Lovastatin symptoms and conditions

After just two days on three WelChol a day, I have flu symptom. I'm going to stop the pills and see if it clears up just as quickly. If it was the WelChol, I'll just live with high cholesterol (273). WelChol will be the third strike after trying Vytorin and Lovastatin and having issues with all of them.

Some good news re: my concerns in my Drs. note (posted the other day) "some buildup" and why such a high dose 40mg. of this poison?. I actually received something from the cardiologist on Fri. which made me feel much happier. 'NO SIGNIFICANT ABNORMALITIES - MILD CHOL. PLACQUE BUT NO SIGNIFICANT BLOCKAGE SEEN' so you can imagine how much better I felt - I had already made the decision to not take the Statins, but that report absolutely convinced me. If you haven't already had a doppler on your carotids, do so, it can ease your mind, since we're always being told we're clogging up our arteries with just about anything and everything, we're gonna have a stroke, etc. all these scare tactics. It's not an expensive test (about $80, not sure what will be added to that, as to cardio. reading the results), but worth it. Read up on the Red Yeast Rice - I've read several articles from several well known medical websites - it seems it actually can work better than Statins! Get off this stuff people, more risk than having a stroke!

I was taking Lovastatin until the VA told me that it was not on their formulary any longer and I had to take Simvastatin. Within a couple months my feet started burning and a numbness began creeping up my legs. I began falling, staggering and lost the ability to walk without two canes. I thought I was in the early stages of MS or ALS and feared I was dying. My fiance' did research on the internet (Spacedoc.com) and discovered that the symptoms I was suffering from were the result of Statin Poisoning (don't take my word...look it up) I took myself off the Simvastatin at the doctors request and began taking 4 1000mg of Omega 3 Fish Oil, 2 50mg CoQ10, 1 50mg L Carnitine, a multi vitamin, and 1 81mg coated aspirin per day. I still have numbness in my legs and some burning in my feet one and one half years later. My Neurologist has told me (and written a letter to the effect) that I am permanently disabled...that this will never go away. Statins (all Statins) are poison...don't take them....the pharmacutical companies only push them to make MONEY they don't care about you or your health. If you need more information contact me anytime and I'll be happy to share any research I have. ******

i was a healthy 35 year old male but had high cholesterol, so the doctor prescribed lovastatin (mevacor) and tried it for a month but developed muscle weakness. months later, i'm still experiencing severe muscle spasms and my neurologist is stumped -- mri's, spinal tap, emg -- all normal. I just want to feel normal again. can anyone help? please email me!

I saw a news headline last week that linked Lipitor and forgetfulness and immediately thought "uh-oh'. Three years ago I was in a bad car wreck and started taking a lot of ibuprofen to counteract inflammation and pain. Somewhere within three to six months of this accident my doctor did routine blood work and said I needed to lower my cholesterol. She did talk about diet changes, but because there is a history of heart disease in my family she thought it would help to put me on a Statin. She talked a little about the acknowledged side effects and I went ahead with the drug (Lovastatin at that time). My focus at the time was on the amount of ibuprofen I was taking; as I went through p.t. for the accident I expected I would be able to reduce the amount I was taking. Ten months later I was still using 800 - 2400 mg. ibuprofen a day to combat muscle aches and joint pain - from the accident I thought. Then my doctor decided I need to raise my Lovastatin level from 20 mg. to 40. mg. I immediately began to have such pain that it overwhelmed the pain medicine. I immediately stopped the Lovastatin. Within a week my pain reduced dramatically - in 2 weeks I could go days without pain med. Within the 10 months after the accident I also had dizziness and vertigo and some trouble remembering things, but I attributed all that to effects of the accident. Didn't know the Statin might be contributing to those symptoms... When I finally went back to my doctor and told her I had stopped the Statin and why, she rechecked my lipid levels and said I really needed to be on something. A few months later I warily agreed to try 10 mg. of Lipitor every other day. Doesn't sound like much and it has been enough to keep cholesterol level down - though the good stuff had dropped some, too. At first it seemed okay, I didn't feel symptoms like I had before. After about a year I told my doctor. I thought I was going into menopause because I was having mood swings and being forgetful and my libido had died. Estrogen level denied this. So I thought well maybe I'm getting depressed - depression also runs in my family. So I went to a psychiatrist and told him how I was feeling. Now I am on Wellbutrin, which seemed to help at first, but isn't helping much now - even at a higher dose. My shoulders and arms have been hurting a lot the last couple of months and I've had to up the ibuprofen again to cope. This is nuts! The Lipitor goes - now! All these posts I have read make me believe that I am not a hypochondriac and complaining about the inevitable symptoms of aging (I'm 49). I expect to feel a lot better real soon!

I am a 50 year old female and started taking 10 mg of Lisinopril about 2 months ago for HBP. I also take Lovastatin with no problems for about 2 years. Within a few weeks, I starting having the dry, hacking cough along with the tickle in the throat. I also starting itching over various parts of my body. I starting urinating a lot especially at night. Between the coughing and going to the bathroom, I was not getting much sleep. I was tired all the time and was not able to concentrate very well. A few weeks ago, I noticed my skin was getting little red spots. It finally dawned on me that all these symptoms occurred after I started taking the Lisinopril! I went online and found this site. I can't believe they would put a drug like this on the market! I quit taking the medicine about 4 days ago and my cough is starting to decrease, my itching is almost gone and I am not urinating as much. I have an appointment with my doctor in a few days and will tell him that I will NOT be taking this medicine anymore. I will find another way to decrease my blood pressure without medicine. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS DRUG!!!!!

I can't really say I have anything new to report. I had been taking Lovastatin for maybe a couple of years, first 20 mgs, then 40. I don't remember having any problem with that. Then about 4 months ago my Dr. switched me to Zocor, 80 mgs because my cholesterol was 240. First I started having numbness in my feet and legs, cramps in my feet and Charlie horses at night in my legs. I mentioned it to my Dr. but he just seemed to feel it's part of the aging process and not to worry. Then my knee started hurting so bad I couldn't bend it and could hardly get up and down the stairs. I went in and they said I had arthritis and gave me Nabumetone and Vicodin which I didn't want to take because of the side effects. I finally gave in because the pain was getting worse. I was supposed to take two pills bit I only took one and I only took the Vicodin if I just couldn't stand it any longer. I took the drug for about 3 weeks and I wasn't getting any better. In fact my other leg started hurting, and my elbow and two or three times my lower jaw felt numb and I thought, Oh my God, I'm having a stroke. Anyway by some miracle I found this web site and see that many others are suffering the same symptoms that I'm having. What is wrong with the doctors? I am trusting my Dr. with my life. I'm sure he's heard similar complaints before about these drugs, but he acts like it's no big deal. I told him I don't want to take this anymore and he said well sometimes people do get some muscle pain but you can take a over the counter medication, not sure of the name, CO-2, something like that.
I'm wondering what's happened to the Dr's integrity? Why do they keep pushing these drugs when they know they are harmful? I guess I have to look for another Dr. My Dr. is with Kaiser. I guess they all pedal the same poison. So sad that we are controlled by the drug companies for profit. They are killing us. Look what happened with the HRT drugs. Meanwhile I'm afraid to quit this drug cold turkey since I was on such a high dose so I'm cutting the pills in half, 40 mgs, and then in about 2 weeks I will go to 20 and hopefully by then I will have selected something natural and safe. I am 67 years old. Before this I was active and I used to walk my dog a mile everyday. I can no longer do that. Right now my leg hurts so bad I don't want to take another pill but I'm scared if I quit cold turkey something terrible will happen. It's a holiday...

I have been taking Lovastatin for almost a month and am experiencing constant ringing in my ears. Is this a side effect?

I am a 54 year old male who has a chronic a-fib. My cholesterol was a wee bit high so my now retired MD put me on Zetia, which just about killed me- constant stomach pains and associated GI problems-we all can guess. So I went to see my cardiologist- he took me off Zetia and put me on Lipitor. It dropped my cholesterol levels significantly but the side effects are horrendous. My new MD was gooing to look into it because I was on 80 mg a day- but never did and never lowered the dose-229 is not all that high to warrant 80 mg a day.
I am now experiencing severe pain in my right rib-cage area, making sleep an event every night. Also have severe leg cramps the size of golf balls constanlty at night while sleeping. Pain in both elbows, and in the right foot, which when I can sleep wakes me up with a severe pounding pain. I am also experiencing severe neck and shoulder pain and am generally fatigued all the time- So I quit taking the stuff as of today on my own, I am seeing my MD in two week and I want to see what the difference is pain wise being off of the med for two weeks. I have always been a strong physical guy, played football all the way through college and am in pretty good shape for my age, but this stuff is killing me!! Hope this helps someone else also-Thanks for listening-John in Napa, CA.

Both my father (79 years old) and I (48 years old) were prescribed Lisinopril and Lovastatin in the recent past. Within a short period of time (2-3 mos), we both began experiencing excruciating Charley Horse-type cramping in our legs, and I experienced them in hands as well. My father's cramps were more severe. I quit taking the meds and he has not. His symptoms continue, mainly in the evening. My symptoms abated when I stopped taking the meds.

I don't have particularly high blood pressure, nor do I have high cholesterol, my doctor simply prescribes these meds "to prevent the onset of these problems". I am an insulin-dependent diabetic. My father suffered a massive heart attack 5 years ago.

I feel GREAT now that the meds are out of my system. Dad continues to suffer with terrible cramping in his legs and sometimes in his glutes. This can't be good for him. I assume the meds do something to his blood levels of vitamins or minerals, yet his doctor does nothing. He is going to visit a naturopath soon to see what that person recommends. He looks terrible and feels terrible.

I have been taking flomax for a couple of years now. The benefit has been urinating a few times less a day. I don't sleep well. Lately, I have been have mild, not real painful, like a dull pain headaches. I do get dizzy upon standing more frequently lately, I do not recall the dizziness until just recently. But my big side effect is loss of erection during sex and/or voluntary erection. I never had this problem before. I workout five days a week, three cardio days and two days in the weight room. I also take lisinopril for blood pressure and lovastatin for chloresterol. Great to hear other men are experiencing these same side effects.

I've been on simvastatin for about 8 years - recently increased to 20mg pd. Side-effects seem to match up very closely with other posters. Back and shoulder pain, often quite acute. Pain in left side under ribs. Various stomach pains and a general feeling of being unwell. Recently had treatment for trigger finger on right hand.
I'm fairly certain that the longer one takes this medication,
a/ the side-effects gradually get worse and
b/ the side-effects last longer when you stop taking the drug.

In July I was put on lovastatin for moderately elevated cholesterol, I have a family history of heart disease. After being on it for a week I started feeling achy, and flu-like symptoms. My joints and back hurt. My doctor had me go off for two weeks and try again. This time after just two days all symptoms came back. Again, my doctor took me off the lovastatin and a month later had me restarted Zocor (simvastatin). My back pain got worse and the back of my legs started aching and getting charleyhorses at night. My doctor checked a CK level which was normal and her nurse advised me to keeping taking the drug, that it wasn't doing any harm to my muscles and that my side effects would probably get better. Two weeks later I woke up in the middle of the night with restless arms and muscle twtiching all over my body. Another CK level was done and it was normal. I have seen two neurologists and they seem to think it is lingering effects of the statin drugs. I have been off of them for a month and still have twitching, although I think it is a little better. I am really getting tired of this and think that something is really wrong. Has anyone else ever experienced somethimg like this?

I began taking lovastatin in July, after three days on it my joints and back ached. I felt like I had the flu. My doctor told me to stop it for two weeks then retry. One day after trying again I had the same symptoms. They switched me to Zocor (simvastatin). After a week on that my muscles ached, had a CK test and it was fine, continued taking and woke up one night with all over muscle twitches. Stopped taking it four days ago and still have twitches. Has anybody heard of this. My doctor told me it would probably go away, but it is driving me crazy. When and if I get over the aches and twitches I am supposed to try red yeast rice with coenzyme Q10. Please let me know if anybody has experienced the same and when these twitches and aches will go away?
ph

knees have swollen pockets and are excruciating as are ankles. Upper arm spasms do not alow me to push pull or raise my arms at all. Hands feel like there are spained and certsin fingers swell. Dr dismisses lovastatin as the cause and increased the dosage, increasing the problems. Sortness of breath and tight chest and jaw have now been added to my misery. Any one else experiencing thhis let me know. I have stopped taking Lovastatin for 2 weeks but symptoms dont seem to be lessing yet

I have been on Lisinopril for several years, as well as Lovastatin. My doctor put me on these two drugs because I have Diabetes (type 2) and cardiovascular problems are often a result of Diabetes. I have had a chronic cough for over a year. During the day, the cough drives me and my friends crazy; at night, it wakes me up and even with 7 or 8 hours sleep, I never wake fully rested. I take my BP every morning before eating; in December it averaged 113.5 over 68. I guess the Lisinopril is working but at what expense?

I had severe aching in my legs I felt like I had a continual case of the flu. They also got extremely weak. My dr. took me off Lipitor and within a week my aching stopped but my legs are still very weak. He put me on prevacol but I could not afford that so now I am going to go on Lovastatin the next time I get a prescription filled. I hope this works.

After taking statins (Provacol, Lovastatin, Lipitor, and Zocor) for over 4 years and having strong muscle pains throught out my body, I stopped taking statins.

During this time the doctor tested me for everything else. I started taking Celebrex to stop the pain. It greatly reduced it.

However, i stopped Celebrex after how it might affect heart patients was made known.

Now 2 months after I stopped Lipitor, 95% plus of my pains are gone. I did not realize how severe they were until i stopped. one can get used to pain, but it does negatively affect you without you being consciously aware of it.

I now aggressively use diet and exercise to control my cholesterol. a better solution in all aspects.

when I started statins, i had no apparent side affects like muscle pain for about 10-12 months. however over time the pain started kept building and spreading. Eventually my legs muscles, back muscles, chest muscles, hip joints, elbow joints, and knee joints all ached.

A friend of mine who had been taking Lipitor (20mg) for a little over a year, recently started having muscle pains.

What I do not understand is why this side affect is not better know and published.

I have also developed a trigger finger on my right hand and since so many others have mentioned this problem I would like to know if anyone who stopped the Zocor sometime ago has experienced improvement as I was sent to a hand specialist who suggested a cortisone shot or surgery. I am not ready for either at this point.
Thanks for any info on this. I hate to think that this condition won't go away after the Zocor is out of my system.
****** Please write trigger finger for subject

I'm a 78-year old man, in very good shape for my age, was given Lovastatin 3 months ago. I began to have severe foot, calf and whole-leg cramps, left wrist & back pain -I had not had these problems before.
I cut the medicine in half for a couple of weeks, then stopped it entirely a month ago. These symptoms have improved greatly but I still have some of them and I'm afraid there has been permanent damage.
Has anyone else had these symptoms?
Ray Mac.

Spreading muscle aches, teeth and jaw pain cramps.

I have been taking Lisonopril and lovastatin ang\d Gemfibrozil and NOW the Dr. put me on Tenormin. I am getting severe Tinnitis(ringing in my head and am nearly suicidal \. What is this stuff? I think I would rather die a sane fat 49 year old with a heart attack

Those of you who are suffering from muscle achiness should tell your doctors that this is now a recognized side-effect of statins. An article published in the October 1, 2002 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded "Some patients who develop muscle symptoms while receiving statin therapy have demonstrable weakness and histopathologic findings of myopathy despite normal serum creatine kinase levels." Similar problems are recognized by the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association adn the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Their findings are cited in Jane Brody's column in the New York Times (December 10, 2002).
I experienced intense muscle achiness in my legs while on generic lovastatin. Interestingly, for me, this disappeared when I switched to Lipitor.