Dementia symptoms and conditions

Just had to comment on these side effects I'm reading about Lipitor and other Statin drugs. I don't take anything and I never will after finding this site. Guess what, I have had high cholesterol since I was in my early 20's. When I say high... it ranged from 240 - 260...remember when 250 was OK? Well folks, it's 30 years later, my cholesterol is just about the same range, and Oh My GOD...I'm still here without any drugs.!!! They lowered the range so they could pass out the pills!!! Greed, greed, greed. Do you wonder why our Healthcare system is out of control? Well, when you keep feeding people medications that are presenting the side effects they do, making them sicker, they just keep testing and testing and testing for other things. Let's do blood work, MRI's, CAT Scans, Spect Scans, Pet Scans...Scan away...and guess what...all comes back OK...hmmmm why not look at the drugs you're prescribing. We need to see "all the side effects" listed. Not just some. They're misdiagnosing, Alzheimers, Fibromyalgia, MS, Lupus, Dementia, Arthritis, and on and on when it's been the drugs causing the diseases!
Ween off everything and anything you can...take your chances...when God wants you, he's going to come and get you no matter what you're doing...right or wrong!

Started taking Lisinopril approx. 6 years. ago. Shortly afterwards I started a spiral downwards for no apparent reason. Did not connect this med. Shortly after starting it I was put on Synthroid for low thyroid. Started having loss of balance, dizziness, vision problems, muscle and nerve pain. B/P went up instead of going down. Have been to every type of Dr. (Neurologist, Dermatologist, Endocrinologist, Internist) and every nerve & muscle test and blood work came back negative. I have extreme cold in my hands and feet, increased back pain. headaches. This past week I have broken out in a rash on my torso and down both legs. The doctors answers are that I'm suffering from depression. The irony is that when the symptoms first started I questioned if I could be having a reaction to the medication and they flat out said no. After reading some of the comments as of today I am discontinuing the Lisinopril and will searce for something natural. I'm fed up with doctors and really short on cash from all the money spent trying to find an answer.

Like many of you in this forum, I'm experiencing the pins and needles feelings all over my body, especially on my arms and face. I have weird lapses in memory. I attributed the joint pain I've been feeling this past year to being a 45-year old runner. However, upon reading so many comments regarding joint pain, I can only ascertain this isn't just something caused by age and running. Is anyone of you men experiencing erectile problems? Since starting Lisinopril a year ago I've noticed performance difficulties. My doctor said that can be expected with high blood pressure and prescribed me Cialis. Good Lord is that drug awful! I'm going to flush my bottle of Lisinopril right now and call my doctor tomorrow and discuss a safer alternative to this medicine.

As I read these posts I want to S C R E A M! This drug is like a slow death from Arsenic. If your Memory is impaired, it should be. It's listed as one of the side affects right inside the pamphlet that the Pharmacist gets. I have a Pharmacist friend and she read me, muscle pain, joint pain, muscle twitching and on and on. It's poison for sure and anyone on it should get off it ASAP. My husband's been off for one year next week and he still experiences mental sluggishness and cognitive deficits. So much so, he's retired because he could no longer do his job. It creeps in on you slowly, and insidious. When you start to notice, you're scared to say anything or you don't associate it with this drug. Guess what, the only drug he's ever taken. And, oh yeah, lead to depression. This is a centrally active Ace Inhibitor that cross the blood brain barrier and is literally poisoning you. Actually, there is a derivative from a Brazilian Pit Viper. Synthetic or not, it's poison. Get off people, get off. It will eventually affect your memory more and more until you resemble some form of dementia. Maybe that's why so many people are sitting in Nursing Homes with full blow dementia. The disease that caused it are the DRUGS you're taking.
Get off.

I have been reading all of your Simvastatin experiences with high interest and would like to share my adventures with all of you as well. My story began seven years ago when I was relatively healthy and enjoying life. My doctor prescribed Lipitor for my elevated cholesterol and two months later I found myself in the emergency room after having a severe bout with vertigo for the first time in my life. I have since spent the last seven years fighting this debilitating illness which continues to haunt me after having seen every top neurologist in my area and having taken every neurological test available. It would be as difficult to convince me that I was not somehow "poisoned" by Lipitor as it was for me to convince my doctor.

I was eventually prescribed Simvastatin 40MG and seemed to stabilize for a few years even though my dizziness problems persisted. Suddenly I began experiencing bouts of upset stomach and severe lower abdominal pain. I allowed my doctor to order basically every nasty test known to man in an effort to discover the cause of this new problem, but all have come up negative so far. Eventually I began to experience total exhaustion in the middle of my work day, not to mention the back, neck, and muscle pain that has been described so vividly in this forum. Basically, I have become a 53 year old man who feels much older, has absolutely no energy, and rarely has a day when I can honestly say I feel alive and well.

I am not a doctor and I can't honestly prove that Simvastatin is the cause of all of my problems. However, I do have common sense and after reading all of your thoughtful comments on the subject I would be foolish to at least not suspect that the drug may possibly be making me less healthy and not more healthy. Thank you all for opening my mind to this possibility and I certainly plan on discussing this with my doctor very soon, who may no longer by my doctor should he continue to insist that I take this nasty drug.

Is anyone experiencing confusion, trouble thinking, trouble concentrating, decreased cognitive function, mental sluggishness, trouble solving problems or situations which require logical thinking and sequencing, and memory loss? Would love to hear from anyone experiencing any these symptoms and if so, how long were you on the drug.
Thanks!

P.S. I just happened to visit the Alzheimers Association Sites Forum as I was interested in a connection between BP meds (particularly this crap) and guess what...you will not believe the those folks diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimers who have taken Lisinopril for years before diagnosis...Hmmm...any connection here...bet there is...? This crap has been around since the early 80's...wonder how many people now in there 70's were taking Lisinopril in their 50's and are now suffering dementia. This is not coincidence folks. These BP meds that cross the blood brain barrier are doing more harm than good. Can't understand why if this drug can cause depression, it can't be doing other things to the brain. It is...I tell you it is....get off this crap before you're sitting in a Nursing Home and don't know your ass from a hole in the ground.

Lamictal with lithium was the latest sentence for a lifetime of depression. Not only did the depression then intensify over anything I've dealt with for the last 40 years, but anger, rage, weight gain, memory loss, difficulty communicating, (could this be dementia at 60 yrs?) and loss of taste especially coffee and chocolate were now defining my life. I had been a happy, productive, exciting, witty, professional self-employed woman. So, I've been reducing my 250 mg dosage for the last 6 weeks with Dr. oversight. My last dose of 25 mg was last Wednesday. Throughout this experience, I've experienced confusion, head aches, zombie days, spatial disorientation, muscle weakness, muscle spasms, jumbled speech and thinking, and THE FOG. But, guess what? Today, I'M BACK. My head is clear, I have a plan for the day and I'm 4 pounds lighter than I was last Thursday. The surprise about the weight is that we went to dinner in restaurants twice in this last week and I haven't taken any special steps to lose the pounds. I knew it was time to evaluate myself without medication when the Dr. wanted to add just one more medication to level off the mood swings. Of course, this is a continuing drama, but it's great to be able to see me without the drug-colored lenses. I would not have done this without Dr. supervision, and I'm so glad he co-operated with my wishes. Sometimes you just have to throw the project away and start fresh. Have a beautiful day.

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

I feel somewhat reassured that it's a possibility that my memory loss is a side effect of lamictal. I was diagnosed with BP I and the medication has done wonders. I still get very depressed sometimes, but not as severe as it was without the med. I experience(d) rapid-cycling which I was told is less common for this disorder.
My short-term memory is horrible. Sometimes have trouble remembering conversations and even things that happened a short time ago. For example, I recently played a few games of pool with my son and on our way home, I couldn't recall whether or not I won any of the 3 games. It's pretty embarrassing and scary when someone "catches" you or notices that you have completely blanked. I have to write things down if I want to discuss them with my therapist, because I won't remember what my issues were within the last week or two. Sometimes, when someone asks me if I remember something, I act like I do, because I probably should remember it. Again, I feel like an idiot because I don't. At work, it's not too much of a problem, because I insist that everyone sends me a reminder email, so I have a task list to work from instead of recalling things from memory. I also get completely lost in my train of thought during conversations. I tend to go off in tangents and completely forget what point I was trying to make.
I also have trouble focusing and my mind is always because obsessing over some thought, usually something negative. I feel like I waste a lot of time doing unproductive thinking. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the disorder of not.

Hi, I have been reading all the postings and my heart goes out to everyone. I been there, done that. Myself, I have a seizure disorder and been on Lamictal since 2003 (I can't recall/remember) - I had tried 5 other seizure meds that didn't work for me. For quite a while now I take 600mg a day and Keppra 250mg to control my seizures. I lost my driver's license twice so far (I know that is the rule in CA) , and once not long ago (I got my license back) I got totally lost in my town, which I used to know like the back of my hand. I thought I had lost my mind. I asked my doc if I was getting demenia and he said oh no you are too young (53). I have also learned doctor's (for the most part) are idiots too. They don't think outside the box for us. I can't spell anymore, get depressed easily. I really want to work, but I can't. I have tried time and time again, but (yesterday) it just about did me in...people explained to me how to do things on the job many many times but I couldn't retain any thing. People just looked at me as if to say what planet did you come from. I cried on the job so hard I wanted to disappear. I am so sick of my family saying "I know you can't - don't remember this or that..... I can hardly bare that. Now I have a potential kidney problem. Suppose it is from these meds? I am really scared.

I started taking Singulair 6 months ago. My allergies even with medication and immunotherapy were becoming unmanageable. My larynx would swell up and close my throat and make breathing difficult. I had trouble breathing at night laying down to sleep, my voice was hoarse most of the time. Within 2 days after starting Singulair, those symptoms totally disappeared. I thought it was the answer I had been looking for. I've had a lot real problems in the past few months with crying and sadness, but with my Mom in hospice with Alzheimer for 14 years, and my father breaking both hips last year, my mother-in-law with vascular dementia, and an insulin defendant diabetic, and losing my job due to outsourcing, and other stressors in my life, but II thought my sadness was all of this stress. Counseling wasn't really helping and I've got a new counselor now. In the past couple of months, my mental state has become more and more fragile; I have times that I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in a couple of months or just go somewhere and be left alone. I am angered easily; I have always been happy and easy-going. I cry daily and don't get out much, and I'm afraid of the unknown now. I feel like my self-esteem is in the toilet.

Tonight I have stopped the Singulair. I'm afraid because I know the allergy problems will return, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage them somehow. I have 'a lot on my plate' right now, but at least if I stop the Singulair and I feel better mentally I'll know it was the drug and not my life.

I am a 34 yr old woman who has suffered from migraines for 13 yrs and chronic head pain for most of my life. I have had sinus surgery, my vision checked, TMJ corrected and anything else I could think of to alleviate my headaches. I took various anti-depressants to treat for chronic pain. About 3 yrs ago I began taking Topamax after my grandmother & both my sisters went on it for migraines. We all have experienced success in treating the headaches and both sisters lost weight. Grandmother and I did not. We all still have migraines occasionally and my youngest sister cannot miss a dose w/out having a headache. My grandmother has had to discontinue Topamax because it was effecting her memory, speech, and concentration so badly. All of us experienced the "loss of words" problems at first, but learned to adapt and became used to it. But grandma is in her 70s and its not as easy for her. However, in the past month, I have been experiencing the same thing--memory loss, calling a place or object the wrong name, and poor concentration. I feel like I can't even read today. I was taking 150mg and thought I was pregnant so I started decreasing my dose down to 100mg to wean off. I'm not pregnant and I'm thinking of discontinuing the Topamax anyway. It's bad enough when I can't remember things at home, I can't work like this. I have always raved about how great Topamax is and that if it kept my head from hurting, I would take it forever. Now I feel like I'm in the early stages of dementia.

my aunt is 94 and was put on prednisone after having pneumonia. She is also diabetic, and has very poor kidney function. Her symptoms are restlessness confusion and constant playing with her hands or covers, this game may last into the night, just over and over placing one hand on top of the other. In looking for causes of this, I found it could be dementia or possible side effects of medication. We took her off prednisone and this behavior stopped

My mother, 70 years old, been on Coumadin for 3 years (doctor said best to take since she suspected heart palpitations). Mother developed gradual memory loss, over the 3 year period, we didn't think anything wrong!! just a part of aging process!! Then one night she fell on the floor, stroke, we took her to hospital - done MRI and CTscan - result: severe brain bleeding. From that time - 4 months ago - she is now diagnosed with Dementia. I cant even describe how I feel about god damn Coumadin. Wish they never given it to her in the first place.

I took avelox, now my body is dying.
first I had toxic shock to food, neck muscles shrink, unable to lift my elbows up, pain in biceps, leg muscles shrink, depression, confusion, dementia, rapid aging, weak muscles, body is dying. whatever made my body work, avelox destroyed and left a shell.

An update to my husband's experience after taking Lipitor 10 mgm/day for 4 yrs. He developed Parkinson's disease and stopped taking Lipitor at that time--summer 04. He is taking anti Parkinson's drugs as well as many vitamins and suplements in an attempt to correct some of the damage done by Lipitor. He is fairly stable. My niece's husband who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the same time as my husband and had been taking Lipitor also, continued on Lipitor for another 1 1/2 yrs. He had a progressive neurodegenerative disease course and died 2 yrs ago. 3 other individuals with whom I am acquainted who have been diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases have not stopped their Lipitor--one individual's diagnosis has progressed from Parkinson's to Parkinson's with Lewy Body dementia to Multiple Systems Atrophy. this is the same progression my niece's husband experienced. The other 2 individuals are currently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Husband started taking 1200 mgm of coenzyme Q10/day upon diagnosis of Parkinosn's. This amt has been shown to be beneficial to those with early stage Parkinson's--irregardless of their statin status. Seem all parkinson's patients have abnormally low levels of CoQ10 in their blood--and statins DEPLETE CoQ10. What a set up!!!!!

This is a follow-up to my posting on October 10th regarding my 57 year old husband who began taking Lisinopril in March of 2007. He was NEVER on any other medication prior to taking this drug. He suffered Depression, loss of memory, lack of concentration, can't focus and struggled with small task. We have recently had an MRI done and his brain has shrunk. Deadfred1 replied to my posting and he is a 36 year old male who has been on Lisinopril for 5 years. He has the same side effects as my husband. He had a recent MRI and his brain has shrunk!!! We visited a Neurologist with his MRI results for a second opinion and he is ordering more tests because "it appears to be indictive of Alzeheimers" with the area of the brain that has shrunk. How can this be??? This was a healthy, 57 year old NEVER on a drug in his life and within months of taking this, he is in Depression and having memory issues. Isn't anyone connecting any symptoms here??? Any Doctors out there with an "open mind"? This medication is was developed from the venom of a poisonous Brazilian snake!!! Hello...it's more like a slow death with Arsenic!!! My mother-in-law has been on this drug for years and years and years. She now sits with dementia in an Alzeheimers unit. Is anybody out there listening? Alzeheimers is becoming an epidemic in this country. Have we ever thought the medications we are taking is creating this devastating disease? Millions of people take Ace Inhibitors, millions of people have Alzeheimers. They are getting younger and younger according to the Neurologist. Why, because younger and younger people are being put on Blood pressure medications from poisonous snakes. Are there any open minded Dr.s out there that can "step outside the box"...don't just "think outside the box"...."step out for goodness sake" and start paying closer attention to the symptoms people are having. I am convinced there is a definite connection to my husbands side effects and this drug. Get off people. Get off.

husband and brother in law both diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. dear friend's husband diagnosed with Parkinson's 3 months later . all had been on lipitor for 2-4 yrs. brother in law has died--diagnosis changed prior to death from Parkinson's to Parkinson's with lewy bodies, to Lewy body dementia to frontotemporal lobe dementia (despite NO family history of this disease entity). there are SO many metabolic substrates whose pathways are interrupted by statins--pathways to isoprenoid metabolism resulting in among many other results, a decrease in glutathione reductase; a decrease in production of coenzyme Q10; decrease in dolichol, the lipid consittuting the largest % of fats making up the substantia nigra in the brain (area diseased in Parkinson's ). and lipids constitute the substance that makes up the mylein sheath surrounding nerves, and the largest % of the dry weight content of the brain.
Tremors were the first symptoms. then non swinging arm while walking, flat affect, rigidity of muscles. all symptoms of Parkinson's...

My husband (57 years old) started Lisinopril in March of 2007 for High Blood Pressure and he's never been the same. At first, we didn't connect the symptoms but now I am convinced this drug caused his problems. His symptoms include loss of memory, can't concentrate, can't retain anything, short tempered, depression. At times confusion or unable to grasp anything requiring multi-tasking. He had a loss of appetite where in lost 25 pounds in less than 6 months. He described months ago that "his head just doesn't feel right". When asked...do you have a headache...he'd reply.."I can't explain it...it just doesn't feel right. The depression has lead to another drug "Lexapro". This drug interferes with concentration too!
Prior to taking Lisinopril my husband was running his own business and working a full time job he's had for years. Within 6 months, our lives changed drastically. I know 2 other people experiencing the memory loss, can't concentrate, can't retain symptoms around the same age as my husband... all taking Lisinopril.

All of this has been weighing heavily on his mind because his mother has been diagnosed with Dementia/Alzeheimers at age 74. Guess what...she has been taking Lisinopril for years and years and has been treating for depression for years and years....any connection here? This drug has been around for many years and it seems like every elderly person is taking this for High Blood Pressure. Could this be a culprit to Dementia/Alzheimers? A reoccurring theme I see amongst all of these side effects is "depression".

Of course when we discussed these symptoms with his Doctor...we were pooh poohed with "I've never heard of these symptoms in 20 years of practicing". Well, he needs to do some research! My husband quit taking this drug on Sept 12th which takes 2-3 weeks to get out of your system. I noticed recently he didn't struggle at all at the ATM machine. I'm hoping this is the culprit as we are now in the process of getting a second opinion to determine if he may be in the early stages of Alzheimers. We pray that he is not! Get this drug off the market!!!

Confusion, trouble thinking, trouble concentrating, decreased cognitive function, mental sluggishness, foggy perception of reality, trouble solving problems or situations which require logical thinking and sequencing, memory loss, depression, irritability, low tolerance, lack of patience. jeez.....the list goes on. All that since I started Lisinopril. Never had it before. All of my symptoms seemed to be more neurological than physical, like other people's. Of course, everyone's body is different. I got off this stuff awhile back, but I still have the symptoms. I hope these symptoms are reversible. This is terrible. I need to get back to my normal life once again. It's like this junk is Alzheimer's/Dementia by design. Really.

please can u tell me does anybody on this site suffer from memory loss cause they are taking simvastatin

My mother has dementia and is being treated for shingle pain with Neurontin. She has lost touch with reality since they started this drug.

My father is 73 and has been taking this drug now for a few years. In the last year he has been suffering from severe hallucinations , particularly at night. The other evening he walked out of the house and went wandering around the village because he saw people in the house. Has anybody else had similar experiences taking this drug? Clive

Hi
I started taking 10 mg. daily ofLipitor 8 yrs. ago and about a year later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. There's no test for Fibro, just blood tests to elimate everything else ex: Lupus, RA etc. I've been suffering so much from muscle pain, all the tender points as in Fibro and also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three doctors diagnosed me with Fibro. and chronic fatigue. I had most of the symptoms everyone else is complaining about also. The pain in my stomach muscles are just about gone too.

It reached a point three weeks ago when I was having sharp pains all over my body and muscle cramps and charlie horses at night and I could just about walk up the stairs my hips hurt so much that decided to stop Lipitor. I was so tired all the time and in constant pain.

My doctors said it couldn't be the Lipitor. The pain in most of the tender points are just about gone but I know it will take a while to get out of my system. I lost muscle strength over the years and hope to get that back. I'm 64 years old and know it will take awhile .

I went to my doctor Tuesday and told him I took myself off the Lipitor and that I now remember being diagnosed with Fibro shortly after going on Lipitor. He got so mad at me and said that Lipitor doesn't cause a disease. As I said there's no test for Fibro and it's not a disease it's a syndrome or condition where the brain sends pain signals to the tender point muscles but there's nothing actually wrong with the muscles. I told him that 6 years ago when I tried going off Lipitor for 3 months and joined a gym, Curves, I felt fine and thought I was in remission. Then when I started taking Lipitor again I couldn't do the exercise in Curves and had to stop going. It never dawned on me it was the Lipitor.

I now have a problem with my heart, one condition I might have been born with but the Arrthymia I don't know about. My heart beats too many beats and it beats 4 beats and the 5th beat is backwards. Now I'm on 25mg of Topricin (the generic) beta blocker to slow down the heart beats. I don't know if this is caused by the Lipitor or not. My cardiologist said that Lipitor can affect every muscle in your body and she suggested that I get a RX for a blood test to tell whether I have muscle damage. I went for the test Tuesday but haven't received the results yet.

I'm going to change doctors, I don't like my doctor's attitude with me over the Lipitor. These doctors think they're God. When I told him on Tuesday about the 3 months that I felt fine 6 years ago he said that there are other drugs besides statins to lower cholesterol. I don't want to go on any drugs and the non statin drugs can cause intestinal blockage, he got upset when I told him that too. I'm going to try to lower it with flaxseed and fiber and see if that works. I go to Weight Watchers and kept 17 lbs. off for 6 years now, I do try and eat healthy.

I can't believe it cost me almost 8 years of my life in pain. It's even hard for me to get down on the floor with my granchildren, I have to crawl to the couch or chair to lift myself up and I get tired so easily. I just hope I get back to normal.

I'm so glad I found this website and figured out what was wrong with me. I hope my writing helps someone else dignosed with Fibromyalgia and taking a statin.

Thanks for listening.
Marie

I am 51 year old female. I have been having similar side effects that everyone is posting. The cough just started. And I am having cramps in my legs and back that I never had before. I also have been a little depressed. I just stopped taking the medicine yesterday. I am at a place called Optimal Health Institute. They put you on raw veggies and juice and fruits and nothing else for a week to 3 weeks or as long as you would like to be here. Also mild exercises to help you cleanse and you juice wheat grass 2 times a day. I decided to go off my meds yesterday (been taking 10mg for about 4 months) and my blood pressure reading just registered 119/78. It has been running 135/85 with medicine average. I just started but after reading all of these posts and my own side effects, I am definitely going off this junk. I hope this cleansing works. I am going to be here for 2 weeks.