statin lipator and the agonising muscle cramps

by **Liz** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:49 am

:cry: Hi I am new to this site and am so pleased to read that I am not the only one with the pain of taking statins.I started taking lipator 15 years ago(I am now nearly 56) and considered myself fit and well until a year ago when the cramps started in my lower legs at night, I put this down to my age and carried on but as the year progressed I now have sever cramps in my legs and feet that are real agony during the night and also a deep ache/ pain in my legs that feel as if it is coming from my bones.
During the day my legs feel heavy and sometimes tingle and my calf muscles ripple as this is getting worse I rang my Drs to have my blood taken as I do each year to check on my cholesterol level ect, I now have an appointment to visit the vascular clinic in 2weeks.My cholesterol level was 12 and is now down to 7.5 which is not great but much improved.
I will have to wait and see what they say but do not feel like taking these statins much longer,can anyone else relate to my story as I have had no support at all during taking these statins and when I complained that my lower back muscles ached most of the time was told no it could not be this drug ( this was years ago) and now my back aches and cramps up most days. The support of this site would be of great help to me before I go mad in my old age !!!. :)

by **Samuel Joe snr.** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:22 am

Hi Liz , I have been taking Lipitor statins for 7 years and have similar side effects to yours and thought it was down to aging but now having read a lot on this site I am gradually wheening myself off these pills. There seems to be an improvement but it is early days yet, however the pains are subsiding. I am a fit 71 year old who plays golf 3 times a week at least and have done for over 20 years following a lifetime of regular sport and exersise so I am hoping to continue my active ways but it did make me consider quiting until I read about all you others with these side effects, regards Sam.

by **Cat Mom2** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:50 pm

You were put on statins in your early 40's? That absolutely disgusts me! What are those doctors thinking anyway? I see those commercials and they say not for nursing mothers, if you are pregant or may become pregnant and I want to scream! NOBODY that young needs to be on that stuff to start with.

by **Brian C.** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:27 am

That feeling in the legs sounds almost exactly like I am experiencing except I'm not getting agonising cramps, just a heavy, unpleasant "dead legs" feeling with a "creepy" feeling in the right calf..

9 years on Zocor followed by 8 years on Lipitor, 80mg

Now almost 4 months since quitting.

Welcome to our University of Statin Survival Liz

Brian.

by **SusieO** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:32 am

Hi Liz! As I read your post I kept shaking my head in agreement with how you feel. I, too, felt that same way until I got off Lipitor!!! I went to my doctor due to the intense pain way deep in my legs/bones and when he touched them I cried out in pain.

I have been off Lipitor for almost 3 years and it has gotten much better, but still lingers with the nasty damage.

We all have to do what we feel is best, but I stopped the drug cold turkey...no weaning off for me and I don't regret it one bit.

Let us know how you are doing as times goes on.

by **cjbrooksjc** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:13 pm

Liz: Cramping is a standard side effect. I had disabling cramps in my legs, (ow!) arms (yow!), back (yipe!), and stomach (shoot me!) before I quit the drugs. It does get better, but it also takes a long time. I've been off (the drug) for almost a year and I still get an occasional reminder visit. I know the pain can be exquisite... know it does improve with time.

Brian: I'm not sure if I never knew or if I've forgotten (thanks to Statins) but 17 years? I honestly can't imagine how you did it, but I hope you are having a GOOD day today.

Best Regards,

Brooks

by **Brian C.** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:05 am

I'm sure taking CoQ10 the last few years kept me from disaster.

Brian.

by **storageman** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:22 pm

I have been having sever leg or foot cramps for a few years. I have neen on lovastatin for a few years and something else before. Never lipitor or other TV drugs. Lasat August a friend stopped his statin drugs for the same reason - cramps at night, and a week later the cramps wewre gone.

I discovered the following - If I stopped drinking 1-2 glasses of red wine the cramps are ALMOST gone, when they do occurr, they are much lest severe. Also Cramps occur 99% when I am asleep and painful enough top wake me up. The question is should I stop Statin and start back to drinking?

by **Allen1** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:00 am

Hi there storageman,
realistically you have found out that the statins are causing your muscle cramps which are further aggravated by drinking red wine. I would seriously consider stopping the statins and having a couple of months off any alcohol after cessation of the statins before trying a small amount of wine now and then to see what happens. If you don't have a bad reaction ie leg or foot cramps then a glass or two shouldn't really be a problem.

Even after stopping the statins, the problems that they cause do not always go away although they often fade in severity (some will go away for some people), you can help yourself by eating the odd banana (helps with cramps) and maybe taking some Co-Enzyme Q10 and L-Carnitine etc. There are many posts about the benefits of these supplements on this forum.

I also noticed your typing problems / errors, these are typical of many of us lot that have been on statins and it also means that your coordination is being effected (unless you were a bad typer already or just tired when you typed it). If you were however previously reasonably good at typing, I can only say that you really do need to stop taking the statins as soon as possible and get those supplements.

A year ago, I may as well have been typing with my elbows as there were so many spelling mistakes and words that really did not exist, all I can say is Thanks to whoever invented the spell checker, I almost wore it out :lol:

All the best,
Allen.

by **storageman** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:42 am

Allen1, Thanks for the post.
1.My typing has ALWAYS been bad. I blame it on NEVER learning touch typing in High School. It was only for girls... I have been the computer software space for 40+years and one would think I could learn to type...

2. I have approached my Doctor with the suggestion that I stop statins and he almost blows his top.

3. If no alcohol means no cramps, so be it. (look at all the money I save)

4. Seriously, I do have major concerns with the negative long term effects of Statins, but at age 66 maybe the definition of Long term would be an interesting discussion all by itself.

Just curious if you have medical training?

Bob (Storageman)

by **Allen1** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:17 am

Hi there Bob,

I don't have any medical training, just a heart attack, put on statins and 8 years later a higher dose of statins then a triple bypass and a whole host of side effects that I only found the cause of 2 years ago ie statins (ZOCOR Simvastatin).

What I do know about statins is from personal experience, and virtually everything I have experienced has also been shared by a great many other members of this very forum. The main problem is that many doctors do not realize or believe that the very real problems have any connection to taking the wonder drug that is statin, if they opened their eyes and took a good look around then there would never have been a need for a site like this and many others.

When you look around this site and others like it, you will see that people pass on their experiences and what helped them or made things worse, this is a darn sight more than you will get from your everyday doctor and even cardiologists who still thinks the problems do not exist.

Please take a look at the site below, it is ordinary people posting there just like the folk here, just remove the asterisk and copy it to the address bar in your browser :-

*http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=19766&name=ZOCOR

I am 52 years old and the only job I would be good for is a bed tester because most days I don't tend to stray far from one due mainly to fatigue. Ahh good old Zocor!

by **harley2ride** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:21 am

Bob (Storageman)

Welcome, Bob

The wording long term effects, could be very misleading. Many of us here have sustained perminent and irreversable damage from stains, after only a few months of use. I went from feeling very young and energetic, to being where my 70yr old father has to help me do some chores... So if you have no problem going from 66 to 80 in a matter of months (a real possibility), then don't worry about the statins.

And no, statins don't effect everybody the same. But if you do some reading, you will find, that doctors and scientists say that 1 in 10 people have some sort of genetic flaw. Statin drugs (and other drugs) (which are just chemical compositions), can take that flaw and turn it on, just like flipping the switch on a light bulb. This isn't my information, this comes from MDA doctors, and many other doctors. There are lots of doctors out there today, who don't take the time to read up on the side effects of all these drugs. Heck, if they did, they wouldn't have time to practice.. But they do need to start paying attention, when warnings start to crop up.