Hi.

I've told my PN story here before, so I'll keep it simple. It became a permanent fixture in my life a couple of years ago. The pain was most pronounced in my feet, much lesser in my lower legs, and even less so in my upper legs. Chronic pain became a feature of my life, as it has for many on this site. I work full time in the school system, and nary a day would go by where I wasn't in pain, pain that often spiked due to doing things on my feet.

Preamble over. I tried everything for pain mitigation:

--Yoga and stretching exercises
--Various supplements targeted for nerve damage/repair
--Working out my legs and feet on machines at the gym in an effort to increase circulation, usually at the cost of increased pain
--Chiro
--Massages
--Various OTC pain meds such as IBU
--Eventually Lyrica

I did these things regularly with great discipline.

But then I read of the possible side-effects of statins, one being causing or exasperating PN. I was on a statin for higher cholesterol. I decided to go off it after reading this in a thread on this forum.

Verdict: I can't say for certain what caused it, but after some weeks of not taking the statin and continuing my other routines/disciplines, I experienced a dramatic improvement in the pain my PN was chronically delivering me on a daily basis. The coincidence of my stopping to take the statin I was on and my improvement just can't be ignored. I'd put my current improvement level at something like 40%. I still have it/deal with it, but for heaven's sake I'm digging this respite from the pain levels I was previously experiencing.

I'm a little more than angry at myself for not researching the potential side effects of statin use before I began a regular regime of it. I do that as a matter of course with anything I take now, and urge everyone to take more control of their lives in this way. I'm rather astounded that Dr's who prescribe meds so often don't go over the potential side effects, and tell their patients to get back to them if such ill effects make themselves apparent in their bodies.

Anyway...this has been long-winded but the moral of my story is; BE CAREFUL OF STATINS--THEY MAY WELL CAUSE OR EXAPERATE PN! Yes, all caps on that.