Statin Safety
 

Myself, husband, and mother are taking Rosuvastatin for high cholestrol. My grandmother passed away from renal failure due to medication for her high blood pressure. I am concerned about the side effects of the statins. My husband is concerned that his egfr number has declined.
Just wondering if anyone had any adverse effects from taking statins.

Every year you have a blood test when you take statins to see if you get any of the unlikely side effects. I’ve been taking them for 20 years with no problems. My cardiologist favorite is Atorvastatin.

Been taking them for 10 years wife a little less. She had muscular pain on the first one and so she switched to another and has been fine.

We have thorough blood tests every 6 months to make sure all is well and so far it has done its job

I have been taking Simvastatin (Zocor) for more than 20 years with no problems. It reduced my cholesterol to a normal level within a few months of starting the drug.

I have been taking a statin drug for over 30 years. I first was on Pravachol then Crestor. No problems, no strokes and no heart attacks. I have outlived all my male ancestors.

I am also on Atorvastatin and get blood test every 6 months with great results.

I question my doctor about leg cramps or muscular pain after I stop taking it for 4 months.
It didn't seem to be any different so I'm back taking it again.

My doctor told me he is also on Atorvastatin.

Had a horrible experience with Statins. Took months to get the poison out of my system and feel normal.

If you are not getting an Advanced screen the numbers from the test are garbage. Watch Dr Berg on YouTube. The wife had 300 reading but on advanced screen was normal. It’s the only way to get the important numbers that matter. Good luck

Husband suffered renal artery aneurysm at age 42 that killed one kidney. This was thought to be due to undetected high blood pressure, so he was immediately put on blood pressure drugs.. He also has high cholesterol that is kept in check by Atorvastatin which he has been using for over 30 years. Blood tests reveal no loss so far of function of remaining kidney.

Pravastatin 30+ years. Still here!

Simvastatin for over 20 years with no issues other than it worked to get my cholesterol under control.

To the OP---please ignore that post and listen to the other 8 posts and most importantly your own physician. What was posted is the biggest pile of manure that I've seen in a while.

PS: "Dr. Berg" is a quack with a garbage website from which he sells all kinds of crap.

I was taking Simvastatin some 15 years ago. Made me feel like I had just gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. Doc switched me over to Rosuvastatin: no more aching body and the Cholesterol is fine.

Rosuvastatin is one of the most studied statin drugs. Very effective and very safe, per my 80 yo cardiologist, whose been at it a long time

Been on it for several years no issues

My first doctor had me on 20 mg Atorvastatin at first.
I got sick to my stomach the first couple times I took it.

I call my doc and she said cut the pills in half and it worked.
Now when I order the Atorvastatin, I order the 10mg dose.

Dang,

I take 80 mg of Atorvastatin daily. I also suffer from myocardial bridging which at times makes you feel like you are having a heart attack. The genetics on Mom's side suck big time!

Same for me. Taking over 20 years. Blood test every 6 months.

Thirty-four years on statins
 

Every five years or so I switch brands because I would have muscle aches. All my levels are where they are suppose to be. Works for me.

Taking them for 30 years, no problems.

Side effects from statins
 

I’m no doctor but I believe they are looking for statin effects on liver not on the kidneys. Are you taking ibuprofen? People don’t realize that OTC meds such as Tylenol are known to cause liver problems when taken in high doses and ibuprofen is known for kidney issues. Also look for OTC meds that contain acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen that you may not realize is in the product.

Dr increased Atorvastatin from the 20 mg I had been taking for over 10 years to 40mg daily. Within 2 weeks my muscles started wasting away. No pain, just weaker and weaker every day. When I couldn't get up from a chair one day due to muscle weakness I called the Dr. Was immediately taken off Atorvastatin for 6 months. It is an uncommon side effect, no pain, just muscle wasting.it has taken over 3 months to get back to almost normal strength. In 3 more months I'll go back on the lower dose Atorvastatin or try a low dose of another statin. I had never heard of statins causing this rare condition. Statins are good, just be aware of any changes and contact your doctor and discuss changes with them. I say again, this is rare and I will go back on Statins, just a lower dose.

I cannot take statins. Red yeast rice has brought down my cholesterol. You can get it on Amazon THRIVE is the one I like.

I don't take statins because, instead, I take the highest quality fish oil. All statins, like all meds, have side effects, whether or not we notice them; as we age, chemical effects from any source, including meds, are more and more something to question exposure to. Remember...we are one of the first generations to reach advanced age with chronic health issues being altered/maintained for decades by medications; at what point will the side effects outweigh the benefits?. High quality oil, which has no side effects, prevents the oxidation of cholesterol, so that the particles do not become charged - i.e.
'sticky'; and the particles, therefore, don't bunch up and create plaques; prevention of which is the reason for statins. Non-oxidized cholesterol particles merely float along, like balloons through a room. (If the balloons, however, were rubbed and made staticky, then they would stick together and create blockages in the room; the same as happens with oxidized cholesterol particles in our blood vessels). The quality of our cholesterol (non-oxidized is the goal) is more important than the amount of it. Dietary choices to naturally keep cholesterol at a healthier level is another thing to do.

I’ve had high cholesterol all my life, but when it hit 300 I figured maybe I should do something. Didn’t want statins. for 3 months I tried diet and supplements. Got rid of butter and cheese in the house; took a tablespoon of olive oil with high phenols dailyand took supplement Hpf Cholestrene. Cholesterol dropped 80 points in 3 months and one more point in the following 3 months. I’m happy with 225. My arteries are clear.

Muscle pain or soreness. Switched to every other day for my statin, soreness better and decrease in medication had no adverse effect on cholesterol levels. 20 years on the stuff.

Love to know where you got that ridiculous "explanation" of cholesterol pathogenesis. "Oxidation of the cholesterol molecule so it does not get charged"----give me a break. Let me guess----some article or claim made by someone who retails fish oil? And this is supposed to prevent the uptake of LDL by vascular endothelium????? Sounds more like drinking the kool-aid than treating hyperlipidemia.

Try CoQ10 supplement.
Works super duper on soreness.
(that's a technical term)

Your physician who knows all of your medical history and is the person you have chosen to manage your personal medical care has prescribed a statin for you because he/she feels that it would benefit your well-being. As a retired cardiology nurse, PLEASE listen to your own physician instead of a nonmedical person or an MD who writes magazine articles or has a podcast. If you are unsure about.taking a statin, talk to your doctor, not to some random people on the internet. I once had two patients who had rooms across the hall from each other in the hospital. Both were middle aged men who had each had their second heart attack within the first 6 months following their first heart attack. What did they have in common? BOTH had quit taking the medication prescribed by their cardiologists because they read somewhere that the meds could be harmful. I said to both: And now you have luckily survived your second heart attack, please listen to your own doctor this time!
LISTEN to your doctor and talk to THEM!!!

Great to have medical professionals giving good advise on here

There are a LOT of statins on the market. Some are inexpensive, and some are very expensive. Your doctor should have blood tests done on you every year. That said, trust your doctor and don’t believe a lot of the negative things online. I assure you, high blood pressure has side effects you REALLY won’t like, from robbing you of years of your life to kidney failure, liver failure, aneurysms in the brain, strokes, headaches, etc. I’ve taken low dose Rosuvastatin for about five years, and my cholesterol readings are now normal. No side effects at all, and it’s cheap. It’s MUCH more likely that your grandmother’s kidney failure was due to her high blood pressure than to what was given to her to help control it or her cholesterol. High blood pressure is like driving your car at RPMs so high that they are in the red zone. Much more likely to pop a gasket or throw a rod.

There is a reason statins are by prescription only. You doctor will help you weigh the risks and benefits.

AMEN to all of the above. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

My doctor back in Virginia prescribed a Statin for high cholesterol. I was always kind of leery of them so I read the insert closely. In bold letters was the warning to NOT take it if you are taking Colchicine which I use when I have a gout flareup. I had an appointment with my podiatrist to follow up on some surgery the next week so I asked him about the Statin. He nearly fell out of his chair. He said Colchicine and several types of Statins causes muscle death and told me to ask my primary care doctor (which was in the same medical group with full access to all my records) to prescribe one of the other drugs that does not react to Colchicine. To review, this was from a doctor in the same medical group as the one who prescribed Colchicine and both prescriptions were filled by the very same pharmacy that should have caught the issue as well. Just goes to show that you have to take an active interest in your care.

cholesterol
 

for many - excercise , and fish instead of meat are whats needed ... but most are to lazy to do the things needed ...

Statin effects
 

The most worrisome effect (from MDs) is rhabdomylysis or muscle pain and wasting of muscles from statins. When this happens, one is normally switched to another medication that reduces cholesterol. There are other meds your MD can prescribe that aren't statins but may have the same cholesterol lowering affects you need.

High blood pressure (>130/90) significantly affects the arteries throughout the body. Sounds like your grandmother may have had problems related to elevated blood pressure which contributed to kidney failure.

One of the things I do religiously (bc I don't trust anyone) is to have a PharmD look at all my medications including vitamins, supplements every year to ensure there is no drug to drug interaction and the dosing in correct on every medication. There's supposed to be some kind of "red" flag that pops up when a provider orders medication when there's a bad interaction but rarely is my medication list correct. Having this medication review done, reassures me that I'm on the right dose, of the right medication and taking it for the right reason.

Last year, the PharmD asked me why I was taking a certain medication because it causes thyroid tumors (take it for diabetes). The PharmD ordered a thyroid ultra sound to ensure there were no thyroid nodules in my neck. A example of good surveillance.

Very Good Post Subject.........thank you!!!!