Welcome to Statins Side Effects

Here you will find out the facts about the worlds most prescribed drugs - Statins, including the benefits and possible risks/side effects.

When you research cholesterol lowering drugs and come across the drug Statin, you also see lots of articles and reports about statins side effects. There are even books and magazine columns written by doctors and medical professionals that aggressively publicize the potential side effects.

As with any prescribed drug, you need to be certain in your own mind that taking it is an absolute must. Naturally you begin with speaking to your doctor and between the 2 of you, it is decided whether you would benefit from taking it.

In today’s society it almost seems like the norm to be taking some sort of drug or pill. From regular vitamin supplements to possibly more risky prescribed drugs.

However, despite the website name, I am not here to write purely about statins side effects and tell you how bad I think it is. I believe it is important to understand both the benefits and side effects before making up your mind.

This report is written for anyone looking for a balanced view-point and is perhaps considering taking Statins for a medical condition they have. If this is you, then I hope you find my article worth while. I have also written it in laymen’s terms so it’s simple to understand.

What Are Statins?

Statin is a substance used in a number of common cholesterol reducing drugs including:

• Lipitor (atorvastatin)
• Lescol (fluvastatin)
• Mevacor (lovastatin)
• Pravachol (pravastatin)
• Zocor (simvastatin)
• Crestor (rosuvastatin)

A seventh statin, Baycol (cerivastatin), was removed from the market in 2001 because of potentially serious side effects.

Statin is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs and accounts for billions of dollars in combined sales worldwide.

How Do Statins Work?

The drug works by limiting the Liver’s ability to produce cholesterol. Statins cause a significant reduction in LDL "bad" cholesterol levels and a small increase in levels of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

There is no disputing the facts that Statin does exactly that. It has an almost immediate effect and after about 6 weeks onwards, will have a long-term effect.

Benefits of Statins

Statins benefit people with high cholesterol levels or borderline high cholesterol and other risk factors for heart attack and stroke like diabetes or heart disease. Amongst other benefits recent studies have found that Statins may also benefit people with Rheumatoid Arthritis and to help lower blood pressure.

Heart disease remains the world’s second biggest killer after cancer and it is understandable why Statins have become so popular. It has now become the worlds most commonly prescribed drug.

Statins Side Effects

As with any drug, there lies the possibility of side effects. People have adverse reactions to all manner of substances and their symptoms range from minor irritation to death. So why should this particular drug be any different and are the risks greater than the benefits?

1. Digestive Problems

Statins have been known to cause digestive problems such as nausea, gas, a bloated feeling, and diarrhea or constipation. However this is rare and usually the patient already has some sort of gastrointestinal problem.

2. Liver Dysfunction

Liver problems are without doubt the biggest cause for concern for Statins side effects. Statin drugs have been shown to raise the amounts of Liver enzymes. (Liver enzymes are protein that is released into the blood stream when damage or disease occurs in the liver).

The doses of Statin taken by a patient directly links to the probability of developing liver enzyme elevation. The higher the dose, the more chance of higher levels of liver enzymes. This elevation also increases in older people and in those taking other medications that might interact with statins and also raise liver enzymes.

Under normal doses, less than one percent of patients are likely to develop these symptoms. However, it is important that your doctor monitors liver enzyme levels before and during the taking of Statin drugs.

Although there have been reports of liver failure and hepatitis associated with statins and elevated liver enzymes, these occurrences are rare. Current studies have not been able to establish a definite link between statin use and liver disease. If for some reason your liver enzymes do become elevated, they are restored back to normal once the statin is stopped.

3. Muscle Pain and Weakness

Muscle symptoms such as pain and weakness, are another reason many people stay clear of taking Statins. Symptoms or (myopathies) range from mild muscle pains, to a potentially life-threatening condition known as rhabdomyolysis. It is currently estimated that the most common myopathy associated with statin use, myalgia, only occurs in about one person out of every 1,000 people taking statins.

The chance of experiencing myopathies while on statins increases as you get older, with higher doses and while taking other medications that may interact with statins. These symptoms will usually appear within four months of taking statins.

Rhabdomyolysis, another myopathy that can occur with statin use, is characterized by profound muscle pain, weakness, significantly increased amounts of creatinine phosphokinase in the body, and bloody urine (due to muscle breakdown and the release of myoglobin in the body).

Although this condition is deadly if not properly treated, it also extremely rare. Rhabdomyolysis occurs in one person out of 10,000 individuals taking statins.

Alternative Remedies to Statins

Statins work by reducing the levels of bad cholesterol in our bodies. However by incorporating simple changes in our diet we can achieve the same effect without cutting off the body’s vital supply of cholesterol and subjecting ourselves to possible, unpleasant side effects:

• Avoid trans fats, known to contribute to increased bad cholesterol. In the supermarket, read the label to find foods that are trans free.
• Avoid refined sugars, especially fructose, known to stimulate clumping of the blood platelets.
• Eat fish and Omega-3 fatty acids. Doctors recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week. The highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. However, to maintain the heart-healthy benefits of fish, bake or grill it. If you don't like fish, you can also get omega-3 fatty acids from foods like ground flaxseed or canola oil.

There are plenty of online resources that provide dozens of healthy foods and recipes to help lower cholesterol levels naturally and safely.

Conclusion

It’s important to understand that high cholesterol levels are only one of a number of risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Before you decide to take a course of Statin drugs you should consider the following indicators:

• Family history of high cholesterol or cardiovascular disease
• Lifestyle
• Blood pressure
• Age
• General health
• Presence of diabetes
• Excess weight
• Smoking
• Peripheral vascular disease — narrowing of the arteries in your neck, arms or legs

If the only risk factor you have is high cholesterol, you may not need medication because your risk of heart attack and stroke is probably already low and a simple change in lifestyle will naturally lower your cholesterol levels.

There's no doubt that the statin debate will continue for now, especially when there's so much conflicting evidence. Depending on what report you read or in the cases below, what video or news item you watch. Common sense would suggest you take advantage of all the natural ways to reduce LDL cholesterol levels before resorting to prescribed drugs.

Cholesterol Lowering Drugs - No Benefit to Those Without Heart Disease

If you have any experiences with taking Statins, Statins side effects, or would like to share anything with us, please drop your comments below.

Peter