I’m considering stopping taking Lipitor for a week or two to see if my muscle soreness goes away. I’ve been on it for years and having aching muscles every day. I looked online and found that it won’t hurt me to stop cold turkey, except that my cholesterol (and associated risks) will go up. I could ask my doctor but I’m afraid that she’ll just try to get me to take another drug. Doctor are so certain that statins are right for every diabetic. My cholesterol component numbers have been in range for several years but were slightly high before I started the statin. Has anybody done this? It’s a quality of life issue for me. Suffering today versus longer life? Am I nuts?
Chat with your pharmacist, then I would do it as long as he says no harm. Some people do have muscle issues. Nancy50
You might be crazy but not because you question medications.
I hade doctors insist on statins for me but they were giving me diarrhea and making it impossible to run due to shin splints which is essentially shin muscle pain. I knew when I skipped it my shins were fine.
So my doctor told me that it couldn’t be causing my symptoms and I was put through a bunch of lab tests.
So I stopped it on my own and the symptoms went away.
My cholesterol was never high anyway so I don’t get why my doctor wanted me on it. The new medicine rule of thumb is to just give everyone the same meds.
For me it didn’t work. I tried 3 of them. Now I just don’t take them. I’m 54 and my cholesterol is about 150.
I don’t need a statin. And even if I was at 190. I wouldn’t take it. In the 200s you need to start weighing your symptoms to find the best thing for you.
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You are right, a couple of weeks off your statin is not going to give you any long term damage. The problem is that for diabetics, A1C, TIR Cholesterol and CVD are all interrelated and when you mess with one long term, it affects the others. A lot has to do with the composition of your blood, which you can only know about if you do a lipid subfractionation test which is a blood test that costs about $168 for a full analysis and based on the results you can figure your next best step. Most doctors do not get involved with this test.
You can alter your blood with diet and exercise to meet your goals. You can also pretty easily drop your cholesterol with diet and exercise and Vitamins if that is all you are trying to accomplish. For diabetics, at the stage you are now, the first crude benchmarks are what I would call the rule of 60’s. You would like to have your HDL over 60, your triglycerides under 60 and your LDL under 60 as well.
Are you close to these values? Your doctor will most likely zero in on your LDL and unless you have a weight issue, you should be able to drop your LDL naturally by at least 35 points.
Subfractionation tests for your review:
Or
PS: I use these and have no financial interest in this company but have found them to be very easy to use, quick and accurate.
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Sometimes taking a pretty good dose of CoQ helps stops the muscle aches. CoQ is critical for muscle energy production and is blocked by absorption by statin drugs. Doctors are finally even recommending it to help offset it.
I don’t know what your cholesterol profile is but if you have a reason you really want to stay on them I would recommend trying some CoQ10.
Even though my cholesterol is in great ranges, my GP wanted me to take it because she is of the opinion it was good for every diabetic to take regardless of your cholesterol profile. She’s either given up trying to get me to take one or she forgot this last time around.
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How many milligrams of Lipitor are you taking every day?
When I reduced the amount of statin I was taking I did it in conjunction with lab tests. I had a full cholesterol panel done, reduced my dose, and three months later I had the full panel done again. Rinse and repeat. It’s been years since I did this, but I found I didn’t need as high a dose as they had initially put me on and the greatly reduced side effects was the added bonus.
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What a lot of people don’t realize is that the benefits of statins are not in linear proportions to the dose. In other words, if you double your statin dose, you only get a small additional benefit.
i have taken statins for years and have never had an issue. My father took them for a week and claimed his life woudl end if he did not stop. Mayo clinic has a good write up about it.
However, you should talk to your doctor. yes she might disagree, or she might be able to help. what you should never do is just stop taking them. First if you do no doctor will believe you did, and second you could do significant issues.
Know this low dose statins do work. If you need them not taking them is bad, I suggest that it is best to talk to your doctor about it. Who else do you really trust to know the difference?
Go with the pharmacist. They should have the answers. It might even be good, if the pharmacy you use has a pharmacy school affiliation, to have a pharmacy intern take your full list of medications and optimize the best time of day to take each medication. I did this. My pharmacist had a pharmacy student look at my meds and determine the best time of day to take each medication and then reduce my medications to two convenient times. Some once per day are morning, others at bedtime. I take meds either in the morning or bedtime. The Rx student figured out which time was best for each med.
Best of luck. Keep us informed. It is how we learn.
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Discuss with your healthcare provider… this is a common thing and there are many other formations that may provide the desired benefit without side effects
I’ve had Type II for some 20 odd years, insulin dependent for the last 10 years. I’ve noticed that for much of the last 10 years, my feet have been getting some what numb and decided with my endo that it was a form of diabetic neuropathy. Last summer I read online somewhere that if you are taking a strong dose of a statin, it could be involved in diabetic neuropathy. I stopped cold on the 20 mg dose of Rosuvastatin (Crestor generic). I saw a change in my level of diabetic neuropathy within days. I later compromised on a reduced dosage of 5 mg and seem to not have lost any more sensation in my feet. John
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After 60 yrs of being a type 1, I started taking Rosuvastatin and developed neuropathy. I had never had neuropathy. I am furious about it, but there is nothing I can do. I stopped taking it but I still have neuropathy and it is getting worse. I filed a complaint with the FDA.
I can’t take statins, I exercise at least an hour a day and eat a low fat vegan diet. I still have high LDL readings. My A1c has been in the non diabetic range for almost 20 yrs.
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My (non-diabetic) dad took statins and developed debilitating pains in his legs. When he stopped taking the drug, the pains went away. Fortunately for him, he was able to get his cholesterol down a bit with diet and exercise. That being said…you probably should consult with your doctor or your pharmacist.
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My cardiologist insisted I take statins.T1 50 years. They say all T1s over 40 need regardless of any other factors. I could not tolerate pravastatin or crestor. I gave in to try lipitor. I take 1( one) - 10mg/ week. It got my LDL down to 80. She says 1 or 2 per week has shown great results and most people do not need daily .
Spmetines I consider going of completely, but the studies do show we should take them.
Some people just can’t take them even at the low doses, which I have tried. Every statin I tried caused me problems. My neuropathy kept me up all night last night and it was first caused by taking a tiny dose of the generic form of Crestor. I wish with all my heart that I had never tried that drug. I should have been told that neuropathy was a side effect for some people. 60 yrs of being a type 1 and never having even a hint of neuropathy until I got it from statins. Now I am trying to find something to control the pain in my feet, legs, hands, arms, and face.
I’ve seen a few people here say that their doctor told them that all t1s should take statins, regardless of cholesterol profile. What is the rationale?
I’m asking because I have never been told this. (My cholesterol has always been in good range.)
There is a flat recommendation that doctors get and move on to patients. All type 1 should be on statins and ace inhibitors. The data backs it up.
However we are all different. I can not tolerate either drug and hey if I die young then it’s on me because I can’t stand the side effects.
I’m 54. My last cholesterol was 155 and my Hal was68.
If it goes up, I’ll talk about it.
My blood pressures have been super low. Too low even at 115/60, but my doctors still tell me an ace inhibitor would be good.
I’m ok with them telling me I should take them,I’m just old enough to decide not to.
I’ve never had neuropathy and I really don’t want it.
Take the risk why. So my cholesterol could be 100?
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I’m starting to really think that I need to find a new doctor. He is rather hands off with my care, which, usually, is okay by me. However, I feel like he should have at least mentioned this. I’m not sure that I would want to take either drug, but I would like to discuss the pros and cons with a medical professional…
Try for one who thinks. And one who listens to you.
That seems like a no brainer but hey. Clearly not all docs do.
sorry to hear you are still experiencing neuropathy. The crestor caused me to become catatonic, but in 2 weeks I was totally fine. I hope this happens for you.
We know our bodies , and they just follow protocals without taking individual into account. Its the nature of the cardiology discipline .
I had neuropathy years ago and took a supplement that helped immediately. Alpha Lipoic acid.
Keep us posted on progress.