General Chat

Statins,

I was put on them a while ago & have never really felt right since, so i stopped em a week ago & i feel much better.

i have taken them for years my hubby also takes them

we have both had no affects of doing so

when I first started on them I found my muscles felt cramped, and tender and I also bruised easily......however now it seems to have settled down........
bob

Yes ,had no problem with them
But have been taken off them for the last few months ,as they didnt go with new medication I am taking
But will be going back on them soon

I and my OH both take Simvastatin and neither of us have any problems with them. You should go back to your GP and see if a different one would make a difference. better that having a stroke!

they are a wonder drug saving the lives of thousands a year
the NHS are promoting everybody over 50 taking them
as it will save the NHS millions


But remember never have grapefruit if your on them

I stopped taking mine coz they made me ill, You have to tell travel insurance ur taking them as it invalidates the insurance if they are not told.....and then ur premium goes higher....

Why do you have to tell travel insurance ur taking them ?

i have taken them for 3 years now

Why no grapefruits ?

McB you are not alone,statins have a lot of very unpleasant side effects for a vast number of people I personally believe they will go the way of drugs like Vioxx very soon.
If I were you I would modify my diet,exercise and increase cholesterol lowering foods.
And most of all if you are a smoker STOP

I'm 58 fairly fit don't drink or smoke & my colesterol is 2.7.

Why are you on them then?
I hate the way doctors put people on drugs as a 'just in case' and cause more problems!
I have high blood pressure, was put on one drug - which was okay. Then they upped the dose and I felt awful - like I was 'stoned' without any of the nice bits! couldn't remember anything from one moment to the next.
Went back to doc who was reluctant to take me off them - apparently they're the 'best' LOL - but I wasn't prepared to live my life in that state! Turns out my body doesn't like Ace inhibitors!
My doc then wanted to put me on statins. I asked him what the 'ideal' cholsterol level was - he said 3. What was mine? 3.5. I declined!!!

The 'ideal' level of anything isn't set in stone - it's usually a level decided by a group of 'specialists'.
I am not allowed to drink the 'ideal' daily amount of water - it will kill my kidney! (found out 2 years ago I only had the one)
I was terrified of telling my kidney specialist I don't drink water at all - but do drink coffee (instant), tea, and enjoy quite a bit of plonk.
'Good ' she said - 'Water will only wash out any minerals in your body and damage your kidney'. Lots of minerals in wine PMSL
My kidney has survived (quite healthily it appears) 53 years with my liquid intake - so I'll just carry on LOL

Me! but I might stop soon!

I now have joint problems in my hand that I never had before, I think I'll increase the Lecithan granuals.

Dee x

I understood the ideal cholestral was 5. Had mine done last week and was told it was 5 and it was fine. As I had a stroke in April am now on several heart pills but because it was a bleed not given statins

Grapefruit contains certain chemical compounds called polyphenolics that inhibit the metabolism or break down of some medications, statins being one of the most notorious. Statins are highly effective and one of the most commonly prescribed cholesterol lowering medicines. This class of medication inhibits a liver enzyme and can lower LDL by ~50% and raise HDL. Drugs in the statin class include lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin, fluvastatin, atorvastatin, and rosuvastatin. Although generally safe, statins have the potential to cause serious side effects such as muscle injury and liver damage.

Enzymes called cytochromes metabolize many drugs such as statins. Most of these enzymes are concentrated in the liver, but some of them are found else where in the body such as in the gut. One cytochrome in particular called CYP3A4 is quite predominant in the small intestine and significantly participates in the breakdown of statins. Grapefruit can inhibit the activity of this intestinal cytochrome thereby increasing the level of statins in the blood stream. More drug can therefore lead to a higher risk of side effects. As little as 8 oz. of grapefruit juice can have a significant effect on drug levels. And, the effect of eating a single serving of grapefruit may last as long as 24 hours.
Mangos, oranges, and orange juice do not effect statin levels. Although other citrus fruits such as limes and Seville oranges (sour oranges) do contain some similar chemical compounds to grapefruits, there have been no significant reports of them leading to harm with statins. Also, not all statins are subject to the effects of grapefruit. Pravastatin undergoes little breakdown by the intestinal cytochrome and is safe to take with grapefruit juice. Whether these alternatives will be satisfactory to my mother-in-law waits to be seen. But it saddens me to see two kindred spirits separated by one cholesterol medicine."

i took this from a question on another site

Good grief, if it's 5 - there's no REAL reason for McB to be taking them - apart from the NHS encouraging everyone to be on some form of drug or other! Apparently the ideal choesterol level according to various websites is: 4, below 5. Of course various other factors and the amount of 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol has to be taken into account. Handy for drugs companies that the average cholesterol level in the UK is 5.7!

Aspirin - a few years ago everyone over 50 was encouraged to take them - that's the very expensive 'lower' (75mg) dose rather than the painkiller - in an effort to prevent heart attacks, strokes & angina.
Over the past few years there have been conflicting reports about the effectiveness versus side effects. I was on them for all of 6 weeks (before I found out about my lack of kidney), had my first ever nose bleed and haven't taken them since!

OH is on them due to having a heart attack and he has been feeling quite sick lately so made a appointment with GP , didn't get the answers l wanted but he's the doc so have to do as he's told, lol
When l asked doc why OH was on them as his heart attack was due to smoking ( which he has given up...10 weeks now) and his cholesterol was 3.5, he is 5ft 10 and weighs 10 stone 5lb was told better to take them as a preventitive, oh bruise so easily now, even gets up in the morning and has a black eye and his arms are always covered in bruises. As for feeling sick doc has now made a appointment for him to have the camera down the throat but l'm sure its the statins making him ill, wish this could be sorted.

please dont stop taking them
unless you have spoken to your doctors
they are used to treat and prevent some serious stuff

I was put on Simvastatin because my cholesterol was 5.6 and two of my brothers had died from heart attacks. Within weeks I could hardly walk with joint and muscle pains so my Dr took me off the statins immediately. He also said that changing to another type of medication would not make much difference as my body was reacting so badly. I lead a fairly healthy lifestyle anyway, so I have decided to take my chances rather than spend the rest of my life in pain with muscle wastage.

I would suggest that you read everything you can on the Internet (there are masses of Forums for and against statins) and discuss with your Dr, before you take that step.

Good luck! BCXX