High Cholesterol Support Group

Welcome to the group Sherrall. You are not rambling at all.

People in your situation is why I spend time on Daily Strength. I want to encourage you. I have witnessed exactly what you are experiencing 1000 times over, and fully understand. You are not alone in the muscle problems you are experiencing on simvastatin. Its very common.

You stated that you were not sure what your cholesterol is. You might want to follow up and get a copy of your lab report. Its yours, you paid for it, and you have a right to it.

After a patient gets muscle aches on simvastatin, its common for the doctor/patient relationship to fall apart. The patient blames the statin. And the doctor defends the statin and blames the patient. Happens everyday.

The most common side eefect from statins is muscle problems. I want to close this post with a question.

What is the Heart made of?

Hi MedLab,
Thanks for your reply.
I live in Canada and we don't pay for our lab test or the Dr. appt. So our Dr. believe all the test results are theres and it's up to them if they want to share the numbers or not.
I am having a real hard time with the Dr. at this moment, because of the fibro and not being able to take meds. My Dr. actually said to me she can do no more for me.

Ok question, the heart is made up of muscle and vesicles for the blood to come and go from the heart as the heart cleans out the impurities.

Ok your turn. lol what does that has to do with satins?

Thanks and I hope your well.
Gentle hugs, Sherrall

OK Sherrall, you are correct on the question. The heart is a muscle. Our most important muscle. Yet statins pose a risk to our muscles. Hmmm...........

Statin induced cardiomyopathy (weak heart muscle) is one of the possible side effects from statins. It strikes me as strange that we take this drug for our heart health, yet it poses a risk to the heart.

A local physician in my town states he gets "2 to 3 new cases of statin induced cardiomyopathy per week."

In Canada are you not allowed any access to your Lab results?

Thanks again MedLab, and yes this stuff really confuses me.
Here in Canada, it really depends on the Dr. office policy or what ever.
I use to work as a medical secretary and was told not to give med. results to the patients, but personally I think it's wrong to keep it from them.
This is only my opinion but I feel like lots of the Dr. here, may be upset they can't charge pt. more and that the government controls what they can charge for services so they don't want the pt. to have to much info. because it only make the pt. spend more time in the appt. asking questions.
They seem to want you to tell them what wrong and then let them decide what is to be done and thats that. My Dr. doesn't like it when the med.s she prescribes doesn't work because of allergic reaction. She doesn't talk to me about possible side effects or any thing like that, or what other option there might be.

I am sorry for venting so, but I am feeling really frustrated with my health and the information I can get from my family Dr.

Yesterday I had an appt. with a Gyno. that specializes in Biodentical hormone, he is helping me find some balance there and I told him about the cholesterol and the side effect I am having. He gave me a prescription for Crestor 5mg. He said he was socked that she gave me the other one, when she knows I was diagnosed with Fibro. He all so said to get a new Dr. The only problem with that is we are in the middle of a Dr. shortage and there is thousand with out a family Dr. at all. So finding one when I have one is tough. And then there is the fact I have been seeing this family Dr. for over 20 years now. Just don't get it.

Thanks for all the information you have been giving. I find it all so fascinating and some what confusing.

Hope you doing well today.

Gentle hugs, Sherrall

Sherrall, "fascinating and some what confusing"

Your words describe exactly how I felt when I began digging deeper into the cholesterol issue. It took a few years of confusion before I could fully realize the truth.

Thanks for sharing about the medical situation in Canada. There must be some way you can learn your lab numbers. How close to the US border are you?

Hi Med,

I live about a 3 hours drive from the US boarder. Plus I have no money, I haven't been able to work for over a year now, because of the Fibro, chronic fatigue and pain. Here in Canada, if your partner makes a good living you wont qualify for any help. So I have to put all financial matters to my hubby, now he doesn't mind and is so supportive of me at least 95% of the time, so I am lucky there but I just hate to add more stress to him.

At the specialist appt. he did look at my cholesterol and said it was high, I wish I wrote the numbers down but I didn't. And for the live of me I just can't seem to remember what they are. I have a really hard time with remembering thing. I get confused easily these days. He did give me a requisition to check it in two months, so at that time will wright it done if I can't get a copy for me.

I am looking for a new family Dr. and hopefully will find one that will work with me not against me. I will monitor the new prescription for Crestor and see if its ok. I am working very hard to eat better and watching the amount of sugar, sodium and fats in everything I eat these days. Boy is this an eye opener to what we put in our bodies.

Well hope you have a great evening and thanks again for you kindness.

Gentle hugs, Sherrall

Sherrall, I didn't realize your fibro and fatigue was so bad you couldn't work. That gives me more info.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but have you ever had your thyroid checked?

Are you a heart patient? Have you ever been diagnosed with heart disease? What was the reason for your statin prescription in the first place?

Good day Med.

Yes I have had my thyroid checked regularly.

No I have no heart problems that shows up on the test I have had done. I had a serious of test this past spring because of chest pain and tightness as well as palpations. All test results are fine, is what I was told.

I was started on the Satins because of high Cholesterol levels.

I have put it off for years, hoping if I could get my hormones level better that would take care of it.

All this, fibro, high cholesterol and high blood pressure started with the full hysterectomy, plus bladder and bowl repair in 2000. I had really bad adhesions and scaring from a childhood injury.

It caused me not to be able to have children and I was told from an early age that the hyst. was only a matter of time. I had, had many Laparectomy over the years, about 12 or so. At the end I was needed them every 2 months and that was when they said ok its time. It was hard I was in my late 30 and childless and it was so hard to get over it.

It took me a very long time to heal from the surgery and I not sure if I ever really did.

That was when I started noticing all the fibro symptoms. My Dr. didn't want to go there though, it took me years to talk her into letting me see a specialist regarding this and at that point is when she started saying stuff like I can't help you any more but try this and come back in a few weeks. But when I would come back to say I couldn't take the med. because of ether hives, swelling or so many other symptoms she would get upset, like I wasn't doing something right. So at that point she started wanting me to try all these other things that I just couldn't a ford.

So here I am, I so want to go back to work, I miss it so very much. Plus I can't take any med.s for the pain or inflammation I get so I just sleep a lot and I think this is what has gotten me so out of shape.

Before the surgery I was 105 lbs and I exercise every day all most. I loved doing Pilate's and all most any kind of exercises but since the surgery walking more then 30 min. sends me to bed so very sore for days.

I am going to start saving so I can join the Y so I can get into aqua fit classes, they have a warm pool for people with arthritis.

I have had MRI's. which our health system pays for as well as all other tests.

I have arthritis in my neck, mid. spine. hips, tail bone, knees, elbows, hands and feet. Ok like every where.

Thanks for the feed back, today I am still very itchy and the rash has not gone away.

I am so nervous about taking these drugs, but I am just not sure what else to do.

I'm not sure if I can just stop taking them?

I'm not sure how my Dr. will respond if I stopped taking them.

This is just making me crazy.

Sorry this is so long.

Thanks for you time and for listening to me.

It helps more then you know. Your very kind to share your knowledge this way.

Thanks and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Gentle hugs, Sherrall

Your welcome Sherrall. I don't know exactly where to go from here or what to say because of your situation of no access to your labs. I am in the dark to comment.

I am concerned about any statin you take, and the possibility of it making matters worse.

There has just gotta be a way for you to get your numbers. Somehow.

Hi,
I would definately ask to discontinue the statin and try a medication "holiday" and see if you feel any better before switching to Crestor. But I would not do this without talking to a doctor. Have your liver function tests been ok? Since you are most likely taking pain medications for your aches and pains, that can really effect your liver. And if you have liver damage, then you aren't going to be able to cleanse your body of all the medications that your are getting and you could end up with toxic levels of medication.
One medication that I'm thinking of (in addition to your statin) is your thyroid hormone. You said that your doctor tests your level, but you might want to ask what your last level was. In the U.S. we can go to medical records for a copy of our labs if the doctor does not give a copy.
I'm curious if your TSH level is low. Which actually means the opposite. Which means that you are getting too much synthetic thyroid hormone. My mother had a lot of the same symptoms as you and her doctor told her that her TSH level was (fine). But I looked at it and it was not. It was below what it was suppose to be.
She was very itchy, had a rash, had chest pain/ tightness, palpitations, felt anxious, couldn't sleep well at night, and had muscle aches. She had medication induced HYPERthyroidism.
They lowered her dose and now she feels normal again. So that is something else to look into.
I feel bad that the Canadian Health system is so difficult. Some people in the US want that type of system so they dont have to pay for Insurance. But I am hoping that ours doesn't become controlled by the government. I have heard of many problems with that type of system.
Good luck to you!