I personally think that it might have been statins that caused all my problems. but i haven't been on them for about 2 yrs. had check up last week, and my #'s are up of course. so he wanted me to try 5mg. of crestor. my main problem with fibro is the pain in my feet, legs hips and thighs any way, but on day 1 of crestor my knees were burning and i stupidly took another one the next day, and could hardly walk. my thighs, calves and ankles were also hurting along with the knees. and pain meds did not want to help.

i know i have bad cholesterol but honestly can't tolerate statins. i was just wondering if anyone else had problem taking statins with fibro and what you are doing to help lower cholesterol?

thanks in advance for your help.

stars

hi stars,
have your doctor try another statin. i had to go thru so many to find one that did not mess with my legs also. for me it was crestor. for you it may be another one. there are alot of them out there now.
your body is saying no to the drug. tell your doctor asap. the things you can do to help yourself are diet changes, like no meat or dairy. exercise and water. if your counts are genetic there is not much you can do except keep trying till you find that one pill your body will say yes to. mine is genetic so all the diet and exercise in the world was not helping. my counts are perfect now. i know the pill helped but i also feel the lifestyle changes are a huge aspect of it being perfect instead of just okay.
take care.
peace,
bluelakelady

Thanks blue. crestor, huh? i was so hopeful it weould be the one to help me too. in the past i've been on lipitor, zocor, pravochol, and one more that i can't remember the name of. started with an l. sorry, i'm in a major flare. i had been in small one and after taking the 2 pills shoved me into a major one.

when i flare big i get sick gastroly, [what a word, huh?}, along with the tiredness and aches. been in bed yesterday and today. trying to talk myself into a cup of java. i hate this , we have theater tickets for tomorrow night, and i don't want it to be ruined. going with hubby and twin daughters. was soooo looking forward to it. i'm so mad.

well, it is what it is, i know i'll deal with it. i was thinking of waiting this flare out and trying the crestor again, whaddya think? i'm kinda afraid it will throw me back in a tizzy, just can't think straight right now anyway.

thanks again blue, send me some of your great optimism, i could use it.

stars

I also had to try a few statins before I found one that would not make my legs ache so bad. I am on Simvastatin now and I do take mine at night with my FMS meds and I think that also helps. I think loading my Requip and Zanaflex along with the Simvastatin counteracts any leg problems. I do still have pain in my lower extremeties at time but not the type I was previously having with the other statins. Hope that helps.

This is a known side effect of statins. It's called rhabdomyolysis. STOP TAKING IT IMMEDIATELY and do NOT take it again. Period. Rhabdo can cause permanent muscle damage and paralysis and is way, way worse than fibro.

Simvastatin is the generic name for Zocor.

You've listed all of the statins in your post, and don't let the doc put you on Vytorin. It's got Zocor in it and will do the exact same thing that the other statins did.

Stay OFF the statins. There are other options, they're just not as well known. It doesn't matter whether you're flaring or not, the statins will ALWAYS make you feel worse. It's a known side effect and one of the most common.

Stars - as Grapedy said - this is a known side effect of statins; it is very dangerous for those who ignore it. There have been huge class action law suits about it, in Canada and the U.S. My husband got this Rabdomyo..... (sp?) from one of the statins - I think Crestor - it turns off the communication of the nerves from the muscles to the brain. He lost his voice for 2 months until the muscles in his throat regained their feeling. And his legs were weak, achy, couldn't hold him much less allow him to work. Took months to get over. Very very serious stuff. If he had not done something about it right away, there would have been permanent neurological damage. :(
Hope you get your #'s down somehow, but risking those problems is not a good idea.
Wishing you peace and comfort,
Paddy

Hi everyone, just to say that my mum has muscle damage caused by statins, she has not taken them for two years and still has problems with walking, she would never take them again and feels that she has aged 10yrs physically, be very carefull, doctors are not always right in prescribing us medications. Take care x

hi stars,
no kiddo, don't take it again. talk to your doctor. i understand the need for balance especially with cholesterol counts.
now to uplift you with sweet words. you can do this. you know you can. if i had a chance to go to the theater with my family i would gladly take on the fall out flare. it would be worth it. take a pillow to sit on. i am dancing you up some energy so you can have fun. we are going to the mountain to dance and eat gobs of good food, listen to some amazing musicians i know and dance till we drop, laughing. the moon will rise and the lake will shimmer silver white. later after the guests are gone we will sit and simply listen to the quiet of night on the mountain.
i am sorry the one i take is a no go for you. bummer. like you i had to try alot of them to find one that didn't mess with my muscles. listen to your body and you will do fine. i have faith in you.
peace,
bluelakelady

Statins can be bad news - know they were for me. After one dose I had such bad pains and aching. My pcp had me try it twice with 2 months between and had the same reaction. This was before my FM had been diagnosis.

My whole family can not take them. Both parents had severe reactions but did not know it was from the med until they told me what was happening and I told them to stop it immediately - that was after they had been taking it for awhile.

Thank you all so much for your advise. i did stop taking them after 2 days, was going to try again after father's day was over, but no, changed my mind after listening to all of you. i think i'll call him instead.

i'm still not over this darn flare but it's much better. i did go to the theater Blue and had a grand time. didn't have much appetite for dinner but lord knows i could lose a few lbs anyway, lol.

Grapedy, Paddy, Cgirl and Sunny, thank you for the info. i do think i am one of those lucky people who gets all the rare side effects of meds. it also took me yrs to find hbp meds that didn't give me problems and lowered my bp#'s. i'm trying to eat better, using metamucil dayly instead of citricel which i used to use dayly for ibs, not sure there is a big difference, but read where it would help lower cholesterol. trying to exercise, but with this flare not doing too much.

another thing, the diet for lowering cholesterol is not the same diet i need for fibro, and ibs. a vicious circle i do declare. there's got to be a happy medium somewhere, just have to find it.

Blue, have a marvelous time on the mountain, i'm sure the music will be wonderful and i shall listen closly for the lilting tunes you are sending my way.

thanks again, stars You gals are wonderful .

i will look for you in the stars my friend. i am so glad you went out. sometimes we just have to tell fibro to stuff it and do what our hearts want.
what about an all veggie diet? it's pretty much how i eat and it does not seem to bother ibs or fibro. it does get a bit boring, but hey, so what.
time to fly off for fun with friends. i am so glad you are coming too.
peace,
blue

Stars, I can identify as I am Lactose Intolerant, have had IBS for 25 years and have genetic high cholesterol as well as heart valve problems times four. I know how limited our diet can be because of those restrictions. I tried diet, exercise and countless meds before they put me on statins, with no lowering of my cholesterol numbers. I eat no dairy other than lactose free items and those are very limited. I even went without sugar for over a year and saw no improvement. I am pretty much a baked or broiled fish and chicken person and I do those in very small amounts. I am convinced that some people who have the genetic cholesterol factor just will not see an improvement without some medication intervention. I have no choice but to take the statins. I tried Colestid for over a year and it did nothing. I don't dare mess with adding to my already serious heart problems. I know that it is a challenge. I just wanted you to know I recognize your frustration and I empathize.

Goldyfm, thanks for sharing your experience with statins, i really so wish i could take them, but honestly i don't think i can. i know how important they are, especially with your heart problems. i'm glad you were able to find one that you are able to take.

i have never really tried to seriously lower my cholesterol on my own, not for a very long time anyway. so, i'm not sure if it is genetic or not, but since dealing with fm, my whole life has changed so much. as i said before, i have problems taking alot of different meds, even antibiotics. so i'm going to try diet and exercise and see what happens. been to the hc board also and found some things to try.

but concerning your diet goldy, do you eat ground turkey at all. i've been using it for awhile since dh also has issues. i don't know if i could give up meat completely, i'm alright with fish, not too crazy about chicken, unless it's wings, giggle, which i know is a no no. and yeah, ibs is a real drag isn't it. i recently started drinking danactive in the mornings, for about 2 weeks now, and have started having the runs, forgive me, again. just dawned on me today that it could be from that. i think regular yogert is alright but i'm not too sure with the danactive.

Didn't mean to go on and on, just appreciated your thoughts and i hope you continue to do well .;)

p.s. wish we were all with Blue tonight, sounds like a blast.;)

I have tried ground turkey and substitute it in recipes when I can. I do eat turkey sandwiches a lot. Can you truly call it a sandwich if you can't add the mayo? I also do okay with pork loin, you know the white non-fat pork cut, if I grill it and eat only a small serving. The trouble is trying to coordinate what you can have into something tasty. I have had to forgo salads, but can tolerate a couple of fresh veggies, but lettuce is a big no-no for me. What is so odd is I am the only slim one in my family and I am the only one with the heart problems and the cholesterol. I also have eaten very bland for years as my late husband had ulcer issues for years. I can't win for losing. I used to walk daily but now I cannot tolerate the exercise. I am like so many here.

I also have had countless medication problems, having had serious side effects to antibiotics, statins, pain meds, steroids, anesthesia. It really makes it hard to treat someone when medications are so damaging to our systems. I cringe every time they change my meds, and only start off with half doses to see what happens before I dump in a whole dose. It is such a slow process to have to deal with it that way. I almost died a couple of times from meds, so you do what you have to, in order to survive.

So, you see, I really do understand.

Hi there,

I have multiple medical conditions and was prescribed Simvastatin 4 years ago after having open heart surgery. I have never had a problem with it. Some people can take it and have problems and others none at all. Same with any type of medication though isn't it ?

I do make sure all of my medicaitons - and there are lots hee hee - are safe to be taken with each other. Thing is you do have to be vigilant and keep a check on the medications you are taking, even OTC ones, to make sure there is no interaction with any of them. Also it is advised not to have grapefruit if you take statins.

Take care.

goldenwings :angel:

Thanks to both of you golden girls, i see you both do understand, and i'm sorry for your serious heart problems. i'm also sorry to take so long to respond to your posts. i have been so terribly sick this week and had so much going on here at home.

i mentioned in an earlier post that i had the runs, thought it was from danactive, but i think it's more then that. it actually started about a month ago and just has progressively gotten worse day by day. my bp has lowered so much i was getting dizzy and cut back on evening bp pill for a week now. called my pcp and he gave me lomotil last monday, after 2 days still didn't help and med made me sick, called him and he sent me to have stool test done on friday.

i was on cipro about a month ago for bladder infection,{ cipro made me feel like i was having a heart attack, what's new!!!!!}, but anyway, i think i now have antibiotic associated-colitis. i am so tired of being sick, i know you understand. you get over one thing and get knocked down with another. I havent even thought about hte cholesterol issue this week, been too busy being nausous. i never realized that fm made us so intolerant to meds, that's really scary, especially when it's life threatening. i just thought it was my personal composition.

well, i have a birthday party to go to today, will do my best. stopped the lomotil, went back to imodium and crossing my fingers.

goldyfm, with your ibs and lactose intolerance have you ever had colitis? i read where they put you on flagyl for it, which lol gives me such a horrible stomach ache. this is why they put me on cipro instead of flagyl for other infection. wow, as you said, can't win for losing.

again, thank you both for your help, and i hope you're feeling well today.

stars

ps you know what, since i stopped taking the evening bloodpressure, my back and legs have not hurt as they usually do constantly. maybe a fluke or another drug intolerance, who knows?

If you can't take one statin, you can't take any of them...even though dr's will try to push another on you. statins gave me bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, muscle pain and weakness and periferal neuropathy. It has been 8 years off statins and the pn remains as well as some muscle weakness....I also have fm I don't think the two are connected because many other people I know that don't have fm have had statin reactions....although maybe in us, with it, the symptoms are exaggerated.....