Hdl levels symptoms and conditions

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2001 and have been taking 10mg simvastatin ever since. Over the last six months have had severe increasing pain in right shoulder neck and arm. Out of the blue the doctor has since automatically changed dose from 10mg to 40mg. I have not taken the 40 yet as I am too scared and am using up the 10mg. Sometimes have diarrhea and nausea. I had to wait 2 weeks for xray and another 2 weeks for the result. Am to see the doctor in 2 days because I cannot stand the pain any longer. A month ago he told me to come off the simvastin as I would not have to wait long, but after 2 weeks thought I had better go back on it again. Have now stopped again because the pains are worse. wondering about taking herbal medicine instead.

My husband has been taking TriCor 145 for app. 1 year. He is a marathon runner with no history of heart or other health problems. When his doctor first prescribed TriCor, my husband was asymptomatic. His doctor prescribed TriCor to help raise his good cholesterol levels after a brief attempt to correct HDL levels through diet and exercise. Recently, he was hospitalized for three days due to high blood pressure (136/100--no previous problems with blood pressure) and slow heart rate of 37 BPM. His primary care physician has failed to return numerous calls to discuss titrating him off TriCor so he will discontinue use on his own.

1500mg/day for 2 yrs now and it's been a lonnnnng road with this flushing and itching. The typical avoidance foods, hot showers, spicy foods..etc..all help to aoid the side effects. However, if you still get that flushing/itching effect, take some antihistamine medication. Benedryl works, although it will make you drowsy, but it's worth it ! It relieves the itching !

Why does this happen ? it's NOT niacitic poisoning like some on this site suggest. Niaspan causes vasodilation of your the blood vessels in your skin. This causes your mast cell to increase thus triggering a production of histamine in your skin receptors. This is what causes the unbearable itching to occur. It is completely harmless, however, it can be un-bearable at times when the flushing/itching become severe. So taking an ANTI-histamine works well. Time on the medication helps. Reducing the dosage may help as well, however, you will most likely see a drop in your HDL levels by 5-7% for every 500mg drop in dosage.

Hang in there, hopefully big Pharm will come up with a new drug to increase HDL.. I know they are working on it as we speak, but may take a few more years.

Took Zocor for 8 months, have been off 6, quit because of leg cramps and hands and arms losing feeling at night and muscle pain. Continue to have muscle pain in arms and shoulders even after being off so long...in fact, it seems to be getting worse. Could this be caused by Zocor?