I've
spent the last two weeks trying to figure out why my chest muscles are sore.
I stopped exercising my upper body at the first sign of soreness A few days ago the muscles in
my shoulder and middle back started to hurt to the point where I had to take hydrocodone to be able to sleep. Then like a hammer over the head I remembered "duh, muscle soreness and
pain are a common side effect of taking statins to reduce
cholesterol". I don't do we'll with
drugs, my liver enzymes are way up with statins. I started a generic Lipitor (atorvastatin) 10mg about three weeks ago, the combination of muscle pain and my liver getting zapped is enough, I'm done with statins. My cholesterol was already in a good range and I know I can make some simple modifications to my diet to
lower it naturally. Bottom line, after 30 days I'm now off the stuff.
If not
monitored statin caused muscle pain can become a dangerous although rare
condition known as Rahbdomyolysis where the muscles disintegrate sloughing off myoglobin from the muscle cells overloading the kidneys and causing them to shut down. I've collected a wealth of information via the
Internet, an article by Stephanie Seneff at MIT sums it up pretty well.
My next
step is to find a general care cardiologist who is not accepting too many free
lunches form drug reps and has a more integrative approach to heart health. My
current cardiologist does research for drug companies (need I say more?) time to move on.UPDATE 10/22/12
I've been off Statins now for 6 days. That is more then enough time to recover from exerciser induced muscle soreness but from what I'm finding recovering time for Statin induced muscle damage ranges from 1 month to 7 months with the average recovery time 2.3 months. A paper my a group of MD's "Outcomes in 45 Patients With Statin-Associated Myopathy" covers the topic pretty well. Once the decision is made to go off of a Statin drug it can take up to 3 weeks to clear your system. Recovery time for muscle damage is a matter of patience.
As with any drug the risks versus benefits of taking a Statin must be weighted. There is a wealth of information on the subject of Statins and muscle pain. To start off, here again are the links to two papers that will provide information on Statin induced muscle damage. Although they may get a little technical they're generally easy to follow. Use them to help guide you when asking your doctor questions.
1. Statins and Myoglobin by Stephanie Seneff
2. Outcomes in 45 Patients With Statin-Associated Myopathy
