Lower cholesterol symptoms and conditions

Three and a half years ago i suffered a heart attack, i had three stents put in and was put on Aspirin 75mg, Cardicor, 1.25mg, Tritace 5mg and Lipitor 80mg. I was fairly fit at the time, didn't drink or smoke and ate properly.

But now i'm suffering, i've been to the hospital and my GP, but are told there is nothing wrong, my hear tis good. So why am i suffering with light headedness, pains through my body, back, neck, chest, stomach. So much so i thought i had gall stones or kidney stones. My right knee can't be touched, it is so sore. Chest heaviness, eyesight getting worse, slurred speech, depression i could go on.

I've said this to my doctor, he just brushes it off and says i'm on them for life, ....apparently standard treatment for anyone who's had a heart attack. I walk 5 miles a day, eat 5 or more fruit and veg, don't smoke or drink, do all what i'm meant to. My cholesterol is really low, but so is the HDL too. I was never recommended CoQ10 or a vitamin B complex.

It was my mother who told me to research the side effects of all the meds i'm on. I agree, we all want to live a long and healthy life, but at what cost. I am now of the opinion that doctor's are so use to thinking they are near god like, they have forgotten that we are individuals, that we know our own bodies. I'm sick of the fact that the large pharmaceutical companies send out there sales reps to doctor's surgeries and that is what is deciding what the patients end up taking and not the patient's problem.

DOCTOR'S WAKE UP TREAT THE CAUSE NOT THE SYMPTOMS!!!!!!!

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2007 and have been on prednisone since then. I started on about 105mg a week and am currently trying to reduce it but it is really hard as the moment the dosage goes down I lose all mobility and cannot even get out of bed. I am only 23 years old and really feeling the disease to the extent that I cannot even cope with my life. The prednisone has really taken its toll on me and the side effects are crazy! I just want to go back to my old self as I am finding it sooo hard to get through a single day. My side effects include:

Insomnia, tooth sensitivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, moon face (my face is so swollen that I cant stand looking in the mirror anymore, dizziness, temper, feelings of uselessness, nightmares, night sweats, water retention, and to top it all off the arthritis is getting worse and I am in constant pain. Is there anything anyone can suggest then please help me!

I am a 65 year old female taking 20mlg of lipitor for almost 10 years. All of a sudden I started having severe pain, shaking and weakness in the calf muscle. The pain is unbearable. Doctors after doctors including a cardiologist, rhoumatologist and internist don't know the reason. I have stopped lipitor for 3 days. I cry and pray to god to help me everyday. I cannot exercise which is my passion for many years. I am hoping the lipitor is the reason and not something else. I have to wait and see. But I suspect it is.
SR
I do have nausea, depression and low back pain and arthritis and frequent headaches.

Went off simvastatin in March, all pain went away within a couple of months, but muscle weakness in legs remained. In October, found out my cholesterol is sky high, over 325. So Dr. wanted to try Crestor 5 mg. Within 1 week, I had overwhelming fatigue, could hardly stay awake during the day and the weakness in my legs was getting worse. So I just went off Crestor. Frustrating!!

Updating - I am female in my sixties. started Simvastatin in Jan. this year due to 7.8 cholesterol reading. Came off for 3 months in May due to joint pains etc. GP said to try and lower cholesterol by diet. Practically lived on salads and fruit - however my cholesterol went up to 7.8 again. Proof to me that diet made no difference to my cholesterol reading. GP in August upped my dose then to 40mg a day. Felt very nauseous and ill and after 10 days came off yet again. I suggested to my GP high dose was making me ill. She agreed to my taking 10mg daily. Feel OK but still have joint pain. I have just read Doctor Malcolm Kendricks Book - The Great Cholesterol Con and I recommend it to all Simvastatin users. Very thought provoking. Please contact me if you would like more info.

Boy, after reading all the negative testimonials on Lipitor, I will throw mine in the garbage. That is what they are meant for. I have severe headache, and muscle pain, and foggy head, and I have only been on the crap for 2 months. I believe a lot of people's health is being ruined, and a lot of deaths are happening as well because of Lipitor and other statins. Mark my word, one day this drug will be withdrawn from the market, and the poor Pharmacutial companies will be in huge trouble.. They have the world convinced that we all need statins to bring cholesterol down.. The era when my parents lived , and lived long lives, and on farms, with butter, bacon, lots of fats, and never heard the word STATIN. I think every one that is writing to this forum and complaining about LIPITOR, should make a phone call to PYzier and tell them your side effects, that is the only way anything positive will come from this forum.. thank you for listening... I have called Pyzier and told them as well.

Going into my second week and experiencing irratic sleeping, lower back pain, occasional nausea and a lot of gas. I'm taking it for IBS and to lower cholesterol. I have also been taking a probiotic and something called chlorella, which is supposed to be one of the healthiest, natural supplement on the planet. So I was thinking the combination of all of the above was causing this. After reading all of the side effects, I'm thinking strongly of quiting the Welchol. Will give it one more week.

I have been taking Simvastatin 20 mg. for about two and 1/2 months now. It really lowered my Cholesterol but I have been extremely fatigued and now I am getting really dizzy when standing up and having some nausea.

I am 53 years old and was almost 4 years on Lipitor and started experiencing periphial neuropathology that was horrible! I had a keen neurologist who took me off after doing several tests for Lyme, Lupus, MS, etc. She said she sees more and more of my symptoms 3 to 8 years plus on Lipitor. I went off Lipitor on June 1st (my birthday), so have been off for more than a month. All of the zapping and tingling has subsided in my hands, feet, face, arms, and head. I still have neuropathology in my hands, some muscle weakness in my arms, and numbness in my toes which are all slowly diminishing. My neurologist says she expects full recovery in 4-6 months. Take B complex vitamins. I take Shaklee's twice a day.This greatly helps in the repair of the nerve damage from Lipitor. My neurologist also recommended me taking FBCx, ******(1-2 with every meal containing fat, the website explains dosage), and 1 tablespoon of omega 3 fish oils in the form of flax or fish to reduce cholesterol. There are other things I take like garlic, cinnamon extract, green tea extract. If you type in "lower cholesterol with supplements" online you will find other things like red rice yeast as well. Good luck!

I have been on Zocor for one year. I am a former athlete used to dealing with pain associated with playing and training at a high level. Since using Zocor, my energy level has decreased significantly, very tired, before, during and after workouts. Muscle pain specifically in my neck, back and legs has significantly increased without cause. I have a constant feeling of a stabbing pain in my abdomen, accompanied with nausea, bloating and abdominal gas. After seeing some of the posts on this site, has there been a lot of reporting of abdominal pain? Bloating? Gas?
I too, have had trouble sleeping, accompanied by unexplained itching, and now after seeing these posts probably some mild depression. I believe I've had some short term memory loss - but then I can't really remember - LOL. Is the drug worth it? Physicians all seem to downplay the side effects, justifying the desired lower cholesterol, as more important than the side effects.........is it?
At 46 years old and formerly a competitive athlete at an elite level, I'm wondering if feeling better by NOT taking the drug is better than feeling worse and taking it. My training regimen was very intense prior to starting Zocor - NOW - it seems as if I can't keep up any longer. Any response to these problems would be greatly appreciated.

I am sitting hear reading these replays and crying because I am suffering the same symptoms. I have been on lipitor for over 5 years and have had repeated bouts of leg pains, head fogginess, dizziness, pain in thigh, hip, and back. I recently started having pains so bad i could not walk. The really sad part is that I am a nurse and should have known it was the lipitor. I had x-rays, ct scans, etc all negative. And today a light finally went off when I said maybe its a side effect from lipitor. And sure enough, looking at the stories here validates my late conclusion. I did not take dosage of lipitor today and will try some more natural remedies. I have scheduled to see my doctor on Wednesday to discuss this issue. Unfortunately I can barely walk without the usages of crutches. Sitting can be just horrible, i wake up in middle of night tossing and turning trying to find a position that the pain will stop in. I cry like a baby at times because of pain and maybe a little depression. This is horrible. Lipitor is an awesome drug in lowering your cholesterol but the side effects are just unbearable. I will continue to update.

I don't think that anyone can predict a time frame for getting over an adverse drug reaction. Below is my opinion but I see a lot of evidence that it is basically shared by other people maybe not exactly as I state it.

Adverse drug reactions deplete many essential nutrients from our systems. Inflammatory response is very stressful on the body. It is sometimes a very big effort to work on the diet to put back what has been taken away. It can take a long time.

Quinolines particularly deplete B-vitamins, folic acid (B-9), calcium/magnesium/zinc and omega-3 fatty acid. Sometimes the blood-lab work shows elevated homocysteine which proves that the body has suffered inflammation. Cardiologists now use homocysteine levels to show whether someone is at risk for heart disease due to inflammation. Deficiencies of B-6, B-9, and B-12 are known to cause elevated homocysteine.

Here is the pharmaceutical company ZINGER. Now companies such as Merck and Pfizer are going to offer niacin products to lower cholesterol. Well, yeh, duh !. All of these drug reactions are causing depleted B vitamins which elevate cholesterol. Then after they have tried to kill us by depleting our B - vitamins, they want to sell us another pill to give the B vitamins back to us. How many people out there are on some kind of a pill with side effects that cause inflammation? What a business? It is win, win, win.

In September of 2007 my then 13 year old daughter was put on Singular for mild asthma. At the time she was a straight A student, vice president of our school and a popular girl who's guidance counselor described as "the glue of her grade" because she was so well liked. In November she told me that she was struggling with advanced Latin and Science. She asked to drop down to on grade Latin so we did. In December her science teacher notified us that she had a C average. She told me that she thought she had ADD/ADHD and she couldn't keep up. At the same time she was having a lot of problems with friends at school and we just attributed it to being 14. 3 weeks ago we discovered that she is significantly behind in English and it was then that she told me that she is been having horrific night mares. She said that they usually involve someone killing her or her killing herself. She said that they were so graphic that she couldn't repeat it out loud. She also said that she would feel waves of anxiety that would come over her at school and she would act "witchy" to the kids in her class for no real reason. She said that sometimes when she is trying to do her homework she will read the same passage for 2 hours and still have no idea what it's about. She also said that the suicidal thoughts from her sleep happened during they day and that she had thoughts of her harming herself. Fortunately her pulminologist told us that this may be caused by singular and we immediately took her off of it which was 2 weeks ago. She has only had 1 "bad dream" not even a nightmare since. She had one anxiety attack 3 days after she was off it and she describes her moods as the "cloud lifting....slowly". Now, we have to pick up the pieces. Her grades have suffered, her friendships have suffered and most of all her self esteem is very low. I'm grateful that we found out the cause but I feel as if my daughter lost a year of her life and I worry that because Merck won't admit there are side effects we can't find out how long it remains in their system. Is anyone else concerned about the long term affect and has anyone pursued a class action suit to try to get this drug tested properly?

I am 44 year old male and have been on Lipitor for about 2 years the last dose of which was increased to 40mg. I am active, go to gym regularly but I have found especially over the last 6 months that I get stiffness all over my body if I am immobile in a single position for a while - in any part of my body - that verges on painful. I cannot sit with my legs folded, or on my haunches without getting very stiff. Even getting out of a chair will leave me with stiff ankles or even sore feet and a lower back that need to be walked out to be better. At night my hands hurt from being still. I also have tinnitus which comes and goes. Because of my doing so much weight training and exercise I cannot understand why I feel like how I imagine a much older person might feel in terms of stiffness and body aches. I am going to get a blood test for liver and cholesterol tomorrow as a result of reading these reports because they may explain my aches and then I am going to stop at once and advise my doctor of what I have done and see if this makes a difference. I also feel that I have a lower libido. This cannot be arthritis either because that pain does not come and go, it tends to stay in one place. There might also be other symptoms that I have not realized - if this is related to Lipitor. I will report back to this forum.

I'm taking Lovastatin and I'm in severe pain. My legs, hips, back and arms hurt. I have problems swallowing and breathing. Can someone please help me. I so tired of being this way. I am getting very depressed because of all the pain I'm suffering.

I have been taking Lipitor for nearly 3 years, and during this time, for virtually the whole time I have suffered with sever burning pains in my toes of my right foot, stinging pains also which cannot be attributed to anything else. It has got so severe that at times I cannot walk, and could not bear to put my foot on the ground.
It was only recently that I linked these pains to taking Lipitor, and I have since stopped the drug. Miraculously my "acute " pains have gone within a few days, although I am left with very great soreness in the skin of my right foot, which feels like it is nerve generated.
I have been to the doctor on numerous occasions about these symptons, and although I have been a "Heart" patient for 3 years and seen 3 GP's during this time, not one has ever linked my pain to the drug.
Knowing what I know now, this drug should be withdrawn and alternative remedies used to lower cholesterol before anymore people suffer.
My experience has been one of near disablement, and a sever reduction in the quality of my life for what? I only hope that my body will now heal and I can make a full recovery.

I have terrible ringing in my ears which never stops. The pain in both of my feet is excruciating to the point of tears every day every moment. My joints in my hands are crippling. There is pain in my shoulders and arm muscles. I have not been able to sleep through a night without waking up in severe pain. If this is how one feels with lower cholesterol, then what is the point? I am mad at myself for never questioning or doing any homework prior to beginning this or any drug but trust me, I am a quick learner and this will never happen again. I just pray I haven't ignored the symptoms too long.

I had my first MI at age 57 on Oct. 29th 2004. I was given Zocor 40 meg. and my problems started in the hospital. I had terrible leg aches and they even looked for clots. Finding nothing I was sent home after 5 days with two stents and told if I got tired just rest. I had to take two months off work. In January I returned back to work but the leg aches continued at night. In January I returned to the hospital with another episode and received three more stents. My cholesterol was at 110. The Dr. continued me with the Zocor 40 mg. twice a day now. I continued to have problems with clogging arteries and in the next four months I had another 4 stents. In the summer I walked a lot and still continued to have leg aches at night. After a year of complaining I was put on Vytorin and things really got worse. In six months I couldn’t walk right, kept falling, couldn’t sleep with the cramping, my joints all felt like they no longer supported my frame. I was put on Crestor, then Lipitor, then Zetia, and then I took matters in my own hands. I stopped the statin drugs. My cholesterol skyrocketed of course to 289. It was only 189 at the time of the first MI. I have slowly regained my ability to walk and joined Curves. This is about all I can do and am slowly getting better. I tell everyone I can about my horror story with statin drugs. I’ve been to an arthritis specialist, negative on all forms of arthritis causing this. I went to a gastric specialist and no stomach problems. I was sent to a neurologist who told my muscles were very weak and not to take statin drugs, but like all the Dr.’s I’ve been referred to none would touch the statin drug issue. My last referral was to an orthopedic surgeon because of my walking problems, and at first I was told that if my hips didn’t stop degenerating I would need them replaced to be able to walk. Last month after 9 months off statin drugs he retook x-rays and said my hips are looking fine. There is hope. I have been on a strict diet and exercise program and am ready to start stationary bicycling to try to rebuild muscle mass lost during the 2 years on different statin drugs. I also took C10 150 megs. after getting off statins to see if that would help and I don’t know, but I am told to keep doing what I’m doing. I hope the cholesterol will come down as I eat more oat bran or oatmeal. I hope my story helps some of you because I do believe I am getting well.

After by-pass heart surgery in 2002, my cardilogist put me on 40mg of zocor.
I was in good health with no physical limitations. I had no heart damage. The restriction of heart arteries were found due to my stress test that was performed each year as a part of my annual Physical. After surgery I was on zocor for three years, during that time I experienced a little tiredness, little weakness, a little muscle aches. some tingling in my right arm and shoulder. I went to my heart doctor Jan. 2006 and he changed me to vytorin (10mg zetia and 40mg zocor). about 6 months all of the about symptoms got worse.
By Jan. 2007, my muscles became so stiff, I could not walk, had balance problems, severe muscle aches and cramps, numbness and tingling in both arms and hands, also stifness and pain in my hands, stiffness and pain in both feet, stifness and pain in my back and weird nerve sensations over my entire body. During Jan. and Feb 2007, I was seen by my family doctor, a neurologist, and a muscle doctor. Thanks to the internet, I found info on zocor and zetia, which is the drug vytorin. Warnings described the same symptoms I am experiencing. I stopped vytorin, I am not taking any statins drugs now. My doctor order a blood test to check for muscle damage, It indicated severe damage, a Creatine level of 770. This level should not be over 200. After being off the drugs for 30 days the creatine level dropped to 645. My condition has improved by 25%. I am walking a little better, but I still having muscle problems, there is improvement. I think there will be a very long recovery. There seems to be some evidence that these Statins affect people of age much more than the young. I am 70 years old. PLEASE PEOPLE, IF YOU ARE TAKING STATINS DRUGS, STOPPED NOW! SLOVE YOUR CHOLESTROL PROBLEMS BY OTHER MEANS. Since I stopped my cholestrol has gone from 157 to 280, but I am not going back taking these drugs. I am trying the natural way now. I have read post after post on many web-sites of people with the same symptoms that were using these drugs. The drug companies and the FDA are responsible for the the degradation of people's health taking these statin drugs.

I was on Lipitor for several years with no side effects. After time it didn't seem as effective as it did at first but maybe I wasn't watching my diet as well. I know I wasn't exercising as much. I've been on 4 pills to lower cholesterol. Zocor gave me stomach pain, as though someone's fist was pushing into my stomach for a moment several times a day. I went on Provachol with no side effects. My doctor switched me to Lipitor because she thought it was more effective. I had no problems on Lipitor. I'm now on Crestor - 40 mg with no side effects. My brother has had problems taking statins. Some have no affect on his cholesterol and the ones that do help his cholesterol were effecting his liver. He's had a heart attack, bypass surgery and has changed his diet and exercises regularly and is doing fine and has found a statin that helps.

I am 48. Family history of Cholesterol problems. Tried a change of diet with some success, but, according to my Doctor, not enough. Doctor strongly encouraged me to take Lipitor to lower cholesterol. I had never been on any meds, so I was reluctant. I asked about niacin as opposed to a statin. He said no.

for 2 years, I've been on Lipitor-10mg/day. I was informed to look for side effects related to liver and muscle. I have never experienced any of the muscle aches/side effects described in the postings I just scanned, with the exception of mild lethargy. Liver tests have always been normal.

However I have been experiencing what I consider significant cognitive decline. I have experienced difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss (e.g., did I take my medication, or only THINK I took it). I feel inept when trying to carry on conversations, helping my kids with homework, reading an article in the paper. Ask my age--I have to think about it. recalling words to put together a complete sentence--challenging at times. I also have experienced occasional feelings of dizziness/floating.

For a long time, I blamed much of these symptoms on stress and a preoccupation with a variety of family problems, however when these problems subsided, and the symptoms persisted, I then assumed that they might be menopause-related.

Until a week ago, I didn't realize there might be a possible link between Lipitor and cognitive decline, until I read an syndicated medical advice column in our local newspaper.

My annual check-up was 4 days ago, and was prepared to discuss with him, my concerns/fears about my cognitive decline in relation to menopause or early-onset alzheimers. Instead, I asked him about a connection between Lipitor and cognitive decline. He acknowleged a link, but minimized it in relation to the studies performed. Never-the less, he agreed that I go off lipitor and come back into the office in 2 months for a recheck. I have been lipitor-free for 3 days.

I am 61 years old and have always exercise and watched my weight. exercise and diet was not enough and the doctor put me on 10mg of Zocor for the last 5 years.
For the passed 3 years I have experienced severe pain, mostly on my knees and ankles that prevents me from walking, at times the pain is so bad that my wife had to take me to the emergency room. This year the pain is occuring more often, almost every week. I had several blood test and MRI's and the doctors can not find the reason for the pain. My cardiologist tells me that the pain is not related to Zocor because it should had happen at the begginig of using the medication. I know that I need to lower my cholesterol and tryglicerides, but after reading this page, I will be affraid to take this medicine.
Does anyone know any other method to lower Cholesterol and tryglicerides??????.

ADVICE FROM THOSE WHO HAVE STOPPED YASMIN!!!!

So I posted here a while back with a list of all my symptoms while on Yasmin...stomach problems, urinary problems, migraines, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, high cholesterol, chest pains, muscle aches, vaginal dryness, ANXIETY...and the list goes on and on.

Anyway, after 3 years on Yasmin and many doctors refusing to believe that Yasmin has anything to do with my problems, I decided to stop Yasmin on my own. Although I am glad that Yasmin is out of my system and there have been some improvements (decreased heart rate, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol), I have been off of Yasmin for 7 weeks and am feeling pretty horrible. Since stopping Yasmin, I have acquired the following new symptoms:

-EXCESSIVE HAIR LOSS- my hair is thinning, falling out constantly and I am losing 200+ hairs a day.
-Increased acne and oiliness on face
-Dry skin everywhere else- my hands, legs and scalp have been really dry and are either flaking or peeling.
-No period- I have not had a period for 7 weeks.

I feel so depressed and more anxious more than ever- possibly due to all of the additional symptoms I am having. I am assuming this is just the Yasmin getting out of my system.

Anyway, has anyone else who has stopped Yasmin experienced hair loss? I have an GYN appt on Thursday, but all of my doctors tend to blow me off like I am just some crazy person. I am really freaking out about this and it is really consuming my life.

my dad is on lopid..... to lower cholesterol.
he has developed severe itching.....can
anyone help???
thanks
kat