1. < Neuropathy

Statin discontinued due to neuropathy. What are some alternatives?

Posted by Nazir Khan @nukhan, Jan 19, 2020

I have been using Lipitor since 2007 for lowering my cholesterol which is on the list of those medicines that are suspected to cause neuropathy. I am thinking of discontinuing this menace but before doing so want to check with those members who have discontinued using statin and what is their experience. What alternative methods have they since adopted for lowering their cholesterol .. diet, alternative medication, exercise or anything else ?

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celia16 | @celia16 | Jan 12 8:53am
In reply to @walkthedog "My husband was put on Lipitor for a while. He developed severe foot pain - like..." + (show)
@walkthedog

My husband was put on Lipitor for a while. He developed severe foot pain - like heel spurs. He went off it and onto Simvastatin. Coincidentally, we moved and when he went to the dentist, the dentist told him he was retiring because his feet hurt. The husband asked if he was taking Lipitor. The dentist stopped Lipitor and did not retire.

I cannot take statins. I take plant sterols and my cholesterol returned to 'good' numbers.

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That’s amazing! Lucky the dentist had your husband as a patient!

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dlmdinia | @dlmdinia | Jan 12 2:20pm
In reply to @suzva "followup- After taking policosanol 40mg for 6 months I'm back to red yeast rice. Despite all..." + (show)
@suzva

followup- After taking policosanol 40mg for 6 months I'm back to red yeast rice. Despite all the good reviews I've read and the positive results I read about on the NIH study, it didn't work for me. With RYR, my numbers were only slightly high , around 200, on the policosanol, total cholesterol was 263! All the other numbers were up too....Trig, LDL etc. Only number that was good was HDL. But that's always been good. back to the drawing board!

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Red Yeast Rice has the same active ingredient as most statins, so if you're avoiding statins because of neuropathy RYR may not be for you. I discussed this with my doctor who was going to put me on statins and then suggested RYR as a substitute. When I discovered the common active ingredient I then switched to Citrus bergamot with my doctor's knowledge. Citrus bergamot did not significantly reduce my bad cholesterol, but it significantly increased the good. As I'm not diabetic or hypertensive, my doctor was pleased. Link below RYR info.
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/red-yeast-rice

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dlmdinia | @dlmdinia | Jan 13 9:41am

I've taken citrus bergamot for a few years. It lowered my bad cholesterol a bit, but significantly raised my good cholesterol. My doctor was satisfied so I'll continue on it.

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bigjohnscho | @bigjohnscho | 1 day ago

What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for many years but I have stopped them due to peripheral neuropathy of the feet and ankles.My GP wants me to start again but I will only use the safest alternative with no side effects. Looking for advice

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3 replies
Janell | @jlharsh | 1 day ago
In reply to @bigjohnscho "What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for..." + (show)
@bigjohnscho

What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for many years but I have stopped them due to peripheral neuropathy of the feet and ankles.My GP wants me to start again but I will only use the safest alternative with no side effects. Looking for advice

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I have high cholesterol and tough experiences with treating it. It has been better controlled since figuring out exactly why it is high. Do you know what is causing it? What kind of heart problems are you having?

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celia16 | @celia16 | 1 day ago
In reply to @bigjohnscho "What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for..." + (show)
@bigjohnscho

What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for many years but I have stopped them due to peripheral neuropathy of the feet and ankles.My GP wants me to start again but I will only use the safest alternative with no side effects. Looking for advice

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How do you know it was the statin that caused the neuropathy?

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bigjohnscho | @bigjohnscho | 19 hours ago

My GP made the decision without any evidence

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1 reply
celia16 | @celia16 | 15 hours ago
In reply to @bigjohnscho "My GP made the decision without any evidence" + (show)
@bigjohnscho

My GP made the decision without any evidence

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That's very interesting. I asked mine about it an he said he didn't think it was the cause of my symptoms. I do take a very small dose though...only 5 mg of Crestor.

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1 reply
bgadams | @bgadams | 14 hours ago
In reply to @celia16 "That's very interesting. I asked mine about it an he said he didn't think it was..." + (show)
@celia16

That's very interesting. I asked mine about it an he said he didn't think it was the cause of my symptoms. I do take a very small dose though...only 5 mg of Crestor.

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Just curious..... did your neuropathy go away after you stopped taking the statin?

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1 reply
liloldlady | @liloldlady | 12 hours ago
In reply to @bigjohnscho "What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for..." + (show)
@bigjohnscho

What is the safest alternative to statins. I have heart problems and was on Simvastatin for many years but I have stopped them due to peripheral neuropathy of the feet and ankles.My GP wants me to start again but I will only use the safest alternative with no side effects. Looking for advice

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I think you are making the right decision for yourself. If you already told your dr., about your problems and concerns about a drug, and the dr., is still insistent on you taking it.........just maybe, you might want to start a search for another dr. You need one who will listen to you. If the next dr., also doesn't listen, then keep searching. You will eventually find one who will work with you, not against you. Check out the internet and ask something like, how many yearly mistakes do Medical dr.s make.........and when you see it could be over many thousands, you will feel more confident in your decision to find a safer alternative. Just a thought..........

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