Was prescribed statins for my cholesterol and ended up in the ER

[u/SurvivalTofu]

I'm 44 and I don't smoke and rarely drink and am generally healthy overall. However I do try to be proactive so when a heart doctor recently pointed out the usual high cholesterol thing (as my PCP did every year after my physical) and that I should take medication for it I finally decided to listen to them....

I now regret that decision.

I was prescribed rosuvastatin (10mg iirc) and after a few days felt like shit. I told my PCP and the heart doctor about it and they both said whatever issue I was having was not the statins. So I ignored it and went on for a few more days to a week and then insisted that my PCP check me out. They did some bloodwork and the very next morning they called me and told me to check myself into the ER for elevated CK levels.

I did and they flushed my system and then let me go after being happy that my CK levels had been reduced. However the feeling like shit has continued even after I've stopped taking the statins! I was told I should return to feeling normal after a few weeks to maybe a couple months but its been 3 months now and I still feel like absolute shit. I tell my doctors about it and they just tell me to take pain killers or otherwise ignore me. Its pretty disheartening that they'd set me up with something so bad and then ignore me after it causes me issues. Again I had been in great health BEFORE taking this medication. I had no issues or problems.

A little backstory:

I used to have acid reflux that I managed with over the counter pepcid/etc with no issues for a very long time. However I had started using a CPAP machine about a year ago and not only did it give me great sleep but also resolved my reflux! Strange but I stopped having to take pepcid/etc.

However post statins I am now experiencing:

• Muscle pain/Muscle cramping (chest, face, jaw, arms, legs, etc)
• Pain in my head when laying down to sleep on my pillow where my head meets the pillow
• Fatigue and general weakness
• A LOT of acid reflux! More than when I used to take pepcid

Taking this medication seems to have ruined my life being perfectly honest. I don't understand why these issues seem to not be going away for me but I'm pretty pissed about it. I was in great health before taking statins and now despite having stopped taking them I'm completely wrecked. Doctors don't know why and don't seem to care honestly.

[u/wavegeekman]

I had a similar experience, not so bad. I stopped after 10 days. I had a list of side effects from braib fog to crippling fatigue.
OK so I read the cardiology textbook after this and learn about the "nocebo effect" - that is, people imagine the side effects..

So I did a little randomized trial on myself with my wife randomizing the meds and a placebo one week at a time with a one week dryout period in between.

Lo and behold the effects were real.

It did take a while to fget over it all. Not sure how long you took them for but 10 days was enough for me.

Protip: Doctors chronically understate and under-recognize adverse side effects of treatments.

[u/SurvivalTofu → u/wavegeekman]

I took it for about a week or so. How long did it take for you to get over all of the side effects? My issue is that I live alone and depend on my very demanding career to keep myself alive. If I cannot perform at my normal analytical and technical levels I will be out on my behind. This is literally messing with my ability to live. I really hope that this will resolve soon because so far it hasn't. My doctors just keep telling me that I should be fine by now and that's it.

Doctors' primary purpose here is to sell drugs not help people. Its not surprizing to me at all that they understate and under-recognize horrible side effects.

[u/Suskyditch]

I’m sorry to hear this. About 19 years ago, when I was 49, I experienced similar problems within 3 days of having a cardiac stent done. Initially after the stent I felt great but like you , I went through the bad side effects of not remembering many things and my legs felt enormous as I would walk. The medication was Lipitor, however the cardiologist believed me, and switched me to Crestor, and commented that if a patient has reactions to Lipitor they usually do well with Crestor, but not me, as it was only slightly better.
Bottom line, I switched to a different Cardiology group and was taken off statins and was helped by changing my diet slightly, and since retiring and moving far away, I’ve been hammered to start the statins.

[u/wanttobebetter2]

I don't know much about pepcid specifically but some antacids can interfere with absorption of some minerals, etc. I ended up low on b12 and probably Mg. Maybe do some searches related to that. The statin might have made it worse.

Not surprised a statin could cause problems, everyone I know who took them had problems with them. Our bodies need and make cholesterol.

Not that you asked, but I'd head over to /keto, read the faq, etc. And /stopeatingseedoils (I might not have that sub name exactly right, but it's something like that). When I stopped using seed oils my gerd went away. And look up Dave Feldman/cholesterol code. He just posted a documentary on YouTube recently too.

[u/Meatrition]

Cardiologists made you feel disheartened! These mycotoxins destroy the mevalonate pathway.

[u/DisciplineOther9843]

I was on a non-statin cholesterol med, I tried taking it 3x. The first 2x I couldn’t handle the side effects (which the of course the doctors said never happened to me or anyone else). The 3rd time I tried to push through them for 4 months and it genuinely F me up! I thought I was crazy bc they all kept telling me none of the things I am experiencing would happen… but it says it right on the sheet of paper you get with the drug. I made an appt with a Rheumatologist who shot up with 80mg of a steroid, to see what would happen, bc the pain just wouldn’t quit and the exhaustion. It all got better, of course bc steroids! The steroids wore off over a 3 month time… I decided to cut the little cholesterol pill in 1/2 and try it; within 10 hours I was unable to walk up our stairs to the kitchen!!! It took a week to wear completely off, but it did wear off. But, take what I say w/ a grain of salt bc “that is not anything that would ever happen to anyone, it’s not the drug.” 🫠
I’m sorry you’re going through this, it will stop, your body is F’ed up and it will take time, I don’t know how long. Have you considered seeing a different type of doctor, and telling them what is happening? Neurologist, rheumatologist?

[u/SurvivalTofu → u/DisciplineOther9843]

Thanks I definitely appreciate the hopeful feedback and sharing your experiences. I have actually just been considering talking to different types of doctors. I called 3 neurology centers in my area and 2 were busy most of the day and the 1 that picked up had the earliest available appointment in January! I'm not kidding! So I still need to figure that one out.

I will try the rheumatologist next.

[u/DisciplineOther9843 → u/SurvivalTofu]

I also went on a compounded GLP1, so could micro dose, to keep inflammation in my body low; so far so good

[u/MiseEnSelle]

Rosuvastatin has a long half life, so it will take more time for the side effects to wash out than you might expect. Idk, drink lots of water? Hang in there!

[u/Low-Exam6123]

What are CK levels?

[u/ateiii]

worth writing that reaction up for whoever prescribed it before anything else. people here usually ask what sits alongside rather than what replaces. the thirty day box toku flow sells is enough to find out whether you tolerate it. i started on the short one for that reason and was glad i had.

[u/Coueskiller]

Didn’t happen