Experience with Statins

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Kopiert

Kopiert

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was wondering what experiences people have had with statins. I have a doctor's appointment coming up where the issue of statins will be raised again.

My fear is a) memory issues and b) weight gain. They seem to be one of those drugs that are automatically pushed at everyone over a certain age, and seem to have a very long list of unpleasant and common side effects.
 
I took Simvastatin for years without the slightest problem, but stopped due to a ridiculously low cholesterol, and it’s stayed low with losing weight. Most people who take statins don’t get any significant side effects, if any at all. In one double blind study as many people on the placebo got aches and pains as they did on the statin.
 
Simvastatin raised my blood sugar levels.
Came off them for 6 months with ok from doctor.
Sugar levels down cholesterol up a bit but no mention of going back onto them
 
I was on Simvastatin which made my arms ache badly. It also made me feel very sick - I'd look at food and want to throw up. As a result I lost lots of weight. Needless to say, with my doctors ok, I came off them. I watch what I eat and my cholesterol is fine.
 
Kopiert said:
I was wondering what experiences people have had with statins. I have a doctor's appointment coming up where the issue of statins will be raised again.

My fear is a) memory issues and b) weight gain. They seem to be one of those drugs that are automatically pushed at everyone over a certain age, and seem to have a very long list of unpleasant and common side effects.
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Been on statins for fifteen years with no problems. And they've worked a treat on my Diabetic Dyslipidimia. A lot of the scaremongering surrounding statins is the fault of the Daily Fail, as usual.
 
I'm on max dose rosuvastatin. Like the great majority of people, I've had no side effects.
 
Hi @Kopiert. I was initially prescribed Simvastatin, but after some time I had muscular fatigue which went away after I stopped taking it (medically approved decision to see if stopping one stopped the other). My cholesterol levels, which weren't a massive problem in any case, had come down anyway owing to diet changes, so the GP no longer considers I need to take statins for that purpose - so haven't done so for about 10 years. We are all different, so you may not get the same side effects, and the statins might be beneficial to you, depending on your risk factors. It may seem like GPs are always keen to prescribe these, but I assume they are just following advice based on statistics across the general population. But every individual is different and there is no certainty that any treatment is correct - just probabilities.
Hope this helps, Nick.
 
Atorvastatin - no side effects at all for me just a healthier cholesterol level.
 
Was on Artorvastatin for about 6 months or so, no side effects whatsoever, didn't think would have any as majority of people dont, only stopped as forgot to take them for few days & didn't bother after that.

Before taking them cholesterol was always good anyway, TC around 4 Trigs around 0.6, so not to fussed about starting them again, but they are safe to take so take the scare mongering about them on net with a pinch of salt.
 
Thank you everyone for your considered replies. It seems that everybody has different experiences with side effects. My doctor (whom I like) talked a lot about me having them last year. My cholesterol is not high but she mentioned preventative measures, and was really insistent I consider them.
 
Kopiert said:
Thank you everyone for your considered replies. It seems that everybody has different experiences with side effects. My doctor (whom I like) talked a lot about me having them last year. My cholesterol is not high but she mentioned preventative measures, and was really insistent I consider them.
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I'd suggest that she probably knows more about your condition and what's good for you than random unqualified people posting on a message board 🙂 But she should take you through it in detail.

This is the risk assessment tool which docs are supposed to use in the UK: https://www.qrisk.org/three/index.php I'd have a look at it & how you score before talking to her again - maybe helps focus the discussion.
 
I think statins are like Marmite - either you can or can't tolerate them, as everyone's body is different and you don't know until you take them. I tried 3 different statins - Simvastatin, Provastatin and Atorvastain - over an 18 month period. All 3 had very severe side effects in me. I wasn't diabetic at the start, fit and very active. 18 months later I was a bloated, housebound, pain wracked, depressed, incontinent (sorry tmi) wreck, in adult diapers.

So yes, I did put on weight, although I wonder if that was because I could no longer exercise due to the pain. They had a very bad effect on my muscles so I was taken off them and now just take a cholesterol reducing drink every day, under instruction from my GP. That actually reduced my cholesterol by 17% and overall I dropped from 7.2 to between 5.2 and 6. At my recent diabetic review, I was told my HDL was very good, so not to worry about total cholesterol.

My friend was put on them and 48 hours later was found wandering around her village, mumbling and with no idea how she got there. She was taken off immediately. Another friend has been taking them for years with no problems whatsoever. Now I follow a healthy diet and exercise in the pool 3 times a week, which I think helps the cholesterol levels.
 
Eddy Edson said:
I'd suggest that she probably knows more about your condition and what's good for you than random unqualified people posting on a message board 🙂 But she should take you through it in detail.

This is the risk assessment tool which docs are supposed to use in the UK: https://www.qrisk.org/three/index.php I'd have a look at it & how you score before talking to her again - maybe helps focus the discussion.
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Thanks for that link @Eddy Edson - helped confirm my risk level
 
Felinia said:
I think statins are like Marmite - either you can or can't tolerate them, as everyone's body is different and you don't know until you take them. I tried 3 different statins - Simvastatin, Provastatin and Atorvastain - over an 18 month period. All 3 had very severe side effects in me. I wasn't diabetic at the start, fit and very active. 18 months later I was a bloated, housebound, pain wracked, depressed, incontinent (sorry tmi) wreck, in adult diapers.
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Wow, was that all down to you taking statins. Sounds a terrible thing to go through
 
I took Atorvastatin and Metformin for about 5 weeks and was having suicidal thoughts - I was wrecked, both physically and mentally. When I did the Christmas shopping twice if 2016 I went home and threw the tablets in the bin.
I am 5 years from diagnosis now and am thinking of trying to learn to play my guitar again - I have relearned most of what I forgot - or enough to only be tripped up very occasionally, and I exercise so I have regained most of my strength, enough to go back to work servicing knitting machines.
 
Kopiert said:
Wow, was that all down to you taking statins. Sounds a terrible thing to go through
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Yes, the surgery eventually said I had the worst side effects they had seen and marked my record "extremely reactive to statins". In addition to the side effects I previously mentioned, my feet, ankles and calves became swollen and I developed a rash on the legs and round my middle. It's easy to complain of pain, but having something visible to show as proof helped persuade them. The point I also made was that if statins had that effect on my bowel and limb muscles, what was it doing to my heart muscle? It took 9 months for all the side effects to go completely. But I am just one in a million - as I said many people have no side effects at all. But every time I get a new GP or nurse they come thundering in with - "you must take statins" - to which I reply - "you must read my notes first"!
 
I'm on a medium dose of Atorvastatin with no problems, but many do have real problem with statins such as my wife. Only take statins if your blood test lipids panel shows your various lipids ratios are bad; otherwise refuse unless there is a very good reason. Never allow your total cholesterol to go below 4 with statins as the body needs cholesterol and it can be harmful to not have enough in the body for repairs.
 
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