Simvastatin and blood test

Followup to my June 7th posting. I have since started Simvastatin again, and was actually off of it for a week. I have had a comprehensive blood test, been to the doc, and everything is ok, except my LDLs are high and total Cholesterol is still 204. The weather here has finally dried out and all my aches and pains have subsided. I'm walking briskly 3 miles a day after work, hiking on weekends. I'm adding foods to lower my LDLs and raise the HDLs in addition to 80mg Simvastatin. Also I'm eating less, and have cut most of my red meat and fatty foods from my diet. I'm 6', 187 lbs. and 59 yo. I actually feel good now, and nothing has changed except I'm getting more exercise, eating less and healthier, and it quit raining.

My experience is similar to most of the people here.
I am 40 years male weight about 155 lbs does work out regularly. I am a pre-diabetic and high-blood pressure. After initial check for BP, doctor found elevated levels of Triglycerides and prescribed simvastatin 10 mg and asked to continue workout. After taking about one-and-half month I started noticing chilling cold hands, pain in joins and SWELLING on my left chest. Then began observing my symptoms closely and surprised to see loss of energy, short term memory, gas, frequent urination, dry mouth, left hand , shoulder and left chest pain. I have discussed these with my doctor and the doctor tested blood, EKG,chest x-ray etc everything came as expected and no signs of cardiac arrest/or ill effects. The doctor also did stress test (treadmill EKG) and scheduled mammogram due to swelling(tender/no mass) on my left chest. Yesterday night I feel very concerned on my left chest and left hand pain and went to another doctor. The doctor immediately checked EKG, x-ray, blood test and none of them have any answers. They the doctor checked my ONLY prescription SIMVASTATIN 10mg and asked to stop this medicine for a while. I am going stop using this medication for a while and see if it improves. I will post my results here.

I'm glad I found this forum. I been taking zocor aka simvastatin for about 6 months. I started experiencing dizziness and lighhead about 6 weeks ago.
I am going to stop taking this drug immediately. I also feel like I am drunk but Im not. All my blood test came out fine. I went to the ENT Dr. and they told me
it does not look like a ear problem. All I know, I did not have any medical problems until I started taking this drug. I will let you know in 6 weeks if my symptoms improve or not.

chivazo.

Male 58 years old.

In September 2000 I had a heart attack and consequently underwent an angioplasty/stent procedure. Since then I have been taking 10mg of simvastatin daily.

During the last 12 months I noticed the following symptoms developing...Occasional dizziness... pain in thumb joints to the extent that I had trouble using cutlery...some pain in my right elbow joint...dry skin on my legs...tingling in fingertips and toes...headaches...tiredness...occasional general muscle fatigue for no apparent reason.

I am generally speaking quite active and have kept my weight to a reasonable level. I put some of these symptoms down to my age...... but then read peoples posts on this site.

Approx 2 months ago I stopped taking the statin tablets, ZOCOR, and have only been taking .75mg of dispersive aspirin daily along with a 1000mg vitamin C tablet dispersed in water.

Since doing this I have noticed that ALL symptoms have been gradually fading...I still have some slight discomfort in my thumb joints but hasten to add that its nothing compared to what it was only two months ago.

Have read elsewhere that a daily dose of vitamin C can help keep cholesterol levels down so am going to stick to this regime and have a blood test in about six months time to see how things are going.

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.

hi there i have been on simvastatin about a year now and have felt so ill since taking them i am now due to have several blood test to see what they can find " as i suffer with nausea, pains in my legs and body /and terrible depression and i cant remember me feeling like this before i started taking these tablets i really don't feel like me no more / and i can easily sit down and cry because off feeling like i do / now i have been told to take double dose because my cholesterol is higher / i have spoke to others of these tablets and they have had same reaction so i have decided on my own thoughts to stop i will tell my doctor.and i am hoping i will get back to my old self i will try and keep my cholesterol in control and i think its well worth a try than to have all these side affects B.

hi im 62 woman been on simvastatin for over 3 years and i have acute pain in my right side upper stomach also pain in my thumbs (diagnosed as gout but blood test showed it wasn't)bad taste in the mouth and visit the loo about 6 times a day recently lost a loved one but my mind feels numb and im depressed most days (NOT LIKE I USED TO BE)after reading this sites letters im off the simvastatin for good as i now know whats wrong with me THANKS.......................

I started simvastin on Aug 11. Lately I got severe lower back ache every time I get up in the middle of the night and every morning but the lower back ache goes away as I starts my day after 1 hour. I am also experience short memory loss.
Pls advice if this is a serious side effect of the drug.
Thanks....hw

I have muscle pain, weakness, and chronic lower back pain. Started statin drug, Simvastatin, on 11/21/07. I take no other drugs. Within two weeks, I could not sit without severe lower back pain. Reported problem to family medical doctor on 1/11/08. M.D. sent me to physical therapy for 8 sessions. No relief from physical therapy so I requested an X-ray on 3/20/08. X-ray shows very mild degeneration at one lower vertebrae. M.D. sent me to an orthopaedics doctor who recommended continued physical therapy. Went to a Chiropractor instead. After six chiropractic sessions with little relief, I made an appointment with an Osteopathic doctor. My M.D. sent me to a rheumatologist who prescribed high dose naproxen for two weeks. The rheumatologist ordered and X-ray of my lower back area. The lower back X-ray produced no negatives. The rheumatologist's next step will be to order and MRI of my lower back area. The D.O. suspects statin induced myopathy and because of hyper reflexes he ordered an MRI of my brain and cervical spine. I am now recommended to a neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Am I getting the run around? Only one doctor said I might have statin induced myopathy. The rest will not even mention the statin drug theory. I just pray for ache and pain relief. I have some improvement after four months off of the statin which I believe is quite a strong point that it was the statin drug and not some unknown condition. I don't think arthritis or MS conditions improve. All I know is that I had no health issues before taking the simvastatin. Good luck to everyone who has or is taking a statin drug. BEWARE!!!

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 am a hill walker. My name is Steve and I am 58 years old. I have been recently diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes. Fair enough. I have been given dispersible aspirin, metformin to lower blood sugars, ramipril to reduce blood pressure and SIMVASTATIN to reduce cholesterol. This drug (Simvastatin) made me so Ill that I couldn't walk up my drive without feeling as if I was going to pass out. I also suffered tummy pains, felt very sick and my heart was thumping and banging like a base drum. Every joint in my body ached so badly that I thought my walking days were over for good. I stopped taking it four days ago and already feel better. My doctor has given me a replacement medicine called PRAVASTATIN but I am frightened to take it, fearing that it may create the same or similar problems. Has anyone got any comments or experienced problems with Pravastatin? I would appreciate any feedback that you might be able to give, positive or negative.
Regards,
Steve.

I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel after starting 40 mg simvastatin, my wrist had never bothered me before, was one step away from surgery. Other joints started giving me problems. As joint problems grew I also was getting weaker. I felt so weak I couldn't get out of bed. Headache, neck stiffness, nausea, and kidney pain. Doctor just told me blood test does not show anything is wrong. I stopped the pills 4 days ago and my wrist no longer hurts. I'm still weak. I think they haven't found the test that proves the way this drug is the cause. How can I be is such bad shape but the tests look normal?

Doctor started me on simvastatin 2 weeks ago. Since then i have been feeling nauseous, especially in the morning. pains in the back and shoulders and feeling very weak. Last Saturday i couldn't get out of bed because i was so weak. The Doctor advises me to continue taking the pills as they will help to reduce my cholesterol and help with my diabetic control i am not convinced. I have had a blood test to test the effect of the statins and has come back negative.