I have been struggling with increased neuropathic pain especially at night for the past month. I was wondering if it might be the statins as I have previously tried statins before I ever had a stroke and really struggled with joint and muscle pain.
I have been prescribed 10mg of Rasuvastatin and have been taking it for about 5 weeks. I did a little research on line and found the following.
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same. I dont just want to put it down to the Statin as it may also be my brain trying to make sense of the sensations down my left side, but I am worried as the pain has got worse over the last few days.
Lizzie - This is a tricky one, but given you’ve only been on the statin for five weeks and you are experiencing neuropathic pain, there might be a link. I am guessing this pain has only started after your started taking the statin?
Statins are known to have various side effects and some people are known to refuse to take statins for this reason.
To me it looks more than coincidental and I would at the very least discuss it with the GP.
I note your research note states “The severity of symptoms often increased with the duration of treatment” and it seems this is what you are finding?
Have a chat with your GP - there is nothing to lose and much to gain
@Lizzie22
Statins create a lot of problems and I had to almost fight with my GP to have mine changed. I went from Astrovastin 80mg to Rusuvastin 10 mg. I couldn’t believe the diference in how my head felt. And my excess weight is now starting to drop. The pain all over my body is also starting to subside. Good luck
@ManjiB
Hi, Yes, the symptoms have only come on over the last few weeks and coincide with me starting statins. I will be going back to the GP to discuss as there are good reasons for me to take statins but I don’t want to end up being in constant pain as this would affect my quality of life.
@IreneFC
Irene I am so glad the change has made a difference for you, you must be so relieved. Unfortunately I tend to be hypersensitive to many medications and often end up with bad side effects and not being able to take them. I am hoping this is not the case with the rasuvastatin as I need to take them to reduce my risk of another stroke.
Statins can cause aches & pains & it seems more than a coincidence that the pains started once you started the statins, especially as you had a similar issue before. There are many different sorts out there so do go back to your GP and discuss it with them.
Lizzie-- I don’t know if statins have been the cause of your neuropathic pain, but I notice that the article you reference mentions they may be linked to the depletion of Coenzyme Q10, vital to nerve function. I take Pravastatin 20 mg. I had read and been warned by friends to be sure to take COQ10 supplements(coenzymeQ10) if I take statins. My husband and I both take CoQ10 supplements with our Pravastatin and so far have had no problems. You might want to give it a try. I order it on Amazon and it’s not too expensive. We take 100 mg a day. Jeanne
Hello @Lizzie22 - I tried statins many years ago, and almost immediately I knew they were not for me. I remember not feeling well pretty much as soon as I started the course and stopped. I told my GP statins don’t agree with me and I have stopped taking them.
That was pretty much the end of the matter for me. The GP did not offer alternatives and did not suggest I might consider a re-think.
For me, the decision paid off as I was not on the statins for the duration and I did not live to regret it. By that I mean I lived a normal and healthy life for many years after I was put on statins (I am thinking 20+ years if not more). It might be argued that I might have not had the stroke had I taken the statins and I am happy for anyone who wishes to suggest this, but at the same time, no statins was the right and best thing for me. I don’t believe I would have been as healthy and happy for as long as I was had I taken the statins.
In truth, we shall never know. We, each of us make decisions and we live by them.
I am happy I have made the right decisions based on information at hand and I have no regrets.
Lizzie-- I just thought on one thing that I’d like to mention concerning my experience with Pravastatin. The doctor started me on {Pavastatin 20 mg 20 years ago, and I didn’t feel well–got stomach aches. They tried every statin out there on me, and all of them bothered me, so I stopped them and was put on Zetia( a different family of drug) I was fine with that for years. My new doctor wanted to try Pravastatin again by easing me into it. I did 3 months of taking 5 mg every day. Then 3 months of 10 mg every day. Then he put me on Pravastatin 20 mg every day. Voila! no problems! So, that is another approach. Start with a much smaller than usual dose and work up if you feel ok over time. Jeanne
Hard to say as neuropathic pain can occur afĂľer stroke too. Mine started ca 16 months after and is still going on 3 year later. Best to get it checked out. I would look at alternatives to statins as they do have a lot if potential side effects.
Well things have moved along a little since my original post. The neuropathic pain got worse and then I started to notice all my joints were stiffening and my arms and legs started to feel week. My husband noticed that my left leg was shaking when I was walking on it and I was becoming increasingly dizzie and unbalanced when on my feet. All this happening when I was on what should have been a relaxing holiday in spain.
Anyway after everything I have read and my past experiences with statins, I took the decision to stop taking them. This was not an easy decision, as I know they can be very beneficial in reducing my risk of having another stroke by approx 25%.
Within 48hrs of stopping, my dizziness was almost completely gone, the muscle weakness and pain is now back to where it was before I started taking the statins, which was fairly mild. I still have some joint stiffness but this is mostly on the side affected by the stroke. The neuropathic pain is still there but I no longer have the additional muscle pain with it.
I went to see my GP on my return to the UK, who agreed that I shouldn’t take statins given that I have tried 3 different ones over the last 5 years and have had bad side effects each time. I have now been prescribed a non statin medication to try to reduce my colesterol which is at 7, so will see how this goes.
I am also looking at reducing my colesterol through diet and wondered if anyone else has tried it and how successful they were? I find the whole debate around statins and colesterol confusing, there is just so much counter information from both sides of the debate that reading it just leaves me feeling anxious and wiped out.
Hello Lizzie - I may have already said this, but in answer to your question, I am using diet and exercise to control or manage my cholesterol, but I am not very disciplined which does not help. By that I mean I don’t exercise as much as I should though my diet is not so bad. Share your story
My cholesterol has been high for a long time, but I am of the opinion that there is more to this than one single reading i.e. cholesterol level.
There are other things that need to be considered and there are tests that are not offered routinely which should (I don’t have details at hand.
I have reduced my cholesterol from 8.1 (it may have been even higher at some point) to 6.9 when it was last checked in February.
One of my GPs was happy that I was doing the right thing i.e. not taking the statins but still managing to bring the cholesterol down. Of course we will know for sure how well this is going when I next get checked, but to be honest, I think this is a bit of a red herring and I don’t plan to lose sleep over it.
My Blood pressure is good 120/77 or in this ballpark and for me that tells me my arteries are clear but I am no expert.
Also, I should consider that if statins reduce the risk by 25%, is that worth the pain and side effects?
It’s tricky, but we have to think about what is right for us and for some of us it’s no statins and for others it’s statins.
I could be wrong, but I thought there has been some new developments on this in recent months.
Did you watch the video that Deexxx posted? There was some interesting comments about statins on that?
@Lizzie22 that must have been awful for you and I hope all those symptoms didn’t spoil your holiday too much although I’m sure they did have an impact. I’m glad they all cleared up quickly after stopping the statin and clearly statins completely disagree with you. I’m glad your doctor has given you an alternative to try and fingers crossed this will work for you.
In relation to diet changes they certainly can’t hurt. However I do think it varies from person to person on whether it actually helps reduce cholesterol or not. Some people are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and all the diet changes in the world, whilst they help a little bit, do not have a big impact in lowering cholesterol levels. Well that’s my experience at least. For other people cutting out of reducing saturated fats will help and as I previously said it certainly can’t do any harm.
@Lizzie22
You can control your cholesterol with diet and exercise. My colleague did this extremely well but he is so disciplined. I am currently in the process and managing well. You just have to be able to say no to a lot of foods and a lot of family who want to overfeed you. I am from Glasgow so this is standard and I have an extended Asian and Italian family who do the same. But I am getting there. Good luck
@IreneFC
Thanks Irene, I am already starting to tweak my diet to a healthier one so will look at ways to specifically reduce bad cholesterol. I know what you mean about family and over feeding it can be challenging. It also doesn’t help that my husband eats completely different food to me, he doesn’t like most vegetables or salads, he likes meat and meat products and chips and basically eats crap all the time, he 8 years older than me and is hardly ever ill, and although he takes statins has no side effects, its so unfair.
Thank you for the links and the video, I found them very interesting and will be doing further research into what Dr Malhotra has to say about cholesterol and health.
Jeanne
