Crestor and Fibromyalgia

[rockingrammy]

I have had Fibromyalgia for most of my life(I'm 52) although I was only diagnosed about 3 years ago. Yesterday I was given Crestor because my total was 262. I was wondering if there was anyone else here in the same situation. I would love to hear from others. The side effects for Crestor are exactly what I face already with FM. How am I to know if its the FM or the crestor?

[catspajamas]

Oh boy, is that a loaded question....I , too have had fm most of my life...It was basically under control and hadn't had a flare for ages when doc put me on zocor....know what zocor did? ...made my muscles ache like they never ached before...not only that but muscles got very weak..couldn't hold my arms above my head and eventually left side acted like I had a stroke and I started falling without warning....after off zocor, basically my strength mostly came back and pain went away...oh, I would get aches when the weather changed or some stress in my life but not like when I was on statins....I had wondered at one time, being the fact that I had fm is why I reacted to statins the way I did...but now I know better.....statins aggravated the fm symptoms....not just muscle aches, but shortness of breath, sleeplessness, colitis, and most other symptoms you get from fm.....so I say be wary girl....and if your chol. isn't that high...get off crestor...from what I read it is one of the worst ones.....follow the suggestions here....I found that I was "allergic" to all statin drugs, not just zocor....The neurologist at Mayos told me to treat statins like I am severly allergic to them....(cause thats what we are)Too bad doctors don't believe people can be allergic to statins like one can be allergic to penicillin or other drugs....I really don't trust any new meds anymore....statins ruined my life....I will have to take pain pills the rest of my life and I am only 68

[catspajamas]

have to add this....268???thats not high...mine was over 300....With a daily walk,(when I could)..niacin (over the counter), policosanol, and fish oil cutting sweets from my diet, my chol. stays around 220....I am satisfied with that...I think our cholesteral level depends on what our body needs at the time(and we do need cholesteral)...God wouldn't of had our liver make it if it wasn't necessary....Have some heart tests, dopplers of your leg arteries, veins, etc and see if you have plaque, if you aren't a heart attack risk, why take anything that is poison....they say statins don't help women prevent heart attacks anyway.....Good luck

[rockingrammy]

In the last year I've had a heart cath because a nuclear stress test showed a blockage in the left anterior desending artery. During the cath, nothing was found except that I have a fluid build up around my heart that is more than normal but not severe. My cardiologist follows me every 3-4 months for that. I have taken 1000 mg fish oil daily for the last couple of years. In addition, I take norvasc, benicar/htcz, (blood pressure), indocin (inflamation),trazodone (sleep), Klor-con (potassium) ultracet as needed for pain and skelaxin as needed for muscle spasms. I also take a multivitamin, calcium, magnesim and zinc and soy isoflavones (hot flashes). I really think my levels became elevated because of a change in my work. I closed my business(commerical cleaning contractor) in October and started a parttime ( two days a week) receptionist job in December. I have not fully adjusted my exercise routine to make up for the loss of physical activity I got before October.

I live almost daily with shortness of breath and pressure in my chest. I already experience many of the same symptoms as the crestor side effects. I believe my dr prescribed the crestor because my mother has had to have three procedures this year to place stents in her femoral arteries. Up to this point, he has always been very cautious and always perferred to go natural as much as possible in treatment options. I wonder if some drs aren't getting kick-backs from drug mfgs.

[catspajamas]

Wouldn't it be nice if, before dr/s hand you a prescription, they would send you to a dietician, arrange for some exercise therapy, instruct you to walk or whatever excercise you tolerate? and even get your family history of heart/stroke diseaes. I do believe there is a conspiracy in the drug/doctor.thing. I had one supposedly cholesteral specialist laugh at me when I told him I can't take statins...Then 2 that rolled their eyes and had a smirk on their face. I have permanent nerve damage in my feet...other nerve problems and some residual muscle weakness yet. and its been 5 years since I quit zocor.I live with pain in my feet everyday...I sure would like to sue somebody. I called the drug company and the rep there told me 1 in 10,000 people had the same thing happen to them as did me in the clinical trials.I think, before people get a new prescription filled they should do their own research...I do now..I am very leary of all the new drugs. A old GP told me to always ask for generics when you need a med...not because they are cheaper, but because they have been around a long time and the side effects are more known....Good Advice...for everyone.He told me to take Niacin..its a old "remedy"...fish oil and policosanol did the job for me...slowly, but surely...Hope you consider all the aspects of crestor...and read the posts here...wonderful advice....

[rockingrammy]

I tried taking the crestor. I took it for 11 days. By day 8 I was having severe muscle pain and weakness across my shoulders and down my arms. The fatigue was severe as well. I found a pattern forming. I would be 'normal' (as normal as someone with fibromyalgia can be) in the morning but as the day progressed the pain got steadily worse. By the late afternoon-evening I would be unable to lift anything, open a jar or bottle or walk. Things would continue to decline until about an hour to hour and a half before the next dose. At that point, things would improve greatly.

When I saw my rheumatologist on day 11 I shared my theory with him. He said I had definitely found a correlation and should not take the crestor. He said I should let my GP know of the side effects.

I called my GP and talked with the nurse. She reported to him my side effects. Today, she calls me back to tell me the dr says I need to be on a prescription and wants me to take Zetia. I commented about the recent news reports and she replied that the new media wasn't correct in their reporting, that in fact only 1% of patients had a problem. I told her that since one of the main purposes of Zetia was to prevent blockages in my arteries and it did not do that I would not take it. I told her I have an appt for new labs on Feb 18th and that I will use diet and exercise until then. She wants me to make an appt with the dr after the labs to discuss how to proceed. I also told her I refused to pay for any more medications that I may not be able to take.

I am puzzled by my dr's actions. He has always been one to go the natural route. He has always been the one to prescribed generics. Recently the practice joined a large area hospital whereas before they were independent of outside influences. I believe this has played a part in recent events. I hope this is not a view into the future. I have really liked his care up to this point. I hate the thought of finding a new dr.