually marked my record ‘intolerant of statins’. We both know that’s mentally intolerant not physically!
 
I found that different statins gave me different side effects;
Simvastatin gave both me and a close friend muscle pain. In his case he was OK after the doe was reduced, though not me. It also gave me skin rash problems. After the dermatologist told me that was the cause, I came off them.
Several years later I went onto Atorvastatin, but that gave me a noticeable brain fog, so I stopped takin those too.
My LDL is considered high but My HDL is also high (i.e. good) and my Triglycerides are low (also good). Both of those improved when I started eating Low Carb for remission of my T2D.

My GP no longer nags me about my LDL being 'high' since I'm in T2D remission with 'normal' (not even pre-diabetic) blood glucose and Diabetes is considered to be a bigger cardio risk than LDL.
 
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