Simvastatin Muscle and Joint Pain, Withdrawal Effects, Blurry Vision, Walking Stick, Zocor
Posted over a year ago
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, ... more »
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?....
Oldcarpetcleaner - Everything you describe here is exactly me including age except I'm male and my symptoms are many more than you have written. I was 20 - 40 mgs for 4.5 years trying to cope, before a friend told me. I had been going to my doctor 6 - 9 times per year. This is not a bleat just to help you recognise some things. WITHDRAWL while some symptoms eased others multiplied, soaking sweats, every muscle huge spasms including eyeballs terrifying, no memory, toileting frequent urine tiny amounts no flow, poo like a guinea pig it, my doodle thing started ejaculating without any activity and it had been completely dormint for over 2 years was all sickening and horrific. I'm now 10 months off the med and would consider myself 75% recovered and only in the last 3 weeks sometimes smiling again. Your body is stripped of coq10. I found 3 x 100 mgs coq10 BUT it must be the kaneka brand plus 400mgs magnessium citrate powder within 3 weeks eased my pain and raised my energy by around 20 % which was a huge help. You may have some heart damage from this so load up on fish oil. There is a survey where 70% of the people who took part taking statins within 6 months developed some cardio myopathy all recovered ceasing the statins and taking co q 10. Go to spacedoc dot net. Also look at drmike profile on this site. He is a retired surgeon who got caught like you and me and if you follow his postings he gives you links to great helpful sites. Research, be patient and best to you, from New Zealand.
Ilbvacumin - Thank you for your response and reassurance. I only touched on some of the symptoms...we can add palpitations and chest pain...requiring a full cardiac workup which was negative thank goodness, horrible and continual loud ringing in my head and ears, pain in teeth and jaw, neck so tight it felt like someone was pushing down on my head all the time, sweats....and so on. Scary times sending me to the doctor far too often and always for nothing. I wish I had discovered the zocor connection a long time ago. My doctor certainly never said anything...I'm guessing he's never taken this stuff??!!
Thank you again....all the best to you!
Ukmartian - I can relate to your symptoms ....i also have also suffered muscle and joint pain i also had very bad hip pain which the doctor said was bursitus and knee pain which he said was wear and tear and at the moment my left arm is very painful...it got very scary when my memory and concentration got dodgy..i have been on simvastatin for nearly 4 years 3x20mg a day ...needless to say i have stopped taking them now and i havn't noticed any withdrawal symptoms only a slight improvement in my concentration ....
steve
Wen - I was on 20 mgs of simvastatin for about 7 weeks. I also have high blood pressure which I have been taking meds for several years and was able to keep that under control. As soon as I started simvastatin my blood pressure went very high. I am now off simvastatin for about 6 weeks now and feel better, but am still experiencing palpitations and some dizziness that I never experienced before I took this drug. I hope eventually this will go away.
Ilbvacumin - Wen....As to date I have been off of this horrible medication for 24 weeks....Some of the problems have improved...my hip is great! ...but I still struggle daily with the muscle pain in neck, shoulders, chest and back, arms and the awful palpitations WHICH I HATE--more than anything else! Palpitations have a way of controlling ones life--or at least they do mine. The foggy head/dizziness issue has improved although some days I do have trouble with this as well. Bottom line is that life is not back to normal and most days I wonder if it ever will be! I take Ubquinol CoQ10 and magnesium. Once in a while I have a good day but for every one of those I have a week of bad ones....hang in there and best of luck to you!
Blases1 - Hi to all, I took Simvastatin for about 3-4 months...started at 10, went to 20 mg. After muscle pain and weakness became so pronounced that I couldn't use my right arm, I read up on side effects and stopped the medication. Now I worry about the rebound effects. I have been feeling a lot of pressure in my head that seems non stop...with slight headache along with it. This pressure and ringing in the ears is enough to just make one want to lie down and skip doing things you normally would enjoy. Do you know if this means you are more likely to have a stroke? or what is actually going on inside the brain to create this pressure?
Challenge - I have jsut stopped taking Simvastatin after 2 months. I have had 2 days continuous cramp and a light headed feeling most of the time. My GP has just this week said that the casue could be Simvastatin as I didn;t have them before a TIA (questionable) in April. My BP has been difficult to stabilise during this time jumping from hyo to hyper and now remaining under 115/80 most of the time but dropping as low as 96/68 at times. My GP initially suggested another statin but with my colestrol under 3.0 I questioned why I needed them at all. He agreed to see how it goes without statins.
Ilbvacumin - ...blases1....
The head pressure you mention and incessant ringing....I have had an incredible amount of this all through this Simvastatin ordeal. I am currently 44 weeks post Simvastatin and while most everything is finally starting to improve allowing me a slight return to a normal daily life I still struggle with the head issues which are exhausting and worse--no one can understand this feeling...because you look fine on the outside! They are much worse when I have had a restless night. My chiropractor has helped quite a lot--seems that very tight and spasming neck and shoulder muscles have quite a lot to do with this feeling--although I am scheduled for a CT of the area for further evaluation. Whether on or off... Simvastatin has been a horrible experience which has taught me to thoroughly research medications before I simply take them on the advise of my physician. Good luck to you!
Fenman - I am 66 and have just stopped taking Simvastatin after 5 years. During that time I experienced worsening nuscle pain and weakness plus weight gain.
Now, seven days after my last dose I am already feeling remarkably better and will never take the drug again.
I was prescribed diclofenac to deal with the pain but recently came off it due to my need to take warfarin.
The warfarin is for atrial flutter and I now learn that there is an association between AF and statins !!!
I am less breatheless all of a sudden and wonder whether my atrial flutter is improving now Simvastatin is not longer part of my regime.
ronically I was formerly a drug representative and sold Cerivastatin to GPs ... it was discontinued as it caused rhabdomyolysis (muscle pain) and some deaths. If you are on ANY statin however, you will see a warning about stopping if you have pains and consult your GP.
I am a medical man and it toook me five years - please do it now!!!
777 - fenman . . . .Good that you stopped taking this DANGEROUS drug that cause MANY side effects. Unfortunately, the drs. and the drug co's continue to push the anti-cholesterol drugs . . .big $$ . . .. while so many people suffer. Cholesterol is NOT the enemy. . . . .statins are. Your mind/body NEEDS cholesterol to function properly. . . don't let your dr. to con you and give your $ to the drug co's.
Billiej - I have been on Simvastatin 20mg for 6yrs, not very compiant and taking only 3times a week, my Cholesterol came back as 5.3mmols so started to take every day, I had horrendous headaches, heartburn, brain foggyness, fatigue etc, etc. My Dr was unconvinced that it was caused by Simvastatin but I was so stopped 8days ago and feel better. My memory is still not good and Im a little low in mood but on the whole so much better. Has anyone else had withdrawal effects like this.
Yellowcake88 - Yes, I have. I'm experiencing it right now as I write this post. I've been on 40mg. for 7 weeks now. Currently it's in the early evening, I'm feeling pressure and significant level of light-headedness; fogginess as most of the posts have described the Simvastatin symptoms as being. Sometimes I feel so dizzy I feel like I'm on the verge of fainting, but I don't seem to faint--fortunately! I have ringing in the ears and an eye spasm in the left eye that will not seem to go away. I know correlation does not always equal causality, but this time I'm simply not taking any chances. I've never had averse effects with medication, so I'm a bit surprised, but again, health is what is important. I need to explore alternative options to my current cholesterol treatment. This treatment is thus far an unsustainable measure.
Beardedone - OK so if I give this up what can I take to keep my chlorestral down? I live in the UK.
Nick
John58 - Off zocor 40mg for 3 weeks due to a whole range of side effects incl dizzyness, chest flutter, lightheadedness, stiff joints, crankiness, weakness etc. Still have some lightheadedness, tiredness and head pressure/weird sensation down back of neck and back - feels like someone has their hand on the top of my head and is pushing down. Also, still a bit foggy headed and irritable. Has anyone suffered these withdrawal effects?
Rlwesty - So happy to find this site. Seriously. Been on Simvastatin for three months since MI. Just 20 mg. I, too, accumulated symptoms -- all of which seemed attributable to other drugs or my heart: dizziness, muscle pains and cramps, foggy headedness, chest flutter, and what I called "buzzyness" -- mild tingling in my hands arms and face, shortness of breath, and migrating chest pain. I was ready to be catheterized again when I told my doc of the muscle injuries. He immediately took me off the Simvastatin.
Muscle cramps: cut by half IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS! Buzzyness increased for the first week but has since diminished. Migrating chest pains less. I am going to give the shortness of breath another two weeks before scheduling the angiogram but here's hoping!
Mikes - 7 months of 10mg simvastatin a day. Gradual fatigue, irritability, depression, dizziness, head fog, loss of concentration, no libido, head pressure, tingling fingers, tremors, etc...Off 5 weeks now and most side effects have subsided but have good days and bad days. Head pressure and dizziness especially when driving still persist. Hoping for return to normal life someday. I don't see any posts from people still experiencing this crap years later so I still have hope. Terrible experience. Never again.
Callily02 - @rlwesty--my goodness, you have no idea how glad I am to read your posting!! I have had that same "buzzyness" that you speak of in my arms hands and face too! I thought I was losing my mind! I went to my MD and insisted I stop taking the simvastatin (which was 20 mg. every day)--I've had "pin pricks" in my fingers and toes, headaches, muscle weakness, and I'm only 39! My cholesteral is still high (288), but I am determinted to beat this thing naturally w/o statin drugs anymore--I think the meds will kill me before my cholesterol will. Unfortunately, I have the inherited version so it's harder for me, but I will do it! It has been 5 days since my last dosage and I feel the "buzzyness" is worse---how long did it take for it to get better for you???
Dreidy - Have tried simvastin twice, zetia, welchol, I experieced muscle cramps, tired all the time, not sleeping well, called the doctor when put on welchol told him that I was having muscle cramping again, he said that the meds wasn't the problem, so I went to the natural shop and started taking red yeast rice tablets along with nacin and I'm not experiecing no cramping at all, will have to wait for test later this month.
Wagenaar - 73 years old, four years on 20 mg. statins, stopped two months ago, the usual reasons muscle fatigue, blurry vision, cramps etc.The thing that does not go away yet is muscle fatigue ( though it is getting better). I was a good hiker and I wonder how long it will take to be normal again.I am taking 150 mg. Q10 a day.Experience anyone?
Littlerun - WOW went on Zocor 20 mg. daily due to high slightly high Cholestoral level and hist of TIA'S. The statin was proposed as a precaution do to my history. I have gone from running 40 miles a week at a 7 minute pace to barely walking most days. The docs can't find the reason for my ailments which are light headiness, confusion and general uneasiness, painful joints, lower bowel distress and feeling that i am about to pass out...but have not. In reading the above responses I have no doubt what is causing my symptoms...only problen is about a week ago my Doc suggested I discontinue the Zocor for a week to see if the symptoms subsided and unfortunately the symptoms became so severe I was back to see the Doc who could not explain my current condition. Be careful stopping your statin cold turkey!
Ssn661 - I am 71 years old. Took Zocor for 40 days and have been off for 12 days. I was so weak that I had difficulty stepping up or down on a curb. Muscle pains in arms and calves and joint pain, worst in the hip joint. Two days after I stopped the Zocor I could step up on a chair. Joint pain got better for first week but is now worse, especially in the hips. Tried aspirin for for pain, then Tylenlo, Ibuprofen. Joint pain is worse and in many more joints, starting today on Tramadol. This really sux.
T10026145 - I have been off simvastatin (20 mg/2 years) for about 5 weeks now. Starting to get some good days but have very strange dizziness. It just moments ago it felt like my brain dropped an inch (best I can do for description) which then sent shock feeling out my arms (anxiety?). I have felt a lot of this "dropping" "leaning" type dizziness (both while on and now off the drug).
Also had 2 major vertigo episodes during the 2 years on. Symptoms always seemed to get worse if I stopped taking (at about the 8 day mark... lightheaded, pulsing type dizziness, these strange push, drop, puff/woosh of dizziness).
I wish the "dizziness dictionary" was better but this is best I can do. Such odd, strange sensations.
Is there anyone out there feeling what they think is same thing after STOPPING this stuff??? Thanks!
1grandma - I've taken Simvastatin (20 mg) for a year and have gained 20 lbs. I can't seem to remember to take it daily, so it's more like 20 mg three or four times a week. More importantly the last four months I've been experiencing shoulder muscle cramping and weakness and stiffness in the neck. I've been on physical therapy for 6 weeks (2 x a week) and now have some better days once in a while, but then some days I'm back to square one with the cramps and stiffness. My doctor won't say it's the drug. My chloresterol is only 124. Think I'll stop taking it for a while and see what happens.
T10026145 - "Grandma" please be careful. Like in your case, I've gotten a lot of non-commital answers regarding whether or not this has to do with simvastatin but I will tell you this... there were 3 times I stopped taking it and in retrospect (I've kept a detailed journal) following all 3 times I experienced my worst symptoms when I reached about the 8th day OFF the drug!
talk to your doc. Maybe wean off? I don't have the answers but thought I'd share. Someone in above posts also mentioned the cautions of quitting abruptly. Again, maybe chat with your doc. Best wishes!
Caradjt - caradjt: quiting today, or shall I say weaning off the drug. 20mg a day. my feet and legs feel like they weigh a ton. Joint pain making it painful to even walk to the bathroom. Going to back off every other day then 1 in 3 day, 1in 5 days. weaning should take a month or so.
Floridagal - Couldn't believe what I was reading here.....my own symptoms echo what all of you are experiencing. I was on Simvastatins for a year, first 40 mg then I backed it off to 20mg myself after I felt tired and some muscle pain, doctor said that was fine. But in the last few months I have been hit with hip pain, back pain, burning in my upper right arm when I try to pick up something and just plan tired all the time. Oh yeah...knee pain too. I stopped taking the drug immediately but my symptoms haven't gotten any better. I'm hoping I didn't do any damage by stopping the drug cold turkey. I'm trying acupuncture, but it's a temperary fix, maybe a Chiropractor could help the back pain that radiates to the left hip area....crossing my fingers.
Ukmartian - After 5 years and trying 3-4 different statins my doctor has concluded that they do not suit me (phewww)....I am now on a different type off cholesterol lowering drug ...I personally suffered from all sorts off symptoms including muscle pains, spasms weakness and horrible cramps ...I also have memory problems (which is still a problem) and several had other problems which I only associated with statins after reading other people's posts...These drugs do what they are meant to do as my cholesterol was significantly lower when taking them so they can be beneficial for some people but when the side effects out way the benefits is it does not seem worth it I do know people who tolerate them with few problems but they CAN unwanted cause problems I.E. when my 78 year old father moves better than his 54 year old son i really started worrying ..lol....The reason the doctors prefer to use them is because they are cheaper.... THERE are alternatives so ask about them ..If I have problems with these I will post again .....
Ukmartian - hi just read you post ...i was very interested in you symptom off "lower bowel distress"...i also suffered from this and i have just had a polyp removed from my bowel ...although it was non malignant it was showing early signs off the cell becoming abnormal ....i hope it was a coincidence
Smithsor - I had a catheter ablation for a-fib and doc recommended staying on simvastatin. I prefer to NOT take med so stopped at 2 months post-procedure. Once in a while I take one thinking it would be better for me in the long run. But, when I do I have palps, flutter, sleep inhibiting pounding SO I'm quitting again!
Floridagal - I've been off simvastatins for 4 months now, still have a bet of the stiffness and joint aches, but it's getting better. My husband was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol and the doctor wanted to put him on Zocor....don't think we'll be doing that!! Anyway, now it's just not me, but my husband too that's fighting the cholesterol issue. I've read using Red Yeast Rice is no guarantee that it will lower your cholesterol enough to do any good.....Does anyone out there have any thoughts on that, or has other suggestions ? Has anyone been taking Red Yeast Rice for awhile and have had positive results?
P.S By the way, Acupuncture has really helped me with the joint,muscle & hip pain I was experiencing. :) I wish everyone here just to feel better.
Dloac - D,Lo AC: I took the red yeast rice for a few months but it did not reduce my choleaterol enough. I am 54yo in good general health. I try to eat healthy, am not over weight however my cholesterol is at 251 at this time. It dis come down from 270, but my Dr. does not feel it is enough. He told me to buy Qunol liquid 2tsp 2xday for 1 month and then he wants me to go back on the Livalo (pitavaststin). It is supposed to decrease the negative joint pain etc.
Dreidy - sportswiz- I also had issues with simvastin, and the doctors say that that wasn't the cause of muscle cramps/spams, light headedness, sleepless nights, so I stopped taking the stuff, went to the natural shop and was put on red yeast rice, followed a diet of lots of fruit and vegs, lower the intake of saturated fats, not to many sweets, and also started walking alittle more, even tho I work long hours, 12/13 hour days, and my job is a fast paced job, so it has helped me my numbers were not real high, bot now I'm under 190 and I'm Happy about that.
Mjfinch - MJFinch - In Sept., I had a heart attack resulting in an immediate heart cath with 2 stents placed in an artery. Was put on 40mg Simvastatin, along with other drugs. Pain in my leg muscles started almost immediately...and increased day by day. It got so bad, along with other symptoms, I could hardly walk or stand for any length of time. I have been to doctor after doctor with no answers other than age, spine/nerve compression...possibily, and comment that I either live with it or go to pain meds. Not very good answers. Finallly, last week I saw on the news that new regulation were put in place due to the terrible side effects from 80mg Simvastatin. What they described was ME! I got on the computer and did a whole lot of reading about the drug. One major thing popped out......."people of small stature" suffer the effects worse. I'm 5'6" and weigh 117lbs. That fits the bill!! I called my surgeon the next morning and made it clear, either change it or I'm off it!! He prescribed 20mg Crestor instead. It's only been 4 days now, but the improvement is VERY promising!! The leg pain is quite tolerable, I am walking much better, the fogginess is way less, the memory loss is less frustrating and so on. Maybe a part of improvement is not totally going off statin drugs, but to change the actual drug. Hopefully, there will not be a delay in adverse withdrawal reactions. I wish you all the very best and quick resolution you your health problems!!
Mjfinch - MJFinch - In Sept., I had a heart attack resulting in an immediate heart cath with 2 stents placed in an artery. Was put on 40mg Simvastatin, along with other drugs. Pain in my leg muscles started almost immediately...and increased day by day. It got so bad, along with other symptoms, I could hardly walk or stand for any length of time. I have been to doctor after doctor with no answers other than age, spine/nerve compression...possibily, and comment that I either live with it or go to pain meds. Not very good answers. Finallly, last week I saw on the news that new regulation were put in place due to the terrible side effects from 80mg Simvastatin. What they described was ME! I got on the computer and did a whole lot of reading about the drug. One major thing popped out......."people of small stature" suffer the effects worse. I'm 5'6" and weigh 117lbs. That fits the bill!! I called my surgeon the next morning and made it clear, either change it or I'm off it!! He prescribed 20mg Crestor instead. It's only been 4 days now, but the improvement is VERY promising!! The leg pain is quite tolerable, I am walking much better, the fogginess is way less, the memory loss is less frustrating and so on. Maybe a part of improvement is not totally going off statin drugs, but to change the actual drug. Hopefully, there will not be a delay in adverse withdrawal reactions. I wish you all the very best and quick resolution you your health problems!!
Oldcarpetcleaner - Go to spacedoc dot net. heaps of people have run into serious problems on thje smallest dose of statins. I myself would never ever touch the poison again in my life
Mobster - I am 44 and have been taking 40mg for nearly 2 years when my father-in-law suggested I find a natural alternative to lower cholesterol. He mentioned eating oatmeal every day with walnuts and taking niacin and how it had lowered his bad cholesterol while boosting the good and it works for him. I decided to to it as well and I have been off simvastatin for three weeks but unusual to the comments in here, my muscle aches and cramps are just now starting. I feel like I'm going through some sort of withdrawal from the drug. I'm experiencing severe muscle aches, cramps, drained energy levels, I lose things constantly and can't seem to find them and my vision seems to blur only at times. Several blood checks while on the drug noted higher than usual liver enzymes that freaked me out a bit. It's horrible. I only hope I haven't caused any permanent damage to my liver by taking this junk. 4 thumbs down!
Oldcarpetcleaner - Hey Mobster the same thing happened to me I got real real sick after I stopped the poisons. I've been off the junk for 3.5 years heaps better but still sore and lethargic.
For the next few months I suggest you also hoe into ubiquinol, fish oil, magnessium and Vitamin C this will usually give your heart a massive boost.
Mobster - Thanks Oldcarpetcleaner. - One other thing I forgot to mention is the divots in my fingernails that suggest a vitamin deficiency from my research. I pointed it out to my doctor and he agreed it was probably a deficiency of some sort but was cautious associating it it with simvastatin. In fact he sort of brushed it of by reminding me of all the good things lipids do for the body. Typical I guess.
Oldcarpetcleaner - When you start "sobering up" from the statins you will probably realise a lot of other problems will go away as well. For me itches, leaking bum, defunct pecker, clearer eyesight, better hearing, concentration, memory etc etc etc. Good luck
Texasgal1 - I'm so glad I found this sight! - My doctor switched me from Simvistatin to Crestor a week ago. I'd been on 80 mg. for 6 or 7 years. A couple of days later, I noticed an aching in my neck area, pressure in the top of my head, general lethargy. it's continued daily, plus I'm noticing that I'm sweating profusely. I kept checking on the side effects of Crestor, but not finding anything similar to my symptoms, on a hunch I googled "withdrawal from Simvistatin" - and was soon horrified by what I was reading!! I've had the head pressure on and off for the last couple of years, doctor always attributed it to allergies. Plus for the last year, I've had a moving rash, which the doctor suggested might be a result of detergents (so I switched to "free" detergents, with still no change). I finally concluded that it must be a result of my water aerobics class, and that I'd just have to live with it.... Now I'm wondering if it's all tied together. I'm hesitant of what the dr. will say if I ask to be taken off statins, but I'm freaked out by all I've read and how I'm feeling. Luckily I've been on CoQ10 (100 mg) for the whole time so it may have minimized otherwise additional damage, but it looks like switching to Crestor may be "changing seats on the Titanic"! So I'm going to try some major dietary changes and see what the doctor will do.... Thanks to all who've posted here - it's so frustrating that the doctors don't clue you in on all of this!!
Oldcarpetcleaner - Texas girl switching to Crestor may be "changing seats on the Titanic"! sums it up perfectly. When I changed my diet I went back to eggs, cream, milk, fish, butter etc and felt miles better. 80 mgs is a huge dose you might need to taper off. Go to spacedoc dot net then look up the great cholesterol con that takes you to a link from the world health organization which clearly shows the people with the lowest cholesterol get more heart disease and the people with the highest cholesterol live the longest. There is not a drug trial on the planet that shows increased mortality saving for females taking statins. make sure your coq10 is ubiquinol not ubiquinone. Good luck. I used to completely trust and respect but I now have a vile hatred for "white coats"
Nyxuk - Thank you to you all: I'm so relieved to have found this site. My doctor put me on Simvastatin 40mg 2 years ago at aged 45 because my cholesterol was found to be 7 during a routine blood test. As first it made me feel sick, fuzzy headed with erratic menstrual periods but I persisted as the fear of a stroke and loss of independence is terrifying. The doctor gave me Lansaprasol 30mg to counter the acid-reflux, which was present 24/7 regardless of what I ate or drank and over-the-counter (Rennies etc…) didn’t touch it. During the past 2 years I noticed that I’ve been developing ‘liver spots’ on my arms, legs and face; basically the areas exposed to daylight. I have an olive skin and therefore have never had sun related issues although I don’t sunbathe as I don’t find the over-cooked leathery look an attractive female feature. The speckled skin look is worse! I researched the contra-indications of Simvastatin and Lansaprasol and both indicate an increase in photosensitivity. I decided to stop taking both medications in April 2011 and watch my diet instead (low fat, careful alcohol consumption etc…) to see if I could take control of my body rather than relying of medications where we have no real long term impact data. I’m 5’6” BMI 23, moderate drinker and usually physically strong – no bingo wings etc…but now…well… where do I start…
At first there was no difference to my quality of life and I continued to walk my dogs 2 miles per day. The only thing I noticed was that my menstrual period was 13 days late which is very unusual because generally, apart from when I started on statins, I can ‘set my watch’ by my cycle and having never used hormone based contraception, I’m very ‘in-tune’ with my body. My currently due period is running 8 days late. Worse than the overdue period is the absolute aching of my body from head to toe. It is an ache that seems to go through to the bone and the prospect of walking to the end of the garden path, let alone 2 miles is like contemplating climbing Everest. I wake up as tired and lethargic as when I went to bed. My brain has been replaced with a marshmallow and even watching TV is challenging my attention span. Writing this post has taken 2 hours just trying to maintain coherent thought and focus. I’ve spent 3 weeks feeling like this: I’ve contemplated the cause as everything from the sudden onset of being premenopausal (specialist sites suggest it is unlikely to arrive so dramatically). Claudication (but from fit to f*cked in a couple of weeks just seems ridiculous). Depression (having suffered bouts of depression over the years, this is nothing like it and there’s no apparent trigger). Polymyalgia (need blood test to confirm but my instinct is saying it’s not the cause). Then it occurred to me that I like sh*t when I started on the statins, could it be stopping the statins? Thanks, Ilbvacumin, Mobster and OldCarpetCleaner for highlighting that symptoms do not immediately follow stopping taking statins but seem to build as your body fights to get rid of the junk accumulated and repair the damage done. I am going to continue monitoring my symptoms, try some of the suggested remedies one at a time so I can see which works and I’ll let you know how things go in a month or so. Any recommendations on the order of remedies will be much appreciated. I’ll start on a liver detox with artichoke (Cynara) and avoid all alcohol for now.
Texasgal1 - Oldcarpetcleaner: How do I find out whether my CoQ10 is ubiquinol or uviquinone? Neither of those terms is on the bottle.....
Oldcarpetcleaner - NYXUK all our symptoms are very similar. Re your menstraul problems, My billy bags had become as dry as an old creek bed and i had lost all interest. After ceasing the statins "It" started squirting on its own and with each unwanted involuntary ejaculation the pain, blood, joint throbbing and nausea was horrific. Also I was only managing to poo once every 3 days, a tiny amount like a goat but the pain for a bowel movement was horrific.
I ceased the statins first, very shortly after I stopped all other medicines and have never needed reflux medicine from that day to this. I will never ever trust a doctor again, I used to have immense respect for them.
Oldcarpetcleaner - Texasgal Ubquinol is the version you want. heaps of independant tests have shown that ubiquinol is 3 - 400% more bioavailable in our blood stream than ubiquinone.
Ubiquinol is made by TISHCON and is sold under many different brand names. It is more expensive than the other versions but 200mgs of ubiquinol is worth 800mgs of ubiquinone. Vitacost, mercola etc all sell it look for the two words Tishcon and ubiquinol.
Everybody educate yourselves at spacedoc dot net. heaps of good info from doctors and cardiologists.
All females, when a baby is first born it simply thrives on FULL FAT CHOLESTEROL LADEN BREAST MILK. Cholesterol is not cancer.
Oldcarpetcleaner - NYXUK My order of priorities would be protect my heart first. With all the muscle pain we suffer we must remember that our heart is our biggest MUSCLE, statins are proven beyond any doubt to have damaged hearts. COQ10 (ubiquinol) Magnessium, lots of fish oil, lots of vitamin C. For me eggs cream fat fish grass fed meat veggies.
Stay away from all foods high on the Gi index like cereals, bread, pastry, sugar etc. Take a walk around any cemeretery you will see heaps of people lived a ripe old age well before statins and low fat came into fashion
Oldcarpetcleaner - Hey Mobster, if you are a mobster can we get Uncle to sort these crooked pharmas and doctors out? They broke the code.
Mobster - Heh heh. I'm just glad to find information from others experiencing the same issues. I am gradually returning to normal here.
At 44, I am always careful to quickly judge or rule out a medication if it works for its intended purpose. Long term medications on the other hand, I REALLY worry about because your liver eventually has to metabolize whatever medication you take and if it's a medication that does more damage to the body on the long term, than the help one organ receives (heart) (liver) ect..., it just doesn't make sense, does it?
Example, I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with diabetes 2 (from being over weight) and they prescribed a medication to help the issue. But one the major side effects makes you gain weight. How many people in Americans are taking drugs that claim to do one thing, but the very drug they take is actually doing equal if not more harm to other parts of the body, In some cases, wouldn't it be better if they'd never taken any at all? Right?
Oldcarpetcleaner - Hey Mobster, It's very sad how we have all come together across the globe through being maimed by the very industry we are supposed to trust the most, I'm in NZ.
You are so right with your posts. There are heaps of people who have either eaten vegeterian or eaten the Atkins style that have tumbled their blood sugars, cholesterol and blood pressures. What does that say - processed GM modified nutrient deffiecient foods and drugs are the enemy. It is well written that these drugs are tested against a placebo often called a SUGAR PILL makes me very very suspicious whether they tested diabetes medicines against a sugar pill. We need the Godfather to sort this out.
Loopy71 - loopy71-hi i have been taking simvastatin for 3-4 month or more ,i have experianced alot of the side effects written in this page ,again after taking this med for around a month i went to see the doctor &told them i was getting muscle pain head aches not sleeping &my deppression got worse .my doctors response was its not anything to do with simvastatin ,i have been taken off these &told come off these for a month the go on prevastatin see how things go ,but now am scared reading these post that this is the wrong way to go ,CAN SOMEONE PLZ HELP.
Ukmartian - Hi All I have posted here before with ref simvastatin side effects ...well the good news is I now have few problems since my doctor changed my medication completely a lot off the aches and pains have virtually gone what's left i am putting down to getting older lol ....I am now taking a drug called EZETROL 10 mg daily...it appears to be working...I have not related any side effect symptoms to it yet and been on it for 6 months now .....it still lowers cholesterol by works in a different way ...it still has a page off possible side effects but so far so good .... It is probably more expensive than statins which is possibly why it is used as as last resort in my case as I tried 3 different statins and suffered from all off them .....hope this helps .....all the best ..steve
Mistral - I have been off statins for 10 weeks- still have bad muscle pains and weakness in arms legs & feet- what can you recommend for pain and how long will this go on for ?
Pugandbull - pugandbull - I have been on statins for the last 2 years and have increasing muscle pain all over, but especially my feet and legs. I have decreased my work hours becase of the pain. I have been on crutches, had a cast on my left foot, been in PT, and tested for RA. I have decided to stop taking the drug and see what happens. I am 57 years old and my body feels 90. I have forgotten things that I have known for years. I have gained 20 lbs. and the only time I am not in pain is when I am asleep. So glad I found this site!
Mistral - I have been on off statins 3 months now- still have weakness and pain in arms and legs- hot sweats - sleeping problems- can anyone say how long this will go on for? I took simvistain 40mg for 2 months. Taking ubinquinol and magnessium , swimming excercising when I can.
Ilbvacumin - I'm the original poster of this thread and it pains me to report that I posted that 3 years ago and still suffer with most of the symptoms I wrote about. My mobility is much better and for that I am very grateful but my overall body...the muscle and nerve pain, palpitations, chestpain, digestive complaints sadly all linger on. Life has not returned to normal by any stretch of the imagination. I have some fairly decent days now and again...but they are rare. I still hold the dream that one day this very long nightmare will have a happy ending :-). Best to all...
Oldcarpetcleaner - This coming December i will be 4 years since ceasing this statin poison. I am still suffering however my lifestyle and brain functions have vastly improved. I am resigned to the fact of pernament damage. This is cruel and inhumane.
Oldcarpetcleaner - To anyone contemplating physical exercise whilst suffering statin poison damage be very careful not to cause more damage to yourself. I have microscopic photographs taken by a professor at harvard showing the damage to fish embryos fed statins. When you see these photos it is easy to understand the destuction caused to all parts of our body including muscles, bones and brain. for a copy of these photos feel free to email me. In the subject line write fish statins send to mymagnet at xtra dot co dot nz. best to everyone.
Oldcarpetcleaner - UK Martin, why even worry what your cholesterol count is? The great Doctor McKendrick from Scotland has posted the statistics from the World Health Organisation WHO which clearly shows the people with the lowest cholesterol die the soonest and people with the highest cholestrol live the longest. You will find the link to this information at spacedoc dot net, go to the great cholesterol con there you will find a link to the WHO data posted on Utube..
Rlwesty - re post by Oldcarpetcleaner, the problem with McKendrick's reading of the MONICA data is, frankly, that the MONICA study says just the opposite of what he claims -- especially for north Europeans. The opposite. Read the data from the WHO web site. It is not as McKendrick represents it so far as I can see. I am NOT a statin defender. I quit after 6 months on the evil stuff. But I am not a fan of junk science that preys on those who cannot find respite from their medical conditions -- wheteher that junk comes from pop naysayers like McKEndrick or the Mayo Clinic.
Oldcarpetcleaner - Rlwesty, thanks for that, like you i am hungry for the facts. Do you think Dr Mckendricks presentation is false? There is an old advert for Lipitor that clearly says in small print "this medicine has not been shown to prevent heart attcks or strokes" Given Lipitors own advert, the ridiculous NNT and ARR factors it seemed to me to go hand in hand with Dr mckendrick's presentation. I also wonder if Dr Mckendrick would have faced severe discipline from medical boards if his posting was false? I agree with you on junk science for me in medicine (not surgery) I will only accept what is historically proven with evidence for many generations.
Zippy Farklesniffer - Zippy Farkelsniffer UK: Was on Simvastatin 40mgs daily for nearly a year. My health seems to have disintegrated around me, I had no energy, awful chest pains, severe muscle fatigue and my bowel became impacted 3-4 times amongst other things. I hav had to take much time off work which has also caused me problems. I stopped taking them 3 weeks ago after having a run in with my Dr. My joint/ muscle pain has lessened and after a week of some quite nasty withdrawal alot of the symptoms have lessened significantly. Unfortunately my stomach and diaphragm have become inflamed and my my oesophagus goes into spasm since stopping. Will this nightmare ever end and how can they continue to get away with prescribing this s**t...? I have been more horrified than relieved to read these accounts... terrible
Oldcarpetcleaner - Zippy it should get better. Before and after stopping statins I had to eat tiny amounts of food slower than a baby feeding else the food would go down my air pipe. After stopping I had a massive swelling in my diaphram, the swelling always inceased painfully when i dived into water. I think that problem went on for almost a year, but i can't be sure, however the diaphram and reflux is now 99% good. How can these scum keep doing this to people. The crime is far worse when we discover the drug crims themselves admit statins do not prevent heart attacks or strokes. Best for your recovery,
Windycity - I have been taking this medication 10mg. for 1 week now, I am glad I found this site. I thought it was just me with symptoms of things.....I will not be taking this med any longer......Done.
Xeyedmary - I had been on simvastatin for 2 yrs 10mg/day. Never read of all these side effect until now. In the past 2 yrs I have had blurry vision, white spots on my skin, white toe nails, 20 lbs weight gain, muscle pain tiredness, depression, hair loss, and severe cramps. I don't see much of these sysmptoms here so maybe it's not the statin. Any one else have any of these symptoms??? I am 49 yrs old female also on armour thyroid. Also anyone else have any sucess lowering chorlesterol naturally - pomegranite jucie or anything?????
Oldcarpetcleaner - Muscle pain, tiredness, depression, hair loss and cramps are all officially recognised adverse effect of statins. Females need more cholesterol than men, higher cholesterol counts equal longer living. Taking statins does not increase life expectancy by 1 milli-second. good luck with your recovery.
Xeyedmary - I quit taking the simvastatin about a month ago when I heard on the news the tie between it and diabeties in older women. So far the only side effect that hasn't shown up is the blurry vision. My eye dr nor my GP could not find a cause for it. How long does it take to get statins completely out of your system? Do you know a web site that lists all the side effects? I see different side effects on different sites but can not find a complete list. I also have memory loss and difficulty concentrating but thought that was because of my age.
Ohionana - I stopped taking simivastin 6 days ago after being on it for years. The Dr increased my dosage 1 yr ago to 80 mg. Recently , I have had so much muscle pain that I went in to see her last week. She said to stop taking the drug and did blood tests. I am having heart palpitations, Im irritable, Jittery,and off and on sweats plus a headache. Was I suppose to gradually get off this stuff or what. Im thinking I need a new doc...this is scaring me.
Ddm - Taking simvastatin 2 months - just 10 mg. A week ago had pulsating headaches for 3 days and started cutting my pills in HALF. Realized I shouldn't have eaten grapefruit day prior to headaches, but still started looking up side effects. Found your info. Will continue to take HALF pills (5mg) awhile longer - till I see my doc in about a week. Will see what next colesterol count is. Will STOP statin after that, even cutting pills in 1/4 for a week or so to be gradual. Please - those of you with muscle aches- think about getting a TENS unit, just $40 or less on Amazon. Let those electric pulses sooth your pains with out ingesting meds. Several choices - here's one: [link removed] DOT com/Authentic-Ultima-Digital-Preset-Modes/dp/B005KR1HAU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329341950&sr=8-1
Ddm - Before that [link removed], on my prior comment, the word was 'Amazon' or put the 'dot' after it = 'Amazon.' see?
Ugadogg - Wow this is an amazing site. I am 39. My initial Cholestrol was 388. I started with Crestor and soon go rid of it because it gave me severe acne. I was off that a while and my Dr convinced me to try Livalo, of which he said had little or no know side effects. My conclusion is that the prescribers are the one who least know about the pain users go through with these drugs. I have been taking Livalo for 7 months. I noticed the severe neck stiffness about a month ago while on vacation and did not pay it much mind. On my return after a month the stiffness was so severe that I spent one entire day with a stiff right neck and thought my neck muscles were going to pop out. In retrospect I now know what the cause of all my pain has been. I have also been experiencing pain stretching down my right shoulder blade to my neck, and my shoulder arm joints that comes and goes. I have quit taking Livalo and I have lately been experiencing weird sensations all over my body, pain in my lower back, weird blunt chest pain, and surface chest pain that comes and goes. Flu like head fogginess, fatigue and painful post urination. I have recently been to see my Dr and asked for a CK test to see if I have undergone severe muscle damage (Mylagia). I am also getting blood work to check my liver function. I hope no permanent damage has been done, and I can move beyond this ordeal and recover to my former self. I have also noticed about 10lb weight gain in the 7 month period I have been taking this drug, and weight which is so difficult to take off. I was an avid runner prior, but always seem to have knee weakness, probably another symptom to this drug.
Ugadogg - Wow this is an amazing site. I am 39. My initial Cholestrol was 388. I started with Crestor and soon go rid of it because it gave me severe acne. I was off that a while and my Dr convinced me to try Livalo, of which he said had little or no know side effects. My conclusion is that the prescribers are the one who least know about the pain users go through with these drugs. I have been taking Livalo for 7 months. I noticed the severe neck stiffness about a month ago while on vacation and did not pay it much mind. On my return after a month the stiffness was so severe that I spent one entire day with a stiff right neck and thought my neck muscles were going to pop out. In retrospect I now know what the cause of all my pain has been. I have also been experiencing pain stretching down my right shoulder blade to my neck, and my shoulder arm joints that comes and goes. I have quit taking Livalo and I have lately been experiencing weird sensations all over my body, pain in my lower back, weird blunt chest pain, and surface chest pain that comes and goes. Flu like head fogginess, fatigue and painful post urination. I have recently been to see my Dr and asked for a CK test to see if I have undergone severe muscle damage (Mylagia). I am also getting blood work to check my liver function. I hope no permanent damage has been done, and I can move beyond this ordeal and recover to my former self. I have also noticed about 10lb weight gain in the 7 month period I have been taking this drug, and weight which is so difficult to take off. I was an avid runner prior, but always seem to have knee weakness, probably another symptom to this drug.
Ugadogg - I am now three weeks into the withdrawal period, and it hasn't been pretty. My back pain and neck pain has subsided and is controllable. However this has been replaced by head fuzziness sometimes lasting the whole day. I am not one to take drugs but when it does get bad, I have been taking an aleve. I have had a few good days without the symptoms, but they seem to come out of left field. On hour it is the residual neck and back pain, then the stomach pain, then the fuzzy headedness or headaches. Has anybody been throughout this?
Chadd - Considering all the terrible damage that statin drugs have inflicted on unsuspecting patients, I think it is criminal for Big Pharma and their medical puppets to keep pushing these dangerous drugs on the public, especially since doctors don't even warn their trusting patients about any side effects at all. But it is a huge money-making scam, as Pharma sold $29 billion of the drugs last year, and the doctors are rewarded with a steady stream of new customers and more income. This is accomplished by a successful marketing strategy implying that 'high cholesterol' causes heart attacks, and you must 'treat' this condition by taking a statin drug for the rest of your life or else you may die from a heart attack. This is just fear-mongering nonsense. Hopefully, after reading this and the other referenced articles, you will understand why statin drugs are totally unnecessary, and why vitamin C will safely prevent heart attacks because it can actually heal the arteries and thereby prevent heart disease.
Contrary to all their anti-cholesterol marketing propaganda, cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease. Dr. Linus Pauling discovered almost 20 years ago that the real cause of cardiovascular disease is the lack of sufficient vitamin C necessary for the body to heal and repair damaged arteries. Cholesterol is actually essential for the health of every cell in the body. But statin drugs restrict the body's normal production of cholesterol, and this can cause the degeneration of cell membranes of muscles, joints, and nerves, including the brain. To make matters worse, statin drugs also block the production of the essential nutrient CoQ10. For a better understanding of all of this, I would urge you to read two very informative articles. Since this message board does not allow direct links, just use Google and do a search for cqs.com to find the website. Then in the lefthand column of the page, click on Natural Cardiovascular Disease Therapy to read the first article, and then click on Natural Statin Injury Therapy to read it.
The best way to limit the damage is, of course, to stop taking the statins. Also, there are some nutritional supplements I've read about that can help in recovery from the damage, including CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, omega-3 fish oil, and the amino acid l-carnitine.
Sassysr47 - Hi, I'm or Was a young 64 yr woman, I've been on Simvastatin for 6yrs or more, was on 20mg had the muscle aches, blood work showed that, so GP took it down to 10mg, (a few months ago) cardiologist said don't care if I have muscle pain, take 20mg, so a couple weeks ago started with eye twitch, then all broke loose, severe headaches, eye pain, mostly right eye, thought I was going blind, dizzy, off balance, loss of memory, didn't know what I was doing, couldn't get out of the house, slept alot. Just couldn't function normally. I stopped 3 days ago on my own, thought I would feel better, maybe like most, I should ween off of them. I ve been running back and forth to drs, because I didn't know what was wrong with me, just didn't feel right. That's when I started researching and found this site, WE NEED HELP
Ddm - Sassysr47 and anyone else. If doctors prescribe higher dose that seems to make you ill, get a pill cutter & cut in half. Cut in 1/4, or quit if that suits you. Depends on your own knowledge of what statin does to help vs bad side effects you are having. Doc put me on 10, got some pulsating pounding headaches. Cut pills to 5. Doc gave me 5, I have cut even those in half due to seeing increase in weight. I don't consider my cholesterol level that serious since LDL and HDL are both high and so at least the bad to healthy ratio is in sync. If weight increase continues I will stop all.
Ohionana - Why do the Drs say there is no simivastin withdrawal? I cant believe how many people on this sight are having problems with and without the meds. I have been off simivastin for a month now and am starting to feel better. What scares me is that I have been on 90 mg for a year. After all of these comments-I can't help but wonder what it has done to my body. I still have have body aches but I can't determine if its being 59 or still the simivastin....
Oldcarpetcleaner - I just met a recent retired orthopdic surgeon. He didn't know where is sore joints were coming from. There you have it this industry is so thick and manipulated by criminals that a bloody old carpet cleaner helped the orthopdeic surgeon's joints simply unbelievable. statins are chemical poison, full fats, full cream, eggs, high cholesterol all equal a long and healthy life.
Jandhyoseph - See book recommended by Dr. Graveline: How Statin Drugs Really Lower Cholesterol and Kill You One Cell at a Time. Give it to your lawyer. Also: StatinInjuryVictims dot blogspot dot com which has excerpts from the book and a good video.
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Sassysr47 - I have now been off simvastation for 20 days, had an appt with my cardio, he says statins are great and believes in them. Not for me, although my girlfriend who is 68 yrs old is on 20mg and she's fine. So it might be ok for some. But as far as I can see by all the reviews it really harms alot of people. I could'nt believe the side effects. Just like many others, severe head aches, eye aches, jaws, lightheadedness, dizzy, memory loss, muscle aches and pains. I almost ran into the back of a car.
So, asked my dr how long will this last, said about 3 or 4 weeks. He DID NOT recommend any vitamins to reverse this, does not believe in vitamins. Said if you think they make you feel better, than take them. The only one thing he did mention, if you are going to take vitamins, take D 400. And I think he did mention Red Yeast. Who knows for sure. He also wants me to consider LOPID, I'm not going there.
My family and friends think I'm a hypocondriac (sp?) They don't understand how this makes you feel.
So yesterday I did some gardening and felt a little dizzy still, when I came in to make dinner I all of a sudden had heart palpatations, scared me to death, had to take a med to calm me down. I guess the side effects still go on.
So how do we know how much damage this drug has done to our bodies?? I used to be very energetic.
Sassysr47 - I have now been off simvastation for 20 days, had an appt with my cardio, he says statins are great and believes in them. Not for me, although my girlfriend who is 68 yrs old is on 20mg and she's fine. So it might be ok for some. But as far as I can see by all the reviews it really harms alot of people. I could'nt believe the side effects. Just like many others, severe head aches, eye aches, jaws, lightheadedness, dizzy, memory loss, muscle aches and pains. I almost ran into the back of a car.
So, asked my dr how long will this last, said about 3 or 4 weeks. He DID NOT recommend any vitamins to reverse this, does not believe in vitamins. Said if you think they make you feel better, than take them. The only one thing he did mention, if you are going to take vitamins, take D 400. And I think he did mention Red Yeast. Who knows for sure. He also wants me to consider LOPID, I'm not going there.
My family and friends think I'm a hypocondriac (sp?) They don't understand how this makes you feel.
So yesterday I did some gardening and felt a little dizzy still, when I came in to make dinner I all of a sudden had heart palpatations, scared me to death, had to take a med to calm me down. I guess the side effects still go on.
So how do we know how much damage this drug has done to our bodies?? I used to be very energetic.
Oldcarpetcleaner - I was made to feel a hypcondriac as well but my medical history was only about 8 doctors visits over the prevoius almost 50 years and that includes accidents. When the idiot doctors can't give you a clinical diagnosis and never concede it is the medicines making you ill, even though your side effects are ackowledged by the FDA they simply blame the patient. I ceased my heart palipitations taking up to 500 mgs of ubiquinol for a few days at the time of the palipitaions then eased back to 200 mgs until the palipitaions returned. I think (memory) it took almost a year before the palipitaions ceased altogether. i was also taking magnessium and quality fish oil for my heart. Your friend taking 20 mg statins maybe fine now but i have no doubt what will happen to her in time. I have no doubt whatsoever thet there is absolutely no correlation between cholesterol on it's own and heart failure. A study of 130,000 USA patients hospitalised for serious coronary events showed 25% had high cholesterol, 50% had low cholesterol and 25% had high cholesterol.
It is now obvious the people with higher cholesterol have less chance of heart attack than those with lower cholesterol/ Good luck to you and your friend.
Oldcarpetcleaner - Above was supposed to read 25% NORMAL cholesterol, 50% LOW Cholesterol and only 25% of the heart attack victims had high cholesterol
Sassysr47 - Thanks oldcarpetcleaner, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure too, since stopping statin, seems to stabailze some. Brought that to the Dr's attention, with no reaction. Today, I feel like I'm somewhat off balance, yester the papiltations.........so what is ubiquinol? and what does it do. I take the fish oil, vitamin C, etc................Does the CoQ10 help? Have you heard anything about the over the counter Chol Off? Someone on this site says it helped her
Oldcarpetcleaner - I wouldn't bother with any form of cholesterol lowering at all. Mothers breast milk is chocker block full of cholesterol and that is what a new baby thrives on, cholesterol is essential for life, cholesterol is not cancer. Ubiquinol is a bioavailable form of COQ10, statins strip COQ10 from the body, COQ10 and magnessium are absoluetly essential for heart health. If you buy COQ10 be sure it is from the Kaneka brand, there are many relabelled brands of Kaneka which are fine. It is more expensive than the cheaper form of COQ10 (ubqiuinone) but is proven by cardiologists and Canterbury university in NZ to be 3 - 500% more bioavailable. Check it out at spacedoc dot net also look at www dot coq10 dot co dot nz. I can almost guarantee you a course of 200 - 400 mgs ubiquinol along with 400 mgs magnessium a day will give you some noticable improvement within a month, then pull the COQ10 back to 100 - 200 mgs per day. I also eat plenty of fish,meat, unprocessed saturated fat, eggs, full cream milk and full cream along with fruit and veggies. I now buy by milk and cream direct from the farm with no treatment to the milk at all. If you look around any cemetery in the western world you will see heaps of people lived to ripe old ages a century ago and that was before we had skim milk, pastuerised milk. low fat nutrient depleted foods etc.
I love my cholesterol.
Sassysr47 - Thanks Old Carpet Cleaner, I will look into that!! I will do anything to feel better, i want my energy back!!
Sassysr47 - Thanks Old Carpet Cleaner, I will look into that!! I will do anything to feel better, i want my energy back!!
Sassysr47 - Thanks Old Carpet Cleaner, I will look into that!! I will do anything to feel better, i want my energy back!!
Sassysr47 - Thanks Old Carpet Cleaner, I will look into that!! I will do anything to feel better, i want my energy back!!
Sassysr47 - Thanks Old Carpet Cleaner, I will look into that!! I will do anything to feel better, i want my energy back!!
Windycity - I have been off simvastatin now for 3 1/2 months. I was only on it for no more than a month, as I posted above. I am JUST NOW, starting to feel energetic and back to myself. I took myself off the dang drug and started taking better care of myself by eating meditteranian type of foods, oil ect......I am finally feeling like a human being and I am finally sleeping with no aids AND no aches anymore! Never again will I take any of these drugs the doc wants us to take when I was able to lower my own cholestrol......Docs need more education on this drug and we all need to educate one another on the side effects of this. Good luck everyone! I feel GREAT now!
Wvpatient - I've been on 20mg simvastatin probably for about 6 months or so and my doctor also gave me 10mg zetia. I used to take Vytorin and did for several years. I still take 145mg Tricor. Like the post above I have experienced muscle and joint aches and blamed in on arthritus. I feel I have that also. The doctor told me about the high doses of cholestrol medicine that I take might break down my muscles but she never told me about all of these other side affects, (I need to study more), Everything has gotten worse in the past year or so. I've been dizzy, have headaches, just too tired with no energy level at all. I've been getting a pain in my left shoulder, feel like my pause is racing most of the time. Have trouble staying asleep, My fingers get tingly even just setting in a chair watching TV. So now I see that these drugs might be causing these problems. I did see somewhere in the past few days that the cholestrol drugs shouldn't be taken if the person doesn't have any heart problems because they could cause arthritus symtons. So I decided to stop taking them and today was the first day that I didn't take any. But by the above post maybe I should just wean myself from them.
I'm getting ready to retire soon and I'll be loosing my insurance because I'm only 62 and too young to get medicare. But I just can't work because of my condition. I barely get through the day anymore. I took a week vacation and I still don't feel any better. I do like all of the advice given here. Thanks. It's good to know that I'm not in this alone.
Good luck to everyone out there that is suffering from all of these side affects. They scare me too but I guess I'm going to see what happens with me. Hopefully I'll be able to withstand them.
Gigi2 - Gigi - Thank you all for helping me figure out that I may be having a reaction to simvastatin. I have been taking it since 12/22/11. Since 3/28/12 I have experienced several bouts of lightheadedness, ache at the base of my neck, feeling like my head was full of water, my legs were going to give out, but never passed out. My finger tips feel tingly and I have to sit down for any where from 30 minutes to two hours until I feel normal again. All my "spells" have happened in the afternoon. My blood pressure shot up during one "attack". My EKG's have all been normal, blood work is normal, and I still walk and exercise, but I do not feel my regular energetic self. I take vitamins, CoQ10, fish oil, but these symtoms still persist. Any advice, besides stopping. I have cholosterol in the lining of my cartoid artery enough for someone who is 80 and I am only 65. Would appreciate any responces.
Windycity - All your symptoms Gigi2 are all the very same ones I experienced. I only was on them for 1 month and still have some of these symptoms. Although, they are getting better daily. I cannot imagine being on these longer than I was and again, it was only 1 month. I have always been active and for the most part watched my cholestrol intake. My cholestrol was slightly elevated. My daughter is a nurse at a general practioners office and they took my cholestrol count shortly after I personally took myself off those NASTY pills. It was normal and in fact great! I ate a lot of mediterranian and healthy foods...Eat OATMEAL every morning for 1 month along with whole wheat products, vegetables and fish.....I bet each and every one of you get a better count like I did. I would never tell you to not listen to your doctor, I just won't listen to mine anymore. I find it utterly NONSENSE they throw so many drugs at the patients, insteadt of working with them in healthier ways...Good Luck!
Windycity - BTW~ I had a stroke in Novemeber and was rushed to ER. This is when they found all the crap that they said was wrong with me. I was told I also have a brain tumor. I do, but they said is not malignant. They wanted me also on seizure meds and wanted a spinal tap. I will not do either one of those things. I feel fine. I guess this tumor has been with me all my life, and it will be the rest of it. So, why start messing with it now.....AND, they had me on BP pills, asprin 325 mils along with the simvastatin. I stopped smoking and took myself off of everything because I felt just like you do Gigi. NOW, I am starting to feel like a MILLION BUCKS!
Jand - I am in the UK, female, age 58, small build. I am not overweight, do not drink alcohol and have never smoked. I have known for many years that I have inherited high cholesterol and in July 2011 finally gave in to my Doctor's pressure ("good chance you will have a heart attack if you don't do something to lower the cholesterol") and started on 40mg Simvastatin every night. No problems until September when I developed a cold/virus/chest infection that didn't go away for months and came with severe and daily headaches which are continuing and have been ascribed by a different doctor to stress but I am wondering if they are in fact a side effect of the statins? The headache is only relieved by several daily doses of Ibuprofen or Paracetamol and can at times be unbearable for an hour or so before the painkillers take effect. I should add that I had a similar headache problem about 5 years ago which was fully investigated and eventually diagnosed as "menopausal" and gradually relieved by taking HRT. I am scared to stop taking the Simvastatin, scared not to, and know my GP will insist the headaches are nothing to do with the statins. My mother, incidentally, from whom I inherited the high cholesterol, lived to be 90 and didn't suffer her first heart attack until she was about 80 and (as far as I know) was only diagnosed with high cholesterol late in her life but (like me) had shown the tell-tale little fatty bands in the iris of her eyes for almost all her adult life. JD.
Chadd - To Jand: Why should you be afraid to stop taking the statin drug that is causing you so much pain? Afraid you will have a heart attack if you stop? That is just fear-mongering nonsense, but the tactic has worked very well to maximize sales and profits. There was a medical study done a few years ago of more than 136,000 patients who were hospitalized for heart attacks. The results of the study were just the opposite of their 'high cholesterol', high risk theory of heart attacks. Only 25% of the patients had 'high' cholesterol, and almost 75% had cholesterol levels that were normal or even in the below normal range! In addition, 21% of the patients who suffered a heart attack were already taking a statin drug. Contrary to Big Pharma propaganda, cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. Dr. Linus Pauling discovered 20 years ago that the root cause of cardiovascular disease is the lack of sufficient vitamin C necessary for the body to heal and repair damaged arteries. Cholesterol is actually essential for the health of every cell in the body. But statin drugs restrict the body's normal production of cholesterol, and if there is an inadequate supply of cholesterol, it causes the degeneration of cell membranes of your muscles, joints, and nerves, including the brain. The brain itself contains about 25% of the total cholesterol in the body, and that's why the FDA recently required a new label warning that statins can even cause loss of memory. I would urge you to read two very informative articles. Do a Google search for cqs.com to find the website. Then in the lefthand column of the page, click on Natural Cardiovascular Disease Therapy to read that article, and then click on Natural Statin Injury Therapy to read it.
Jand - Hi Chadd. Thanks for your response. After further research on the internet I did actually stop taking Simvastatin just over 3 weeks ago. I suspect that my familial (inherited) high cholesterol is "normal" for me and that my GP is trying to lower the levels in accordance with British National Heath blanket guidelines (as in, one low reading fits all!) I found a Dutch study on the internet which looked at this type of high cholesterol and concluded that it is not necessarily a factor in early heart attacks and many people with it go on to live to a normal lifespan (as in fact my mother did.) My severe headaches still remain (much to my disappointment) but I now realise my concentration was also slowly becoming affected and that has now returned to what it was before. I have not yet seen my GP although my husband did mention in passing during his recent diabetic review that I was "thinking of" stopping the statins as I believed they were the cause of my headaches and the Doctor said he doubted the statins had anything to do with it but I could stop them for two weeks if I wanted! Incidentally, my husband has been on 10mg Simvastatin for some years since he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I have just persuaded him to start taking Co-enzyme Q10.
I have made up my mind that while my blood pressure remains normal and my general health is OK I will NOT contemplate taking any statin again. I realise I had been taking them since May 2011 rather than July so I suppose a side effect that took several months to materialise will take some time to depart. I just wish I could get back to a normal, headache-free existence soon! I already take a daily multivitamin but will look at upping my Vitamin C intake.
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