Anyone got advice re Rosuvastatin

zippyjojo

zippyjojo

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 3c
I'm nervous having seen someone's comments on side effects of Rosuvastatin as I'm meant to be starting that on Thursday. I got on fine with Atorvastatin but am changing in case that's what's been giving me excruciating cramp like pains occasionally and someone said it's probably worth going onto a water based one instead. Do any of you others have any experience of bad side effects with Rosuvastatin? I think I'd rather stick with the Atorvastatin if that's a thing.
 
You have not been diabetic that long so the common cause of cramp in the lower legs and feet is PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease) is unlikely unless you are a previous heavy smoker. 20mg Atorvastatin is quite a low dose (80mg is common for heart patients) so I am dubious it is the cause.
 
Rosuva generally has no more side effects than atorva. Which gets to be first-line depends on when patents expired and the drug went generic. In Australia, for some weird reason, rosuva patents expired early so it is first line. I've been on 20mg for years with absolutely zero side effects. In the UK, atorva went generic first.

(In the UK, the NICE surveillance committee was considering whether or not to recommend switching from atorva to rosuva as first line when the rosuva patents expired there, based on some trial evidence for slightly better outcomes from rosuva, but nothing seems to have ever happened about that.)

Historically, rosuva under its brand name Crestor was subject to a big load of misinformation from anti-statin fruitcakes back in the day, so you might be seeing scraps of that still floating around.
 
When I was taking both Atorvastatin and Simvastatin, I was taking 20mg, I had all sorts of pain and unpleasantness, including leg pains. So much so that I quit and refused to take any statin for over 10 years. I eventually relented and tried Atorvastatin again with similar poor outcomes so I tried Rosuva, albeit a low dose, and have had no problems.
 
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I was prescribed Atorvastatin and, like you, suffered with cramps and lower leg muscle pain. It was common to have to stop several times on a walk. In discussions with my GP he changed my prescription to Rosuvastatin and the pains ceased and haven't returned. I don't suffer any other side effects either.
 
Thank you so much everyone - I'll start the Rosuvastatin tonight and see what happens.
 
I think @Robin found the switch to Rosuvastatin helpful?

Hope you get on well with it @zippyjojo 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I think @Robin found the switch to Rosuvastatin helpful?

Hope you get on well with it @zippyjojo 🙂
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Yes I did, sorry, been away, only just caching up with the forum.
I had side effects with Atorvastatin and Simvastatin, @zippyjojo , and decided not to take them again until there was a more convincing reason. (my cholesterol levels were exemplary at the time.) A few years down the line, and a slight rise in my overall total (and a rise in my age) and I agreed a small dose of Rosuvastatin, and so far so good, I haven’t noticed any side effects, and my total cholesterol has reduced from 6 to 5 ish.My surgery doesn’t do a breakdown of HDL and LDL any more, which is annoying because my ratios were always really good!
 
Thanks Robin - I'm just on 5mg so hopefully that will do the job that Atorvastatin did and keep levels down.
 
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