Suggestions/personal experiences with statins.

I've bee on statins for many years, first of all simvastatin and then changed to atorvastatin 20mg, upped to 40mg.

3 months ago my chol levels were up at 7 so it has been increased to 60mg. When at 40mg I asked if I could come off them the doctor said no way. Brother has stents, father died from his first heart attack and maternal grandfather had a stroke.

I am in constant pain, although I do have fibromyalgia.

A routine blood test showed I had very high cholesterol. On questioning me about my family history, it was decided that I had the hereditary form. Since taking statins my cholesterol is normal and I’ve never had side effects. I walk miles and am halfway to black belt in kickboxing at the age of 68. Hopefully I won’t drop dead as my mother did with undiagnosed heart disease at only four days older than I am now. I’m grateful to have statins.

I was on Simvastatin for 3 years and had aching muscles and my knees hurt too. I mentioned to Dr when I was going in about something else that I would like to come off them as pains in leg muscles and she said to change to Atorvastatin about 8 months ago and now no more knee and muscle pains. I think different people react to different drugs in a different way so well worth going back to Dr.

I've been taking statins for 12 years, after a heart attack.
Up to now I've had no adverse reactions.
Fingers crossed, PG.

DH had statins prescribed. He had bad side effects so they were changed. Side effects continued so he stopped taking them.

That was two years ago. Each year he has blood and cholesterol tests which come out as the GP expects, no one has checked whether he is still taking the tablets. However since he stopped taking them, he has also had the medication he was taking for his diabetes stopped by the doctor as it was no longer needed, his blood sugar is at normal levels without medication.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. These drugs are necessary for many but some of the side effects can obviously be difficult to tolerate. Dh has had various ‘oscopies’ to rule out and physical cause for the wind...all negative. Thank goodness it’s significant burping and not flatulence greciangirl or I would have had to move out!

When my DH was 65 he was summoned to our heath centre for a 'healthy retirement assessment'. He came out with a prescription for Simvastatin. His cholesterol levels were normal, he had never had any heart problems or strokes, and he wasn't overweight. He was given them (quote) to reduce the risk of problems in the future. For about a year he was fine, then he started to aches and pains, headaches and feeling 'full' all the time. The pains (all over his body) got worse and worse. He had been an active, agile, happy retiree but within a year he was in constant pain, hardly able to walk and irritable, bad tempered and depressed. One day I found him in tears on his hands and knees trying to crawl to the toilet. I did some research about Statins and was horrified to discover how many people suffered while taking them. DH stopped taking them immediately and over the next 6 months the pains eased, but it was another year before he was pain free. His next health check up was with a new doctor after we moved. The doctor was baffled as to why he had ever been prescribed statins and put a note on his medical record of the problems he had had with them.. DH would never take them again. DH is once again happy, relaxed and active - yes he gets the occasional ache but it's usually due to working too hard in the garden or walking to far with the dog! I think doctors need to remember the saying 'If it aint broken don't try to mend it'.

After being on statins I started to get forgetful. Trip to the doctors and they were changed to a different one. Problem solved

Welshwife those pains are a potential serious side effect of the drug and should have been reported to their GP. As for the wind (OP) I don't think it's related. Has he decided to change his diet to be more healthy as a result of being told he has high cholesterol? He may be eating more fruit and vegetables now, and a lot of people find that increases flatulence.

Everybody is being put on statins, and most seem to have some sort of side effect. The latest news seems to be that they can actually cause diabetes. As a possibly Type 1 diabetic, I was prescribed statins to prevent potential heart attack and they have not reduced my cholesterol levels in the slightest. Furthermore, DH, weighing about 10 stone, has been diagnosed as Type 2 since his statin prescription. His Cholesterol has been low and stable since before the prescription. Talk to GP and ask if really needed. If doc cannot given suitable advice, my advice is not to take the damn things - they can cause more problems than they cure.

You might want to check out reports that suggest stains cause muscle pain problems because they should be taken in conjunction with tha supplement CoEnzyme Q10 to help prevent this. My husband started these and his problems ceased.

NemosMum. I have just finished reading Too Many Pills by Dr James Le Fanu and it has left me very angry. GPs are funded in a way which requires them to diagnose and treat even mildly raised cholesterol, blood pressure etc, and Type 2 diabetes is especially lucrative. As older people’s levels go up anyway, far more have been put on pills than were considered to need them a few years ago. These pills all carry the risk of side effects, and here again elderly people are more likely to be hit. And the pills interact with each other too.

If you have a cholesterol check, do ask what the cholesterol ratio is, rather than the total cholesterol. It is the ratio that is used in the risk checker www.qrisk.org/2017/. You can use this to work out your own risk, but try putting in different ages and see the difference. You can't change your age, and age alone is not enough reason to go on statins, whatever the drug companies (who do all the research) might say!

My OH was given statins. He was in pain all over within days and his ankles swelled. He had a rash on his legs that itched and he was moody and forgetful. He has come off the statins and the pain has gone but he still occasionally has the rash and he still has mood swings. We both regret that he ever took these horrible drugs.

GPs are assessed on the QOF - Quality and Outcomes Framework, and prescription of statins is part of that, so they do have an incentive to prescribe them. I would recommend reading Too Many Pills just published, by James LeFanu, who is a GP who writes a column for the Monday DT. He is a very common-sense physician. I've just started it, and it's excellent.

If you read the side effects leaflets on all drugs you take, you would end up not taking any.

Of course, most drugs have side effects, but usually they are not noticeable. If they are then get them changed.

I have been on statins for a while now and no noticeable side effects, I think.

I think the OP’s husbands flatulence might just be plain and simple wind. Maybe a change in diet might help.

I was put on statins for my cholesterol. After reading about the side effects I chucked them in the bin, and started using Boots high dose plant sterols, which, although far from being free on the NHS, did the trick perfectly, with no side effects!

I was advised to take statins but when I asked my GP what difference taking them would have on my probability of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, my risk fell from 17.5% without statins to 14.7% with statins. A fall of less than 3 %. I am 75 and 10 years take me to 85, around average life expectancy for a woman anyway.

I have been on statins for quite a few years, cholesterol raised ( but not horrendous but also history of heart disease in my fathers family) . When I was on the original dose of 40 mgms to start I did have some slight muscle pain in my legs, as levels improved GP halved the dose to 20 mgms and I have had no side effects at all since and perfect cholesterol levels.

I was reluctant to take statins as I kept hearing about side effects. However, after trying diet to reduce cholesterol, I realised that I probably should take them as I had a family history of atherosclerosis and heart disease. I’ve now been taking pravastatin for about 2 years with no side effects. I always read the leaflet with medication and if I feel any way different, I would check if it might be a side effect. Problem is, some are so vague they could be caused by anything.

Some side-effects can be caused by fillers in tablets- lactose is often used but for someone lactose intolerant it could cause digestive problems.

GPs are not paid more for each person on statins. Sounds like Daily Mail propaganda!

My husband has resisted taking statins for some time. His cholestoral levels are higher than they should be, but not that high. However, because he has complained of chest pains and now has to undergo an angiogram and, if necessary, a surgical procedure, he has been told he must take the statins in order to access this.

When he told our GP that he had been "ordered" by the doctor at the hospital to take statins, our GP's face lit up with delight. Someone said that GPs are paid extra for every patient on statins. Is that correct?

A few years ago there was a lot of concern expressed about patients who were reporting serious and irreversible side effects (eg muscle pain and weakness) as a result of taking statins. My friend was on them at the time and started to experience such symptoms but I think they disappeared when the medication was changed. There has not been much coverage of this recently so I don't know if it's because the problem was exagerrated or if the medication has improved or if the media has just lost interest.

I've been taking statins for more than 12 years, first Simvastatin and then Atorvastatin, with no side effects at all, just a reduction in cholesterol that couldn't be achieved by diet alone. DH and four friends also take Atorvastatin without any problems. Perhaps your DH should talk to his GP , maybe a change of statin is required.

It might not be the statins that are causing these problems.

My DH had statins following some minor strokes about 10 years ago, he stopped taking them about 2 years ago after reading about other symptoms he was experiencing being side effects of statins, these have now gone.