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Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@bowlicious wrote:

I took statins for a while until I realized they were causing leg pain. It was to the point that when I went grocery shopping my legs would feel like I was walking on tree stumps. Thankfully my sister in law is a nurse and she told me I needed to quit taking them.


 

This i a lot like what I'm feeling.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Honored Contributor
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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@gracie2014 wrote:

@Moonchilde Praying for you to get a room on the lower floors and for things to turn around. I stopped taking statins about 2 weeks ago and will never take it again..I started with lipitor which gave me horrible pains in my legs, I then experienced neuropathy and numbness in my feet and hands and was switched to crestor, but  the cost of the crestor was too high so they switched me to simvastin the symptoms worsened..the simvastin supplier was changed at the beginning of the insurance year and with that at least one of the fillers had to be changed because the pain, the numbness,etc. worsened..my doctor has now called in a new statin I will not be taking it..beginning tomorrow it will mainly be a plant based dier with salmon...I have had it..What gets my goat are my legs giving way..my falling and suffering compression fractures in my back..no more..the doctors know exactly what is causing these problems and yet continue to prescribe them. My cholesterol problems are hereditary..have had weird numbers for several years..I thinking the doctors knew best continued to take this med even as my numbers did not improve.


 

 

Thank you, @gracie2014. It's very scary indeed, and I totally agree about doctors. I KNOW how mine will react, but I feel SO strongly about this now I will quit him if he tries to insist.  Besides the pain on getting up (from bed, chair, couch, out of car) I feel like someone with polio residual or Guillain-Barre. Creepy!

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@Trinity11 wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

Thank you to everyone!  

 

I didn't want to say what my symptoms were until I had some replies, but - severe sharp stiff muscle-type pain in my back, thighs and gluteus maximus on getting up - in the morning, or from having sat awhile.  Muscle weakness in my legs. I feel like my legs are shaky and might give out. I literally cannot go up stairs. That kinda came out of nowhere the last few days. When I read other statin users said the same I was "whoa!"

 

It is kind of getting worse instead of better, even though it's been nearly a week since I stopped. That's why I want to megadose the vitamin D and calc/mag. I need to see some improvement, even if it's teeny, or I'm going to come unglued. The pain is one thing but the muscle weakness is terrifying. I don't have pain at rest. Haven't had arms or neck to this point. Muscle relaxants don't help.  Waah!


Due to a heart attack I was put on Lipitor last year. Two weeks ago at the mall, I could no longer walk and said to my husband I need a wheel chair to get back to the car. My thigh muscles were killing me and my legs felt like weights. I confess this scares me and my legs are still not 100% but I am going to try walking again today ...I hear you, Moonchilde, this is scary!!


 

@Trinity11, those are exactly my symptoms, plus back, thigh and bu** pain. I'm terrified. I'm now doubling up on Vit D and magnesium & calcium and keeping my fingers crossed.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
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Registered: ‎11-16-2014

Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@Moonchilde wrote:

@Trinity11 wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

Thank you to everyone!  

 

I didn't want to say what my symptoms were until I had some replies, but - severe sharp stiff muscle-type pain in my back, thighs and gluteus maximus on getting up - in the morning, or from having sat awhile.  Muscle weakness in my legs. I feel like my legs are shaky and might give out. I literally cannot go up stairs. That kinda came out of nowhere the last few days. When I read other statin users said the same I was "whoa!"

 

It is kind of getting worse instead of better, even though it's been nearly a week since I stopped. That's why I want to megadose the vitamin D and calc/mag. I need to see some improvement, even if it's teeny, or I'm going to come unglued. The pain is one thing but the muscle weakness is terrifying. I don't have pain at rest. Haven't had arms or neck to this point. Muscle relaxants don't help.  Waah!


Due to a heart attack I was put on Lipitor last year. Two weeks ago at the mall, I could no longer walk and said to my husband I need a wheel chair to get back to the car. My thigh muscles were killing me and my legs felt like weights. I confess this scares me and my legs are still not 100% but I am going to try walking again today ...I hear you, Moonchilde, this is scary!!


 

@Trinity11, those are exactly my symptoms, plus back, thigh and bu** pain. I'm terrified. I'm now doubling up on Vit D and magnesium & calcium and keeping my fingers crossed.


I hate to say this but I was put on 400mg of magnesium 2 times per day, 2000 mg of vitamin d 2 times per day, when I started the statin. I still have the side effects of the statin. I hope with time, we will get better.. 

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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@ALRATIBA wrote:

Back in 2006, I took a statin for less than 8 months - all of a sudden I was barely able to lift my foot to step up on a curb.  Stairs became impossible. When I realized it was a side-effect of the drug - I flushed them and email my doctor and said I'm stopping.  It was months before I felt "normal" again.

 

Subsequently, I found out that the same thing happened to my cousin, and the wife of a co-worker ended up in a wheel chair and months of physical therapy to walk again!

 

The one lesson I learned from that experience ... no matter what is prescribed, at the first sign of a side-effect, I'm stopping the medication.  


 

 

@ALRATIBA, not having any experience with statins or anyone who's had side effects, I had assumed that if I was going to have any issues it would be right away. When I didn't have any "instant" side effects I thought I wouldn't have any. It's only now, after reading here and other places, that I'm seeing that my "out of the blue, after months" is common.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe

@Moonchilde  do you think you will be able to drive home?

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Posts: 7,423
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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe

[ Edited ]

I was always advised to take COQ10 when I take  statins- I didn't know exactly why. I figure it was just another measure for heart health. An RN explained to me recently the COQ10 benefits cell functions and counteracts muscle issues from statins. I bought Andrew Lessmans and my muscle issues have been much better- my issues were in my legs mostly. LIke horrible charlie horse cramps 

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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@Trinity11 wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

@Trinity11 wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

Thank you to everyone!  

 

I didn't want to say what my symptoms were until I had some replies, but - severe sharp stiff muscle-type pain in my back, thighs and gluteus maximus on getting up - in the morning, or from having sat awhile.  Muscle weakness in my legs. I feel like my legs are shaky and might give out. I literally cannot go up stairs. That kinda came out of nowhere the last few days. When I read other statin users said the same I was "whoa!"

 

It is kind of getting worse instead of better, even though it's been nearly a week since I stopped. That's why I want to megadose the vitamin D and calc/mag. I need to see some improvement, even if it's teeny, or I'm going to come unglued. The pain is one thing but the muscle weakness is terrifying. I don't have pain at rest. Haven't had arms or neck to this point. Muscle relaxants don't help.  Waah!


Due to a heart attack I was put on Lipitor last year. Two weeks ago at the mall, I could no longer walk and said to my husband I need a wheel chair to get back to the car. My thigh muscles were killing me and my legs felt like weights. I confess this scares me and my legs are still not 100% but I am going to try walking again today ...I hear you, Moonchilde, this is scary!!


 

@Trinity11, those are exactly my symptoms, plus back, thigh and bu** pain. I'm terrified. I'm now doubling up on Vit D and magnesium & calcium and keeping my fingers crossed.


I hate to say this but I was put on 400mg of magnesium 2 times per day, 2000 mg of vitamin d 2 times per day, when I started the statin. I still have the side effects of the statin. I hope with time, we will get better.. 


 

 

I have not been a "regular" taker of either. I have them in my medicine cabinet but don't take them every day, just when I think about it. I used to take 5000 U of vitamin D daily because I once had a severe deficiency found on blood work (years ago). I started the calcium and magnesium because I used to get foot cramps (which I no longer do thanks to acetyl l-carnitine). But as I said, not regularly now. I'm crossing my fingers that megadoses will help this, because there isn't anything much else that might help.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@cherry wrote:

@Moonchilde  do you think you will be able to drive home?


 

 

So far I haven't had any driving issues, and it's my left leg that has the weakness issues, rather than my right (driving) leg. It's only when I get out of the car and need to walk around that the fun (and terror) begins.

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Re: Statin muscle pain/weakness - please describe


@Ibby114 wrote:

I was always advised to take COQ10 when I take  statins- I didn't kow exactly why. I figure it was just another measure for heart health. An RN explained to me recently the COQ10 benefits cell functions and counteracts muscle issues from statins. I bought Andrew Lessmans and my muscle issues have been much better- my issues were in my legs mostly. LIke horrible charlie horse crammps 


 

I'm going to think about the COQ10; most of what I've read  says they don't think it works, or does much. But if I see no improvement in a few days, I probably will get some.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all