Well done - we need more people to stand up to these doctors who ignore their patients' symptoms.
I am convinced that statins do damage to your muscles. I have had ordinary muscle pain/strain before -- but this pain was beyond anything I have ever experienced. Just guessing here, but since the damage to your muscles is so severe, and puts them into a weakened state, it seems logical that one could easily cause a tear in muscle tissue because of the weakened state induced by the statin. So, I guess the ignorant doc could say "oh, the statin wasn't the 'direct' cause of a muscle tear" and get away with that statement -- but, he/she should be smart of enough to admit that the statin weakened your muscles into such a state that even the slightest attempt at performing an ordinary daily task may have created the tear.
Thanks for the encouraging words, Wayne! Since I've started my vitamin cocktail, I've noticed some improvement...hoping for the best.
Thanks Mark. You're so right when you describe it as beyond anything experienced before - exactly so. I asked my physio what in his experience would cause this type of full thickness tear and he said either weightlifting, gymnastics or a muscle wasting disease - that was it! I'm not either a weightlifter or a gymnast and I definitely dont have a diagnosed 'disease' that would cause muscle wasting - so what was the only other factor............statins.
Me to Lee don't trust any of them anymore. One time I went to the dr and he gave me a pathology form so I got the test done. Next time I went he said your white blood count is ok so I said oh I didn't know I had cancer. He also said I had low sodium but didn't tell me what to do about that and i didn't ask because I was still getting over the blood count thing. Next time he just handed me a form and said get these done next week. Didn't tell me a single thing about what he was testing for. Of course it went straight in the bin.And I've not gone back to him. And I'll never have another blood test unless they go thru each one and tell me what its for and then I can go on the computer and verify it they were telling me the truth
I do the same thing. They have electronic medical records here in the states now so you can look up test results,ive had to call more then once for a result that was too high,low etc. Personally we have just become numbers to them and every year i have to go in for a physical to get a med i need,one big racket.
Well, it's been two weeks as of today. Taking Coq10, B Complex, Magnesium, Creatine, Vitamin D. The good news, it appears that the very severe pain has passed, as I can now raise my arms above my head with onlly slight discomfort. The bad news, my muscles still feel weak and I occasionally get some sharp pain in my arms -- especially at night. Still don't want to chance lifting heavy items or swinging a golf club because I fear that I may end up tearing something considering the weakened state of my muscles. I'll continue on with my vitamin cocktails and hope to repair the damage over time. How long will that take? It's anyone's guess.
Mark
I read your post.thanks for the info.I have experiencing muscle spasms in my back it takes my breathe away .I yell out because it hurts I can actually feel the muscles contacting in my back. I thought it couldn't have been amlodipine because they are similar side effects . Pravastatin she gave me a blood test to to find out if the muscles are breaking down so I'm waiting for the results and today I decided not to take that and I felt a lot better along with some spiritual nourishment it is left me incapacitated for weeks and I can't pick up my grandson I've been in the house for a week I've lost the whole weeks of wages besides quality of life I want to thank you for sharing your story
Amen, my pain in my back was so bad I could feel the muscles Contracting literally rolling around tightening up like a ball in a knot and I would yell out in pain like I had Tourette's syndrome doctor brought this to my attention he didn't think it was m lodipine he had a feeling it was the status. She gave me a blood test to see if the muscles are breaking down and that has a lot to do with the Pravastatin I took myself off of it I couldn't take the pain anymore I can't work I can't do anything and I'm not taking medication I tried to do yoga exercises thank you all for sharing your stories
Muscle spasms in the back was one of my worst symptoms. They did the blood test..it was normal..soo.dont know how reliable that is with statins.
I ended up with physical therapy. I also took b12 and thiamine.
Hope you feel better,i very rarely get back issues any more. Keep us posted. Tell your doc to look up people commenting on statin side affects. I had to tell my husbands doc that as he acted clueless..a doctor not admitting they caus side affects to me is not believable.
I don't know if anyone is still following this thread. But i figured I would continue to track my progress here once a week, then once a month after that. Maybe this might help someone else who has questions about recoverying from statins in the future. Today marks week 3 since stopping Lipitor. Good progress so far to the point where I am about 80% recovered. Still get mild pains at night, but daylight hours are now minor aches. Evening pain for me is mostly in my arms..but it's been a full week now from that severe pain where I could not lift my arms...now, it's more of a discomfort at night. Saw my doc yesterday, and of course he tried to push me into using a different statin -- I refused, and told him on sticking to my diet. I'm attributing the healing to the vitamin cocktail that I started to take two weeks ago: 600mg CoQ10, 4000mg D3, 2400mg Acetyl L-Carnetine, 500mg Magnesium, B complex, 6000mg D-Ribose. From my research, all of the aforementioned are depleted by statins, causing a breakdown in muscle tissue and your nervous system. My plan is to continue taking these for at least another month, then to gradually reduce the dosage in future months. It's expensive -- but it appears to be working for me, and it has apparently worked for others. PS -- I told my doctor about what I am doing, and he reluctantly agreed that statins do reduce all of the aforementioned and that 12% of people on statins do develop the symptoms I experienced. Since the population of statin users is tremendous, 12% of that large number is a HUGE number of people who have had problems.
Thank you for your detailed update Mark. Very helpful. It's interesting to note that your doctor did in fact admit to some people on statins experiencing such side effects. Although you're right that 12% of the millions and millions who take statins is a very high number, I'm not sure even that is an honest view on the proportion of those taking statins that have such symptoms - I'm pretty sure a lot of doctors dont record patient concerns, mine didnt and that's a fact. I stopped asking and just flushed the toxic poison in the end. I've recently had a number of blood tests for ongoing pain syndrome and fatigue issues and thankfully my vitamin levels all seem to be within 'normal' range so I'm not taking any supplements, just sticking to a varied and healthy diet which seems to be providing the right amounts of nutrients. Four years after ditching the statins I do however still have problems with the aches and pains and brain fog they caused originally, although nowhere near as bad as when on them. Fibromyalgia is now being investigated as a possible cause for my problems. Not convinced that it isnt just something I'll have to endure as a result of being blindly stupid and being 'conned' into statins originally.
Mark THANKS I think I'll try the supplemets.
I am 42 and started recently to take 10 milligrams of Arorvastatin (genetic for Lipitor) and in 4 days I had such severe pain between my shoulders at the base of my neck I couldn't lift my arms to reach for things or drink a glass of water. I didn't realize this was a side effect of the medication until someone told me so I took it for about a week and I called my doctor and he had me stop the medicine. It has been a week and a half since I stopped taking the medicine and the pain is still the same . The weirdest thing of all however is the Dr. told me when the pain stops to start taking it again!!!! To me this sounds absurd?? I'm convinced the medicine is causing the pain and apparently he's not or why else would he asked me to take it again???? °Are there any cholesterol medications that don't have statins in them?
Hi Abradley! I know that there are some alternatives out there...however, I have yet to try them, or know any of their names. Before you do that, I would suggest to research whatever the alternative is, HEAVILY. I did some preliminary research, and some of these alternatives produce the same side effects, simply because the chemical engineering behind them is the same -- to lower cholesterol by tinkering with your natural body chemistry; which in turn, for some of us, can be too much "tinkering" to the point where some serious side effects start to appear. There is a ton of research out there by doctors that explain in detail what happens to your body when you take statins -- problem is, the statin drug industry is BIG business ($$$) and the positive hype behind statins is suppressing any negative feedback. Based on the pain I went through, I will never take any statin again, or any supplement that reports similar side effects simply because something about "me" does not "like" those drugs. Not to say that some people have no choice...diet, is the best, of course -- if you can do it that way.
Today marks one month off of Lipitor after being on it for 3 months. Progress report: I'll give myself an 85% recovery status -- wake up in the morning with pain in my fingers that eventually goes away by the afternoon. If I take a couple of advil, I could say that would put me at 99%. Being that the Advil helps relieve the pain, it makes me think that there is inflamation that builds up over night -- possibly from not being active at night. No sign of swelling however, just pain that feelings like there should be swelling. This could also be related to nerve pain due to damage caused by the statin which, according to my research, does do some harm to the nervous system. In the next month, I plan to cut back on my vitamin cocktail supplement by reducing the dosage by half and see if any of that severe pain returns or not -- hoping that my body has healed to the point where I do not need the heavy dosage I was on for a month, and that my body can start to naturally heal. Still not "normal" -- but good progress. Research has indicated that recovery after statins may take 6 to 12 months before all side effects are gone.
Hi Mark - thanks for updating us. Sounds like you will make a full recovery which is great news. I was on the poison for two years and 20 mnths after throwing them away I still have the occasional twinge in my joints - sometimes making it hard to sleep. Also experienced a thumb that felt bruised but showed no signs, nor swelling, but was all ouchy-ouchy when I used it or pressed the joint. I wondered if you have altered your diet and also if you have heard of the new cholesterol-lowering oral spray being tested by Zenith in New Zealand?
I think the percentage is much larger,its not reported enough.
Good for you,it took me longer,2 to 3 years for full remission. Glad u are doing good. Xx