I was on 40 mg of simvastatin for 4 months with seemingly no side...

Muscles and Statins

A University of Alabama at Birmingham physiology professor, Dr. Thalacker-Mercer, has found that simvastatin (Zocor) inhibit muscle repair and regeneration. The title of her work is ““Simvastatin Reduces Human Primary Satellite Cell Proliferation in Culture” and was publish at the September 2008 meeting of the American Physiological Society.

A synopsis of her work can be found here http://www.the-aps.org/press/journal/08/32.htm

The Brain and Statins

In addition, Yeon-Kyun Shin, a biophysics professor at Iowa State University, has found that statins that inhibit the liver from making cholesterol may also keep the brain from making cholesterol, which is vital to efficient brain function.

Professor Shin said, "If you try to lower the cholesterol by taking medicine that is attacking the machinery of cholesterol synthesis in the liver, that medicine goes to the brain too. And then it reduces the synthesis of cholesterol which is necessary in the brain,"

Source -- http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2009/feb/shin.shtml

Kind Regards,

Farside

I have never taken statins myself, but my father, mother and a very dear friend did. They all suffered from different health issues but to begin with I had no clue that it could be side effects.

Neither did I have Internet and I had no idea about the books that oppose the Cholesterol Hypotesis..

It has taken me quite some time to become aware.

Are you sure that it`s high cholesterol that is causing heart disese?

This is what people are told all over the world.
Personally, I think it´s a very profitable business for the pharmaceutical companies.

Below I have added a message that I wrote earlier on, on this site. Hope it will help you and others.
________________________________________________________________

I really feel sorry for you - and others.
I have never taken statins myself - nor would I. But I have had people close to me who did.

My old father had head aches year after year, but at that point I had no Internet and did not know what I know today.

Head ache is just one of many side effects that you can get.

I think the most important question to ask is - is it true that cholesterol is the reason for heart disease?

There are other opinions on the cholesterol issue than the ones you hear every day.

Here are some books:

The Great Cholesterol Con (Anthony Colpo), The Cholesterol Myths (Uffe Ravnskov), Overdosed America (John Abramson), The Truth About The Drug Companies (Marcia Angell), Malignant Medical Myths (Joel F. Kauffman), Lipitor - thief of memory

Visit: www.ravnskov.nu, www.thincs.org, www.spacedoc.net, www.statineffects.com? (under links you will find different types of side effects)

Google "Stopped our statins", a very informative site made by a patient. Under "print articles" to the left you will find an interesting article from Weston Price Foundation - about the different statins studies and side effects.

All lipid lowering drugs (=statins) have similar side effects.

They can come at once, or after many years, when they, unfortunately, can be diagnosed as something completely different with more medications as a result - or just as old age.

Hope this will inspire you to make up your own mind on this issue. I am not working in the health- or pharmaceutical idustry. Just an ordinary lady who lives in Sweden.

I will never forget the terrible side effects that people close to me suffered and that made me look for more information.

Also read the patient stories for Lipitor (Atorvastatin) and Zocor (Simvastatin) etc. You will find many head aches etc.

All statins have similar side effects.

Good luck!

I totally agree with "Swedish". I have read some of the books she mentioned and I repeat her question: "Are you sure that it`s high cholesterol that is causing heart disese?"
I would rather say it´s an excess of carbohydrates (bread, pasta, fruits, sweets, soft drinks etc) and to litte of natural fats (animal fats: butter, full cream, meats, fish), stress, overweightness (due to too much carbs), diabetes (often due to too much carbs) etc...
Since the low fat high carb eating recommendations came in the 80´s people are getting fatter and fatter and getting more and more diabetes (and other illnesses linked to being overweight).
I eat the other way around - and feel very good!