Simvastatin and simvastatin

What brought me to this site is the fact that I have a bitter taste in my mouth that gradually occurred since I have been on Simvastatin 40 mg for about three weeks. I have also noticed a strange burning/numbness in my heels only, which has also been gradual. I feel more sleepy most days and not what I would call fatigued, but just like I don't feel like doing anything. I eat more just to try to get the taste out of my mouth and don't feel like exercising. I also finally went back to my Pilates class and felt unbalanced when trying some simple stretches. I usually have excellent balance. I guess my question is: Are these things related, and are they going to just get worse?

80 mg prescribed over 18mth period - shoulder pain began after one year - acute pain at night', diminishing rotational capability during the day. Second shoulder pain followed soon after with same symptoms. Feels as if the joint is becoming unstable and the moving skeletal components rubbing together and jarring.(clicks,clonks felt & heard) GP immediately took me off them and arranged physio. After two weeks without simvastatin there is no change/ relief in symptoms

I have been reading all of your Simvastatin experiences with high interest and would like to share my adventures with all of you as well. My story began seven years ago when I was relatively healthy and enjoying life. My doctor prescribed Lipitor for my elevated cholesterol and two months later I found myself in the emergency room after having a severe bout with vertigo for the first time in my life. I have since spent the last seven years fighting this debilitating illness which continues to haunt me after having seen every top neurologist in my area and having taken every neurological test available. It would be as difficult to convince me that I was not somehow "poisoned" by Lipitor as it was for me to convince my doctor.

I was eventually prescribed Simvastatin 40MG and seemed to stabilize for a few years even though my dizziness problems persisted. Suddenly I began experiencing bouts of upset stomach and severe lower abdominal pain. I allowed my doctor to order basically every nasty test known to man in an effort to discover the cause of this new problem, but all have come up negative so far. Eventually I began to experience total exhaustion in the middle of my work day, not to mention the back, neck, and muscle pain that has been described so vividly in this forum. Basically, I have become a 53 year old man who feels much older, has absolutely no energy, and rarely has a day when I can honestly say I feel alive and well.

I am not a doctor and I can't honestly prove that Simvastatin is the cause of all of my problems. However, I do have common sense and after reading all of your thoughtful comments on the subject I would be foolish to at least not suspect that the drug may possibly be making me less healthy and not more healthy. Thank you all for opening my mind to this possibility and I certainly plan on discussing this with my doctor very soon, who may no longer by my doctor should he continue to insist that I take this nasty drug.

I m Asian 5ft 5, started on simvastatin 3 wks ago cause doctor advice. Feeling cramp and numbness in my right leg 3-4 times a week and my hands and legs felt so tired and weak when i get up in the morning. Told my doc about this but she said its normal! How am i suppose to go through the rest of my life like this? I m only 37 years old!

I have been on simvastatin for 2 yrs . The past six months have had foot pain my doctor described as neuroma.By the time I started physical therapy the pain was in my arch + tendons. I went to physical therapy for two months, the therapist became concerned when improvement peaked. Still have burning nerve pain. I think its time for natural supplements . I hear "red Rice Yeast" is effective.
S. M.

I have been on Simvastatin for about 4 months now. For the past 2 months, I have been having unexplained muscle/joint pain and tightness in my hips and thighs. I couldn't figure out what I'd done but thought it was just one of those things (slept wrong, stepped wrong, etc.). I've been working with a foam roller to get the knots out, even getting up in the middle of the night to work on the roller because it hurt so much. That helped some. Took Motrin but that didn't work at all! Added Omega 3 fish oil and glucosamine and that did help a little. Have been limping for 2 months now and it finally occurred to me, "I wonder if it's the Simvastatin?" I already knew I was sensitive to chemicals like sodium lauryl sulfate, so everything I see written here makes sense to me. I emailed my MD today and she said to stay off it for 3 weeks and see if I see any improvement, plus get blood work. I sure hope I don't have any muscle damage. Thank all of you for posting your experiences

My husband has been on Simvastatin for a few years, six months ago his dose was increased to 40mg, since then he has become someone I don't recognize, we have been married over twenty years and he used to be a very placid and wonderful man. He is now both verbally and physically abusive, he threatens me with divorce on a regular basis. He lies about me to others telling them he does all the housework (never) there is never any food in the house ( Totally untrue) He disappears for hours on end, and sleeps much of the time. He can be quite plausible with other people but turns into a monster when he returns home. Doctor told me I don't think it can be the statin, don't believe everything you read on the internet! She said to be sure for him to come off it for a few weeks - he refused! His aggression is escalating and I now dread him coming home. he has odd moments of being nice but within hours he is back to being nasty. He had been impotent for 7 years but now during his "nice moments" becomes amorous! I am at my wits end, has anyone else experienced this!

I was recently prescribed Simvastatin 40 mg by my GP as I have high blood pressure and Cholesterol. After the first nigh of taking Simvastatin, I am suffering from severe dizziness and feel weak. Can Simvastatins cause these symptoms after one dose and has anyone else had this problem?

Hi and please feel free to email me. I was on Lipitor for quite a while (20mg)without any issues. Due to insurance etc I was switched to 40mg of simvastatin---with in a short time i noticed i was waking nearly every morning with a mouth full of junk requiring a deep throat clearing. Then a low level sore throat that persisted for more than two weeks. I went to my doc who agreed that it may be related (though I think she doubted it) and had me stop. Now i have been off for 5 days and still my throat is sore (though not sore to swallow) and mouth generally feels "messed up".

If any of you have had any sore throat experiences etc please let me know. Also how long did your side effects last once you came off the drug?

simvastatin causes nightmares that's why your sweating so bad. I have never had nightmares since I was a kid. I started taking simvastatin (zocor) and the first night I sweated and woke up with a racing heart. I didn't know why. The 2nd night I woke up and thought someone was in my room I saw someone in the dark run across the room. I jumped up jammed my hand into my draw pulling my hand gun out. Now that Im fully awake I don't see anything. I'm so wound up I can't sleep the rest of the night. The next day today I do a google search about nightmares and boom found a new study that Statin's cause nightmares because it penitrates into the brain. Its made out of a fungus. Anyway i'm done with statin's My ratio is 3.63 so not too bad but I think diet and exercise with fish oil will do it. If you have to be on this stuff there are 2 that don't get into the brain. Check it out Pravachol and Crestor.

It has helped me a lot reading everyone's experiences with the "dreaded" Simvastatin. I have been off this poisonous drug for 7 weeks, and am still feeling rough, and thinking when is this all going to go away ! My doctor swears blind it is nothing to do with the Simvastatin, but I am a 100% sure it is , as I felt fine before I took these nasty tablets. I still have persistent buzzing in the ears , dizziness, palpitations, constantly tired , and generally feel as if I am on another planet. Ive had blood tests , ecg tests and nothing has been found. Im hoping one morning to wake up feeling "normal". I will never , ever, take Cholesterol drugs again , as I don't want to go through all this again. I really feel for everyone that is suffering, and would be interested if anyone is having the same after affects as myself.
Good luck to everyone who is suffering like me .

Prescribed 40mg SIMVApoison
stomach doing somersaults....feels like a couple of pygmies inside me clubbing each other to death.
Tiredness/Lethargy chest pains Oh yes this is a wonderful drug!!
Take at your own risk
I certainly wont be taking anymore

Oh I can sympathize with all the others on this killer drug. It has been quoted to me as being the discovery of the century for the treatment of Stroke etc . Well yes it will help with that but it will kill all other parts of your body.
you see when you get to the stage where you need this medication they really do not have much hope for a long future so they do not worry about what affects one will get. They think, 'well you are going to die anyway so it is better to prolong the agony and suffer .
Well I experiences, depression, severe joint and back pain, insomnia, blurred vision, a feeling of flatness of mood . Stomach pain, my hips have never been the same since being on it. I am off it now and take natural Cholesterol support and it is working. It is a nightmare to be on this drug and if you can go to the natural do it and do it now for you life sake.

I am 59 and switched to Simvastatin from Lipitor. Much lower in price. My cholesterol is 200 and the doctor was very pleased with the number. So far no side effects but it has been only 5 days. The dose is 20mgs. Now after reading all the BAD side effects I am very scared!
Is there any positive statements about Simvastatin?
S.

Have been on simvastatin on and off for 15 months now. First of all 10mg came off for a while - cholesterol level up to 7.6 again so was put on 40mg. Very nauseous and came off the 40mg. Went back on to 10mg in Nov. and since then no nausea at all. At present I am getting terrible pain when laying down in my right leg from my hip into my buttock right down to my foot. It is similar to cramp in leg but it lasts sometimes for a couple of hours. Cramp usually disappears in a few minutes but it is the same sort of sensation. Also needle-like pains in my hand and foot. Above symptoms only since going onto Simvastatin. Would be interested in any others have these symptoms too. Trouble is damned if you take them and damned if you dont. Current research does show however that there is no benefit to women over 60 taking these wretched pills - everybody reading this should try and get or borrow the book by Dr Malcolm Kendrick entitled The Great Cholesterol Con (Dundee UK GP) written in 2008 who also is of this opinion. I am not advising not to take Simvastatin but please do research and read this book and reach your own decisions.

I was on 40 mg of simvastatin for 4 months with seemingly no side effects when my doctor said my cholesterol wasn't coming down quickly enough to suit him, so he added lovaza - had me taking both at the same time. Within 2 months I was noticing sore muscles but didn't relate it to the meds. After about another 2 months I was so bad I could hardly walk - extreme muscle and joint pain over my entire body, severe weakness, shortness of breath. Then I found out that both of those drugs can cause these side effects. I wish I had tied it together sooner. I have been completely off of them both for about 3 months and still have some pain in my feet, shoulders and elbows, along with severe pain in my hands, and I am still weak and short of breath. I don't know how long this is going to hang on, but I certainly hope it isn't permanent. I can't stand to think that I might have to live with this pain for the rest of my life. My hands are so close to useless, and I am so weak, that it's about all I can do to take care of my job and make a living. I haven't been able to work around the house for months. I want to work on my cars (my hobby). I have 2 antique cars that I enjoy working on and driving, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do very much with them this summer. My hands just won't let me. And the beauty of it all? My cholesterol numbers did not come down any great amount. Since I stopped taking the meds I have brought the numbers down by changing my diet - eggbeaters instead of whole eggs, less beef (venison is very low in cholesterol) more chicken & fish, oatmeal, plus I'm taking vitamin C, D3, garlic and cinammon for cholesterol and B complex for muscles, msm and glucosamine for joints. I also bought a hot tub, which helps with the pain and stiffness. This has definitely not been a fun thing. I just hope it goes away some time soon.

28 year old 6 ft 4 in 200 pound male. cholesterol approaching 300 on 80mgs a day of simvastatin. Legs and arms immediately sore after a round of horseshoes. How ridiculous. trouble concentrating, can't sleep, have sour stomach. have the trots daily. Great way to live. This sucks!

I have been on Simvastatin for nearly two months , the first 6 weeks fine, then I felt as if I was on another planet!
Severe headaches, dizziness, neck and leg aches and a horrible consistent buzzing in both ears.I went to my GP , who advised me to come off of Simvastatin for two weeks. Now off of these horrible tablets I am still suffering from slight headaches and achey joints, and as for the buzzing in the ears, its driving me mad. I felt perfectly fine before I took Simvastatin. Will I go back on them ----- I don't think so!!

Hello,

I am a 55 year old Man and have been taking simvastatin for over two years now. Lately my back hurts from below the shoulder to my waist. Also my right arm and hand hurts. I feel numbness in my right hand a lot. My chest hurts on the left side as well.

I take 40mg of this drug every day and never rally thought about it much till lately. Seems like in the past two months things have gotten worse. I go to the VA Clinic where I live and have a regular Doctor there.

I was about to go see my Family Doctor today with all these pains I have been feeling, but then I googled Simvastatin, and started reading about all the side effects. I think I will just cut my pills into, and take a lesser amount to see if things get better.

last thing I need right now is more medications from another Doctor.. I can relate to all the pains for the most part, that all these individuals have posted. I know one thing for sure, I can't keep feeling this way and something has to change.

I had very high Cholesterol levels before taking this medicine, and it has dropped my levels extremely. Hopefully a lower dose will not only continue to keep my levels in an acceptable range,but cut down on these side affects.

Nobody should have to suffer all these bad effects..

I started taking simvastin (the lowest dose) about 6 months ago with amazing results when it came to my cholesterol. After about 2 months I started getting headaches. I went off the drug for about a week and the headaches went away. I went back on the drug and 3 weeks later the headaches came back. This went on for a few cycles. This last time I went off the drug was February 7. I have not taken it since and I have had a headache since then. This time it has not gone away. I HAVE NEVER had headaches before taking this drug. And all I know now is that for the last month my life as I knew it completely changed. Of course the Dr. put me on some pain meds for the headaches that made me sick, sick, sick after 3 days. I just can't take the pain meds as they are worse than the headaches themselves. HAS ANYONE HAD THIS and if so how long did these headaches take to go away.

Hi to all,
I have read all comments in complete shock. I am a 53 year old female.
I was prescribed Simvastatin just over 6 months ago (40mg). I am hypothyrod and also have very high blood pressure. About 6 weeks ago I started to have severe (and I mean severe), night sweats. The sheets are absolutely wringing wet as if someone has thrown a bowl of water over me,
The headaches that start within about 30 minutes of getting up every morning radiate from the middle of my forehead right across my right eye and it throbs all day. My throat is sore, my skin very dry, my vision seems very blurred (especially first thing in the morning), and I don't seem to be able to focus very well. My appetite is almost non existent and my shoulder, legs & feet hurt dreadfully and although I hate to admit this I am quite depressed at how I feel.
Three nights ago I decided to stop taking Simvastin and guess what...hay-ho, no night sweats, no cramp and the headache today was much less severe.
I am glad I found this site and for sure I will be visiting my doctor next week to advise my findings.
I think I would rather live on a diet of bread & water rather than go through this again.
Good Luck to all fellow sufferers.

I am 38 years old and had my second child 7 months ago. My family history for heart disease is very poor and my cholesterol was 6.2 so my doctor prescribed 10 mgs of simvastatins in November. Before taking them I felt fine in myself, since taking them I have felt exhausted, not just tired, I have insomnia, very bad nightmares when I do manage to sleep. On top of this I have started to feel depressed and anxious, short of breath and my hair is falling out! I had myself convinced that i had post natal depression but decided to stop taking statins a few days ago, feeling slightly better. My doctor prescribed me an anti depressant today, should I take them? Does anyone know how long statins stay in our system?

Hi-I am a 59 year old female have been taking 20mg Simvastatin for 3 months for a cholesterol level of 238 and have noticed significant symptoms that cannot be from any other origin than this medication-dry skin, change of hair texture, psoriasis and bulging in thumb joints, stomach flu, shoulder pain and tingling in hands, vision problems. I am a healthy flight attendant except for all these things that have happened in the last 3 MONTHS!!! I am seeing my doctor tomorrow to discuss a change. I want to take a natural medication to lower my cholesterol.

Basically, ditto ...
Memory loss, hair loss, loss of strength in fingers/hand, more tired ...

My hair kept coming out by the handfuls. I've lost at least 8 inches since I started simvastatin! I mentioned this to the endocrinologist and he said he didn't know, but he prescribed it. I am furious, hair is a woman's crowning glory.

I am so glad I found this site. I have been having hideous headaches and just today thought perhaps it's the Simvastatin that I started this summer. I had an occasion this summer where I lost the vision in one eye (half way up). The doctor said that is called "window blind" vision loss. So after doppler and MRI he said I had to absolutely take 81 mg of aspirin a day (baby aspirin) and started me on cholesterol lowering meds. I didn't want to take the cholesterol lowering meds so at first I resisted completely. However, in the past month I have started to take them. Every night I would wake up with a headache and my neck and shoulders were hurting also. I kept thinking that I was going to have a stroke. The pain was so bad I would vomit but the area of the headache was not where I would get migraines. The pain was more in the back of my head and my neck and shoulders. I decided to do some reading on the internet and found that headaches is a major symptom of simvastatin. I will do my own experiment now and stay off of it for 10 days. I will then start it again and see if the symptoms return. My doppler said I had mild build up of plaque...at 57 I would imagine most people of mild build up of plaque. I don't want a stroke or heart attack but I can't live with these headaches and the lack of sleep.

In people close to me I have seen the following side effects:

All statins have similar side effects. They can come at once or after many years.

Pain in neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, legs, feet

Pains that keep moving to different parts of the body and could be unbearable -like nerve pains.

Head ache

Burning, tingling sensations in the different body parts mentiond above and numbness

Weakness in hands which caused the person to drop things

Hair loss, difficulties to swallow, ringing noise in the ears, loss of taste, memory problems - particularly with short term memory, difficulties to find words and to remember what just had been read, impotens, extreme sensitivity in the skin (abdomen).

Please "educate" yourself.

Read books and look for information in many different places. Remember to find out who is behind a certain webb-adress. Could it be a pharmaceutical company.

Unfortunately I am not allowed to write webb-adresses here - but Google the titles of the books/writers below and you will find some webb-adresses.

The Great Cholesterol Con (Anthony Colpo)

--------------------"--------------- (Malcolm McKendrick) - this is another book

The Cholesterol Myths (Uffe Ravnskov)

Malignant Medical Myths (Joel F. Kauffman)

Overdosed America (John Abramson)

Lipitor - thief of memory (Duane Graveline)
Duane G. has an interesting site

The Truth About The Drug Companies (Marcia Angell)

Google "Stopped our statins" and you will find this webb-site.

Under print articles to the left you will find an interesting article from Weston Price Foundation.

It takes time to look for information and then read it, but often it`s quite essential to do that and to make up your own mind.

It`s your body and you know best how you feel.

Remember it`s a lot of money involved and that`s why news about serious side effects quite often are delayed.

The cholesterol issue - that high cholesterol should cause heart attacks etc - is very controversial. But it`s only the pharmaceutical companies who have the money to "brainwash" by advertisements, ghostwriters etc.

I hope my suggestions can make you more interested in the medications that you are taking.

Finally - a very interesting book about a certain kind of antibiotics - Bitter Pills by Stephen Fried.

English is not my native language but I was forced to read a lot of English books because of the suffering of my relatives, but without the Internet I would not have found them.

Remember new drugs are not necessarily better than old, but always more unsafe. They are also more expensive and that`s why they are so highly promoted.

Have been on Simvastatin since May 2007. Have experienced debilitating headaches every day for the first three months, neck and shoulder pain, lower back pain, tiredness to the point of having to stop what I am doing and go to bed and am wondering now whether any other female taking Simvastatin has experienced a burning sensation when passing very hot water and extremely uncomfortable and painful sex.

headache ;nausea ;pains;depression;bad dreams;dizzy head;forgetful;

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.

Despite having a brush with the big C last year (I finished chemotherapy in January) I have been very fit and healthy during my 61 years! A few weeks ago I started having palpitations, hence a visit to the doctor revealed high blood pressure and cholesterol reading of 9.9!!! Shock, horror. He informed me that it was genetic and prescribed Simvastatin 400mg and Bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg daily.
Not being satisfied with the enclosed leaflets I have looked up more info. on the net. Should I have done this!!! After reading some of the posting on the site I am feeling a bit apprehensive. Last night I had a terrible night couldn't sleep for the pains in my legs and a bit nausea this morning.
But I need to be sensible, I really don't have any choice but to take these drugs just hoping that I won't have to stay on them for the rest of my life and I don't get any of the side effects that some of you have suffered. I also wonder if the chemotherapy could have caused by raised cholesterol?
Hope to keep you posted and would welcome any comments!

I'm a 54 year old female prescribed 10 mg zocor(simvastatin) for slightly elevated cholesterol. Took it for 7 months before I clued in to the cause of my many symptoms. Muscle and joint pain, head fog, blurry vision, weight gain, stomach upset, fatigue, etc... The muscle and joint pain were excruciating at times --especially in my left hip...which had gotten so bad I needed a walking stick for support. I felt so darn old wondering if I would even feel normal again.
After reading many postings I decided to stop my zocor(simvastatin) 6 weeks ago and am very happy to report an improvement in many of my complaints...although far from where I want to be.
I am curious as to the withdrawal effects others may have experienced. The first week coming off I had stomach aches and I had awful headaches which thankfully did stop. The stomach aches and touchy digestive system still plague me though. Am I the only one experiencing this?....

My doctor prescribed 40 MG Simvastatin to be taken 1 on Thursday and 1 on Sunday.That doesn't seem like much but I have only taken them 3 times and the pains in my knees are much worse also my feet hurt, my neck is a little sore, I have bad cramps a few minutes after I eat and even during the night....I also have had 2 nights of very strange dreaming.
Several years ago I was on Lipitor and after a year I could hardly walk with my knees so I told the doctor I was not taking that any more..he put me on Zetia and I did well on it and the pain in my knees lessened a lot ,until my insurance co. decided not to pay for Zetia anymore, I told the doctor and he put me on Simvastatin. I am not going to take any more of it and will discuss it with the doctor next week,.

recently was prescribed simvastatin. Pharmacist advised that 50% of people will experience severe muscle & joint pain and burning in the muscles. I can see by reading the site that this is true. Must try since cholesteral and bp are high and dr thinks at 51 I had two mini strokes (tia's). If I experience the severe pain that is discussed i will stop taking. Thank you for all the info! This site is awesome.

Anyone Else?? Trying to figure out what is causing the following.
Bruising like feeling at the sides of my pelvic bones...Tail bone pain when sitting...Low back ache. Started 20mg Simvastatin Feb 2008.
Michele

I am a 52Yr old male and was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes 2 1/2 yrs ago ....The doctor prescribed me simvastin a few month later 20mg once a day all had been fine till about 6 months ago when I developed tinnitus and started feeling very tired...My concentration started to lapse especially when driving as i found i couldn't remember driving down a stretches of the road etc ie passing speed cameras etc ...my memory also seems to have slowed down and i have problems recalling recent conversations or things i have done etc...just recently i have been getting severe itching on the soles of my feet almost becoming painful i have pains /aches all over and now especially have pain in my left arm right knee and fingers...when i get up in the mornings i feel like i have run a marathon the day before as i ache especially my neck and shoulders...needless to say i have now stopped taking the tablets after reading this forum and i am seeing my doctor next week initially i put all this down to getting older ...
Steve

I am a 55 year male and my doctor started me on 20mg of Simvastatin in Sept 2006 and has subsequently increased it to 40mg. I try to keep very fit through lots of exercise. Fortunately I have not experienced any major side effects mentioned here and my cholesterol has decreased from 6.8 to 4.5. However, I am constantly tired to the extent that I often doze off at my desk at work. In addition, I am having extreme difficulty in getting erections. My doctor claims these are not side effects and has prescribed Viagra but even that is not working now. At Easter, whilst on holiday, I stopped the medication for a week, my libido recovered after a few days, and I was able to have normal sex again for about a month. During the summer, I stopped it again and within 72 hours my libido started to pick up. My wife says it is psychological but I am convinced that it is the Simvastatin. I am going to see if I can get a second opinion.

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 am an active 60 year old.After being checked for diabetes I was told I was borderline and chose to try by changing my diet. Three months later at my next visit UI was told I was improved but my cholesterol was far too high and prescribed 40mg Simvastatin.Between then and the nest three monthly check I had numerous symptoms. My calfs throbbed, my shoulder ached and my sex drive decreased and I was always tired. The most frightening thing of all though was my concentration. I would be riding my motorbike or driving the car and suddenly snap to and realize my mind had been wondering and my concentration gone. (Ive had numerous near accidents.)
IU read on this site about "memory loss" and wondered if this was what was happening to me. My last three month visit was last week, my cholesterol is almost normal so I am stopping the pills and seeing what happens.
Steveb

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 have been taking simvastatin since June 28, 2008. I am 44 years old and have always been majorly active with my 17 year old daughter. Recently I have become chronically fatigued so much as to want to go back to bed within 2-3 hours after I get up in the morning, (definitely not me). I have felt spaced out,depressed to the point of wanting to cry all the time, have severe back, hip, knee, leg, and hand pain. I go to pain management for my back and hip problems (past surgery), but the usual pain has been intensified over the last 2 months and I wasn't sure why, until i decided to check out the Simvastatin to see if it has made me put on a few pounds, and boy have my eyes been opened!!!!!!!!! I AM STOPPING THE MEDICATION IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to all who have spoken up, I wish I would of checked on this sooner!!!!! I'm calling my Dr. first thing in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!

By exhausted in Canton

I was prescribed Simvastatin four days ago, against my wishes, as I had heard about the side effects of muscle pain and numbness in the joints and feet. However, what I had not expected were the terrible nightmarish dreams that followed. On the fourth night I stopped taking Simvastin as I was literally too afraid to go to sleep.
I then slept fitfully but did not experience the vivid and disturbing dreams of the previous three nights.
I shall ask my doctor for alternative medication. If she cannot offer me anything other than statins, I shall stick to Benecol and research further!

Jacqui M.

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 have been on Simvastatin for about 5 weeks now... I have never been a person who had headaches... but I have a headache almost every day. yesterday, my stomach was upset all day as well.

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. ******

My father is 73 and has been taking this drug now for a few years. In the last year he has been suffering from severe hallucinations , particularly at night. The other evening he walked out of the house and went wandering around the village because he saw people in the house. Has anybody else had similar experiences taking this drug? Clive

I am a 47year old male.I,ve been on simvastatin for about 10 weeks now and have been experiencing mild short term memory loss for a few weeks. I put this down to the onset of old age?. I,ve also been getting spurious pains to elbow and finger joints? could these problems be associated with the medication?.

I am a 58 year old who was on 10mg for about 10 years with no apparent side effects.My GP retired and the new Doctor said my dosage was low and quadrupled it to 40mg. Since I had been on the drug for so long on the low dose, with no problems I did not relate subsequent problems to this med. Initially I had digestive problems, bordering on diarrhea, which I took as age related. I had occasional but severe lower leg pains. I had periodic night sweats and I gained 25 pounds - going to 165 from the 140 I'd been since high school. I had some vision problems as well and began to develop severe memory and reasoning issues to the point where I believed the I was developing Alzheimers. From net reading, I saw that this statin could cause the digestive problems I'd mentioned - so I stopped it. In the interim my GP gave me every test in the book to find out the weight gain and the night sweats. He found nothing and was about to send me to specialists - which I declined. When I finally read that simvastatin could cause the mental issues, the weight gain, the leg pains etc,, I took myself off the med. My weight problem has now resolved no more leg pains, or intestinal issues. From my reading I understand ths some of the memory and mental issues may be permanent - though they no longer progress. When I met with my GP and told hom that I had stopped the med and about these side effects, that I had discovered on the web - he looked at me like I had two heads and gave them no credence.It amazes me that he had no comment. I had brought it up to him in case any of his other patients has similar problems - as information that could help in his practice which has many elderly clients. As an aside, I had mentioned these effects to a trusted friend - who in tern had mentioned them to his practitioner, who is one of the most highly respected doctors in Canada. This doctor's comment was that' you must have read this somewhere as the manufacturer takes pains to conceal these effects". Wonderful, eh?

just another update on my other 2 postings. Things have really hotted up here, lets just say the doctors surgery will get a nasty surprise in the post!! I urge anyone who has been conned into taking this drug to make a stand, sooner or later the medical community is going to have to listen. Websites like this are a godsend, but....POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!! Give them what for, they can't brush this under the carpet for much longer and they have no right to make anyone take this drug. My doctor behaved as if nothing had happened, I nearly pegged it and they treated me like a nutcase! The most annoying thing is that I already have Crohn's Disease so I should never have been put on it, but they completely disregarded that fact, something they have been aware of for many years...NO EXCUSE at all. There is a definate cover up, have you seen the news this week??? More people are to be started on simvastatin because the government wants to save money on heart operations!!! They are either incredibly stupid (no surprises there), or have been completety sucked into the statin hype. There is going to be a massive strain on the NHS because of all the other health problems this drug causes, I saw 3 different specialists because of my sudden ill health, do they really think it will save them money??? Any one from the Government reading this?? get your bloody finger out and do something! Apart from not saving money, what cost to all that have been put on it??? what about their health? and by the way, I am the patient but I HAD to ask the doctor for a test for muscle wastage even though he knew this had been occurring, non admition of guilt then? National Health? NO National Joke and we are on the recieving end. I am not a lab monkey and don't want to be a test subject for these poxy drug companies and neither should anyone else, get RID of these awful drugs!

Has anyone had mouth numbness or metallic taste in mouth? My mouth feels chalky.