Medicines Containing Statins

Many of us on this blog are taking cholesterol lowering medications The following is about just one of them ( Simvastatin) but it has long been known that a ALL medicines containing statins, in any form, have the potential to cause muscle pain and other problems. So if you have muscle pain or problems you may need to talk to your doctor.

FDA Warns of Increased Risk of Muscle Injury with High Doses of Zocor (Simvastatin) (80 mg)

March 19, 2010

Simvastatin is sold as a single-ingredient generic medication and as the brand-name, Zocor. It is also sold in combination with ezetimibe as Vytorin; and niacin as Simcor.

FDA notified health care professionals and patients that, based on review of data from a large clinical trial and other sources, there is an increased risk of muscle injury in patients taking the highest approved dose of the cholesterol-lowering medication, Zocor (Simvastatin) 80 mg...

Simvastatin is sold as a single-ingredient generic medication and as the brand-name, Zocor. It is also sold in combination with ezetimibe (has been shown to reduce cholesterol) as Vytorin; and niacin as Simon.

You will note that the high dosage is shown as 80 mg. My Vytorin contains 40 mg, but I have all the muscle soreness described so I have reason to doubt that my muscles can read.

For more details go to:

http://www.drugs.com/fda/zocor-simvastatin-increased-risk-muscle-injury-doses-12711.html

8 Comments

Thanks Smitty, but be careful

by ted - 2010-03-20 02:03:13

Thanks Smitty, for passing on this informative word of caution. But be careful that you don't get jumped on by some people in this group who might accuse you of trying to frighten us or spread hysteria. When I tried to pass along the U.S. Justice Dept. press release about the crimes of Guidant, I got villified and then Magster said that the U.S. Government information did not belong on this website. There are people here who are so terrified of the truth, that they want to silence anyone who cares enough to want to wake them out of their denial. Keep o posting.

Ted

by SMITTY - 2010-03-20 06:03:57

Hello Ted,

I agree with you that should have been posted and I have no problems with people disagreeing. No where is it stated where we all have to agree with everything said. However, I do disagree with one member calling out another by name and telling them how much they disagree. When that is done it ceases to be an innocuous disagreement, and can become a personal feud.

Be it right or wrong, I have a simple rule on whether I will post something or not. It has to be Something I found interesting and pertains to pacemaker/defibrillator or heart and I know it is fact. I figure if I find it interesting then maybe someone else will. Another thing that enters my mind is that if a person finds it uninteresting they will pass it up. I know I do that. The one thing I can not understand is people getting personal with their disagreements. That is bad news for all involved and most of all it is bad news for the Pacemaker Club.

That is not to say I never disagreed with something posted, especially as a comment. If I think a comment contains bad information and I have proof of that I'll send the recipient of that comment a private message telling them what I know to be correct. But I'm always sure of my facts when I do this. The one thing I'll not do is say anything to the person that made the mistake. I believe that everything posted is done in good faith so my being critical of them is no going to change their mind.

I truly wish our members would stop and think about what a great thing we have here. I can't even imagine what my life would be like today had it not been for this site. I was able to get information about my pacemakers that the doctors and others responsible for looking after my pacemaker would not or could not give me. With the help I got here I was able to get answers and the help I needed with my pacemaker

Every time I see one member criticizing another I think of what I have seen take place on other sites such as this. I know one site that a couple of year sago was at least as active as this one, but today it is almost dormant. I looked at it today and since about 12-1-09 there has been less than 50 new subjects posted. (The PM Club will get more than that in a week) The cause for the decline was very similar to what I see going on here from time to times. For them this apparently resulted in fewer and fewer new members coming aboard with their questions. And newbies are, believe it or not, what keeps this site going. Without them we have few new subjects or comments and there will a loss of interest in the site. Then we are all the losers.

With that I'll stop preaching, but not before I say that I do wish we could have fewer disagreements and above all less calling members by name when we disagree with something they posted.

See you down the road,

Smitty

Try CO Q 10

by tomh140 - 2010-03-20 08:03:57

I have tried every statin drug and even Zetia but always had muscle aches and felt like I had the flu over the past 7 years. I ended up taking 2000 mg of nicaspan daily to get my cholestrol down to where the doctors wanted it but sometimes the flushing was really bad. This past June my heart doctor asked me to start taking CO Q 10 (started out with 50mg / day) for a couple of weeks and then added 5mg of crestor every other day. I had previously tried crestor but couldn't stand the way it made me feel. I am now up to 5mg of crestor every day, 200 mg of CO Q 10 and feel great. My cholestrol LDL is in the high 70's and low 80's. I also al still taking the niaspan but only 1000mg / day. It works for me. As always you should check with your doctor and do some research before starting any new meds.

Tom

All medications have Statins?

by Pookie - 2010-03-20 09:03:27

perhaps that is why I have all the unexplained aches and pains!!!!!! thanks for that information Smitty, now I'm going to look up all my meds and see if they contain statins (or did you just mean heart meds?) and I'll ask my pharmacist too because she is so helpful.

P.S. I don't even know what a Statin is....yet....lol.

time to educate myself.

take care,
Pookie

Thanks again, Smitty

by ted - 2010-03-21 01:03:36

Thanks for your wonderful words, Smitty. I agree with your sentiments 100%. I confess that I have allowed myself to get drawn into controversy at times, and I will try to bite my tongue a bit more. Ted

I take Crestor

by Gonnie - 2010-03-21 12:03:29

and haven't had any problems with it, ie, muscle aches, etc. I know that Co Q 10 is good to take while on statins but I began to have heart palpitations shortly after starting it. I stopped the Co Q 10 & they went away. I also have found I can't take Vitamin D3 because of the same reaction. Guess you don't know til you try tho.

Statins

by SMITTY - 2010-03-21 12:03:37

Hi Pookie,

Statins (or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) are a class of drug used to lower plasma cholesterol level. They lower cholesterol by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme of the mevalonate pathway of cholesterol synthesis. Inhibition of this enzyme in the liver results in decreased cholesterol synthesis as well as increased synthesis of LDL receptors, resulting in an increased clearance of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from the bloodstream. The first results can be seen after one week of use and the effect is maximal after four to six weeks.

(Ain't Google wonderful. Of course even after reading it I know about 1% more than I did at the start which itself was probably not enough to measure.)

So far as I know medicines containing statins are only for cholesterol reduction. But, ask an expert and be sure.

Smitty

Me & Statins

by janetinak - 2010-03-23 03:03:26

I have been on several statins & have the muscle aches within 4-6 wks. Blood work come back clear but I stopped them. When I stop the statin muscle aches go away sooner, if I have been on the drug a short time, longer time to go away if I have been on them awhile. My cardio said take CoQ10 so I do but stopped statins. I have had a 50 point drop in total cholesterol & 50 drop in LDL by exercising 5 days/wk (pool) & drinking 2 glasses of milk with plant sterols in it. Would recommend that if you can drink milk (some folks can't as adults) look in grocery store for a food with plant sterols in it (OJ, margerine, milk, etc.) & try it.No difference in taste of food either.

Good luck, Janet

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