The other side of the arguement
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/ignore-medias-scare-stories-keep-8318150
Hi,well... the first thing my doctor did when i began having nueropathy in my hands,arms legs and feet was have me stop the statin. Mind you I had taken it over a year. It was only 10mg and for the first year i felt fine. It brought my numbers down. Then I began getting the nueropathy and muscle weakness. Personally I know 3 other people that had to stop taking them. Our neighbor across the street got so Weak he collapsed in his driveway. Muscle damage,another had nueopathy of the feet SO bad they couldnt feel them. Not sure what my moms friend side affects were all I know is she had to quit. So if its so rare why do I know so many? I am sure my doctor never reported my issues about the drug. Doubt any of the other peoples were reported also. So sorry you cant convince me these drugs are safe. Personally I have read many articles stateing that we need choelesteral for our body to function properly and that inflamation is the main cause of heart issues etc. Ive read articles claiming statins can practically cure anything. I dont believe it. Patient beware. Talk to friends,do research then decide. Look up customer reviews of different statins on the web and see the side affects people experianced or if they had none.
I took various statins over a 10 year period and suffered muscle and joint pain most of the time. My GP advised to keep taking them which I did until I developed peripheral neuropathy and muscle wasting and now find it very difficult to walk. I stopped taking statins but too late to improve my condition but my GP is still happy to prescribe.
I'm not trying to convince you... I stopped taking them three years ago. I just put the story up as we all know ones who stopped them as well as the ones still taking them without any problems.
I too took statins for 14 months during the last 3 I started to have pains in my right wrist and fingers, then in the left hand also. My GP never said anything relating it to the statins, suggested arthritis or nerve pain due to newly prescribed "bisoprolol" which he suggested I stop. Having read many comments on here I decided to stop both statins and bisoprolol. My pain is still with me and I now have it in my right ankle and neck. Have any others who stopped the statins continued to suffer, also have new painful areas of the body and how long after stopping did they go back to normal, if at all?
I do have first hand experience of the side effects, and they are not minor.
To me, the logical fallacy of the pro argument is that, as one gets older, one is more likely to die within the next ten years anyhow, for any reason.
So, what 'life period' are statins actually trying to prolong.
Our time in the care home??
A fit hill walking friend of mine developed muscle pain after starting them but did not believe me when I blamed the statins. Next came memory loss and depression and medication for that as well. His wife kept on saying that the doctor said it was not the statins and he kept on taking them.
Then she could not cope with looking after him and she put him in a nursing home. First fall cracked his pelvis, second one broke his tibia and very quickly he was gone.
That is my point. What kind of life are the pro statin advocates actually trying to prolong?
Heart attacks and strokes are not the potential ailments when one gets older. There is no concrete proof that statins actually do what they are proclaimed to do, apart from lowering LDL. And, there is no concrete proof that this is even a positive thing. But, there is plenty of evidence that statins do accelerate other age related ailments. And this is being ignored.
correct:- 'not the only.....
Whilst I cand see that some people may benefit from statins and have no side effects there are those Who do!!!!!!.
As usual statistics are being used for the wrong reason and always being used in a negative way. If you invert the statistics it looks far better and no Doctor can say that you are in the real at risk area pnly that your coditions woudl indicate this.
As a patient who has been on statins my life style is far better now that I am off statins than it was when i was one them. I value quality of life rather than length of life. As you get older the risk of dementia is greater and then dying from Dementia is worse than a heart attack at least one is quick the other is a long slow painful death and a morning period for the loved ones in life. I have experience this and its not nice for the person with dementia or the loved ones.
My GP has been taking stains for at least six years and still runs marathons. We who have had side effects condemn them but we are still the minority.
What does puzzle me is that peole are more afraid of strokes than of heart attacks and clamour to happily take NOACs.
My mother died at 92 having had dementia for ten years OR did she? She was the only person in her care home not on any medication.
She had been in good health and of good mind at 82 when she delayed an operation to remove a kidney due to a tumor as she was travelling to and around Canada on her own for a month. After the operation she could not remember much about her trip or look after herself.
In her case it was the anesthetic not pills that caused her problem.
How do we know we are the minority? How many peoples side affects are actually reported,mine werent. Where do they get their positive numbers from? The studys done by pharmaceutical companies?
My mom was on statins from the time they first came out til her death at the age of 87. She lived a long life but..she suffered from back pain and the last 7 years alzheimers which was listed as the caus of her death. Statin related?Who knows. Latter years quality of life. No
I'm glad that neuropathy as a side effect is being highlighted as I have something like that but is not classic neuropathy symptoms as it is only when walking with shoes on and at other times I am OK no tingling, no pain or heat in legs or feet.
For 30 years I have had occasional numbness in my left foot. As I have ongoing digestive problems, indigestion, GERD, and a small hiatal hernia I joke that I have indigestion in my foot again.
I was prescribed a statin in 2011 when diagnosed with aortic stenosis and needing a replacement valve. After about three months I had muscle weakness and stopped them. I went back on it the following year about two months prior to surgery as there are good reasons to take them then. The muscle weakness returned and I stopped them after about for months.
I developed AF as a result of the surgery and my blood sugar became very erratic ( a statin effect?) and was then on a myriad of drugs including dangerous Bisoprolol, Amiodarone and Warfarin so any side effects were impossible to pin down.
The occasional numbness in my foot continued but did not worsen until October 2014 but did not cause any problem when walking. That did not happen until suddenly in early June of last year when my left foot varied between numb and dead and I could not cope with changing surfaces or walking downhill without support. I also had balance problems, dizziness and pre syncope.. I stopped Bisoprolol and everything apart from the numbness improved.
I went to see a podiatrist, an orthopedic consultant, a neurologist and had 14 different blood tests, a head MRI scan and nerve conductions tests and a lumbar spine CT scan as my them I was getting back pain. My spine only showed what could be called normal wear and tear and the neurologist could only suggest idiopathic neuropathy but one consultant who gave my GP an opinion on my scan suggested seeing a neuro surgeon. He did not find anything and wanted an MRI scan by now I’d gone private due to what was to be a 39 week wait to see an NHS neurosurgeon and have spent nearly £2K on the scans and appointments. The MRI of my whole spine and pelvic area did not reveal anything either and the neuro surgeon advised seeing a neurologist who specialises in neuropathy. It seems that the only ones are at a specialist unit in Bristol and I live in Sussex.
I had by then stopped all drugs apart from Warfarin and Losartan. Losartan can cause neuropathy so I stopped it but after a month it has not improved.
I had spoken to an Osteopath after having the CT scan but she was afraid that her treatment might burst my small aortic aneurysm! I spoke to consultant who keeps an eye on the aneurysm and he has asked the osteopath to give him details of his treatment to approve. That seems to be my last hope. The drugs for neuropathy seem dangerous and my symptoms do not justify them.
A friend in America was put on six different statins at the same time for his very high readings taking them at different times of day. After a while he started on the joint pains and muscle weakness. By then his doctor had retired and he went to see the new one. In his next E-Mail he said 'I like my new Doctor I told him that I like my meat and potatoes chips but I don’t like the statin side effects'
The doctor said, your 82 and should be allowed to eat what you want and not bother with statins. That was about two years ago but sadly his muscles and joints are getting progressively worse.
You can report your own side effects.
Forums like this are full of people like us who complain about side effects. Ask friends, workmates if they take statins and you will be surprised how many are but have no need to mention it. Then we have the worried well who want to take them as they have heard of their benefits.
Problem is,you have to prove the statins were the caus.. hard to do. Xx
Statin side affects now include neuropathy, so sorry youve gone through so much. Xx
I have never heard of multiple statins used at the same time. Sadly alot of elderly patients dont know how to advocate for themselves or have relatives that will for them.