I was taking high dose prednisone and Actemra to treat GCA, and my cholesterol got high enough that my primary care doctor said I would probably need to start taking a statin. He suggested retesting my cholesterol again after 3 months before making a decision about the statin. During the following 3 months I continued tapering the prednisone. I think the dose went down from 30 mg per day to about 10. When I got retested, my cholesterol had come down significantly - 33 points on the total, and 17 on the LDL I think the lower dose of prednisone caused the drop. My cholesterol came down enough that I didn't need to take a statin.

When I thought I was going to have to take a statin, I did some research. It sounded like rosuvastatin is one of the best statins for minimal side effects. I checked the interactions with Actemra, and research indicates the Actemra can reduce the effectiveness of a statin, so a higher dose of the statin might be needed. It sounds like it's safe to take a statin with Actemra.