Statins

[bioxx]

I generally 'insist' on getting all possible side effects of any given medication but statins was my worst experience. My previous GP told me I have to take them and they messed me up properly. With my recent GP we went trough the whole list of what the NHS can provide and nothing worked. I had to chose between quality of life and maybe a year longer on this planet, I went for quality of life. The doc now says I should be all right, just eat a bit more fish to get the good Cholesterol up.

I did a lot of research on statins and it seems that half the population of the UK is on them. Problem is that most of the damage they can do is irreversible.

Nov 28, 2016 2:12:31 GMT jevans said:

Quinine sorts the cramps.

I remember those days. There wasn't much else when I first started working in Africa. Felt sick like a puppy the whole day.

[Bobsbeer]

There certainly seems to be a lot of stuff not being said regarding statins by GP's and other health professionals. I thought I was lucky not to have many side effects. I only occasionally got cramps, mainly in my legs and that was about it. Until recently. Now that I hear other peoples stories about this stuff it does make you question what is the point. I know all medication can have side effects, but the incidence here seems very alarming, given that only a small proportion of the forum members will be on the medication in the first place.

[Spiritdancer]

Nov 27, 2016 22:25:31 GMT Bobsbeer said:

Wow. I am shocked by some of the responses. Not the people but the level of incidence being reported, and thanks for sharing your experience. The odds of nerve pain are supposed to be 1-10 in 1000 according to the leaflet that came with myI think medication, yet there seems to be a higher incidence by what is being reported on here and my wife's caravan forum. Clearly statins are a dirty medicine. For me I'll take the risk of a heart attack than end up being unable to walk, until they can come up with a better option.

I suspect they only take into account very severe cases of nerve pain, whereas the majority of people just put up with it and struggle on because their doctor says they need statins.
I've not taken anything other than Antorvastatin and my doctor seemed reluctant to prescribe anything different. She did agree that if you suffer from arthritis to begin with, the statins are likely to make your pain worse. I could have probably lived with that but not the constant leg cramps, pins and needles, enough gas to inflate thousands of hot air balloons (putting it politely) and serious stomach discomfort. Excess gas is one of the common side effects apparently.
My body was just very unhappy on them from day one and the prospect of having to live like that for the rest of my life wasn't an option for me.

[Deleted]

An interesting read here regarding the dangers of statins
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/20/the-truth-about-statin-drugs-revealed.aspx

[Spiritdancer]

Thank you for sharing a very interesting article. I must admit, I had never heard of Q10 before. The most telling comment he makes is that high cholesterol does NOT cause heart attacks ... yet our GP's say we must take cholesterol reducing statins at any cost to prevent strokes and heart attacks. Personally I prefer to believe this man because all the side effects he mentions are spot on. I love his comment that, in his opinion, NOBODY should be taking statins, instantly made me feel better about listening to my own body and going against my doc's advice. 

[Deleted]

Just been put on quinine sulfate 200mg for muscle cramps
anyone else on these

[*-SARIN-*]

There's a lot of people that believe that statins don't work and cause more problems than when you're not taking them. I don't have any personal experience with them but know a number of people that took them and felt better when they stopped. They are still off them!

[beedee]

Thanks, Bobsbeer for starting this thread.

Last year I had problems with both my feet, to the degree I was using a stick most of the time. I know the cause on one of them is a bone spur, but the problems started, I think, a month or so after I started taking statins, though I have to properly check the dates, this thread has made me wonder...

Sometimes, I wonder if we trust doctors far too much, because they rely on research that's nearly all done by the people that sell these things...

[lesley1]

I've been on and off statins for a number of years.
The main issue was pain/ tightness in my calves (calfs?? lol) when I stop them this eases but then my cholesterol goes up so its a constant on/off.
My diabetic consultant gave me a 5mg tablet (I forget the name) that gave me chronic hives so spent months with painful red welts all over me. Obviously stopped that one too.
Back on the roundabout now as I had a stroke in December (I know I'm far to young lol) currently on Simvastatin 40mg. Leg pain is back as is itchiness :-((
Tempted to give them up and start eating some benecol yogurts!!!

[lesley1]

Nov 29, 2016 20:46:39 GMT @tmfkatubthumper said:

Just been put on quinine sulfate 200mg for muscle cramps
anyone else on these

I've used that for a while and it really helps with cramp. Need to remember to take it every day as the cramp restarts quickly. Your not supposed to but I have been known to take an extra 2 or 3 if I have a sudden attack.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2017 23:41:11 GMT lesley1 said:

Nov 29, 2016 20:46:39 GMT @tmfkatubthumper said:

Just been put on quinine sulfate 200mg for muscle cramps
anyone else on these

I've used that for a while and it really helps with cramp. Need to remember to take it every day as the cramp restarts quickly. Your not supposed to but I have been known to take an extra 2 or 3 if I have a sudden attack.

Seems to be helping a lot still get the occasional cramp
but nowhere near as bad as before i was on the quinine.