Questiion about Crestor, Scard of statins, Please help.

lizabug · 12-01-2005, 11:47 PM

My doctor recently prescribed Crestor to lower my cholesterol. I was on Lipitor previously and had such terrible muscle pain that I stopped. It took a long time for the pain to go away but finally it did. I can't remember how my lipid panel broke down but I know that it was 219 total. I go Saturday to get a new screening to find out about the levels. I am really scared of these meds. I have had hepatitis when I was 12 and this concerns me as well. I don't "feel" right physically and I suspect there is an underlying cause to my high blood pressure as well as my other symptoms but trying to find someone to listen to me so far has been almost impossible. I live in a rural area and I am considering travelling two states away in order to find a doctor who can help me. Getting back to the question, can anyone give me some insights to Crestor and the statins?

Thanks

JJ · 12-02-2005, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizabug

My doctor recently prescribed Crestor to lower my cholesterol. I was on Lipitor previously and had such terrible muscle pain that I stopped. It took a long time for the pain to go away but finally it did. I can't remember how my lipid panel broke down but I know that it was 219 total. I go Saturday to get a new screening to find out about the levels. I am really scared of these meds. I have had hepatitis when I was 12 and this concerns me as well. I don't "feel" right physically and I suspect there is an underlying cause to my high blood pressure as well as my other symptoms but trying to find someone to listen to me so far has been almost impossible. I live in a rural area and I am considering travelling two states away in order to find a doctor who can help me. Getting back to the question, can anyone give me some insights to Crestor and the statins?

Thanks

If U had liver problems in the past I can't see a dr. wanting U on any statin, and have heard Crestor is mighty powerful. If U don't feel right on them, I wouldn't go back on them. They tried me on Lipitor, Baycol, Welchol and a few other lipid lowering things, and I got sick on all and finally gave up.

Did U have high BP before using statins? My BP was always very low, 115-120/70-75 till I went on statins, then it jumped to 150/100 after 3 months on Lipitor. My dr. thought his meter went nuts, so tried 3 different ones, but they all showed it very high. It took me over 6 months to finally start feeling good after using cholesterol meds., so now I just do the best I can with diet and exercise. Shame U live so far from a good dr., but it doesn't sound like the one U have is trying to help U. Hopefully U get another dr. who will work with you.

Best wishes....

HubbleRules · 12-02-2005, 01:51 AM

Lizabug,

If you had muscle pains from Lipitor, then I would be very careful if taking Crestor - since it has the highest incidence of muscular problems and rhabdomyolisis of all the statins - it is very potent. I developed bad muscle pains from Lipitor also (after 7 1/2 years my doctor combined Tricor with it, and that combination caused a lot of problems for me). I personally would not try Crestor because of my prior history. I would consider Zetia or Whelchol, perhas Vytorin (which contains a low dose of statin) if the Policosanol I am currently taking does not control my cholesterol to my satisfaction.

Have you tried Zetia or Whelchol? They are not statins, and they do a good job of lowering LDL... However, 219 does not sound high, but then we need to see the other numbers, and to know if you have other risk factors (overweight, diabetes, smoker...)

If you were to take Crestor, please urge your doctor to start you on a low dose, and definitely take CoQ10 along with it (Q-Gel is a good brand)...

HubbleRules

Lenin · 12-02-2005, 09:38 AM

Liza,

Crestor is the STRONGEST statin. Considering this, I think it would be a mistake for anyone who has had trouble with Lipitor and had to discontinue it to use CRESTOR.
If I were you, I would push instead for VYTORIN which is a low dose of a statin that is weaker than LIPITOR but uses another type drug (non-statin) to boost it's effectiveness by using an additional route to cholesterol control.

ARIZONA73 · 12-02-2005, 08:29 PM

Liza,

I also agree with Lenin. They don't call Crestor the "gorilla statin" for nothing. I'm surprised your doctor switched you over to Crestor after having problems with Lipitor. Vytorin would be a more viable option, or perhaps even a weaker statin like Pravachol.

By the way, it would be helpful if you can find out what your other numbers were, in addition to your total cholesterol. 219 isn't really high, so I am assuming this was your level while on Lipitor?