Reversal of Statin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

It would be great to hear from anyone out there who developed statin-induced neuropathy and then weaned off the statin and saw their neuropathy diminish or even disappear. I would certainly be willing to trade a higher cholesterol for an end to this maddening pain, numbness, and buzzing that plagues me almost twenty-four seven.

@heisenberg34
Started Rosuvastatin 20mg a few years ago and and immediately started feeling random tingling and pain in the feet but never attributed it to this med. About a week ago the pain got so bad I thought I would lose my mind. Upon reading reports, I suspected it may be this med. Went to the doc and she told me to go off it for about 3 weeks to see if there is any improvement. After missing my first two doses my neuropathy nerve pain in my feet almost totally subsided within 48 hours. The throbbing, tingling and random shooting pains have almost stopped. Still have some residual but not near as bad. And I was even on the lowest dose. Im beside myself with joy and hope I never have to deal with that pain again. It was beyond miserable and torturous and was getting worse as the days went by. Hopefully, that is all behind me now. Don't understand if this is so common, why these meds are given to people.

While I haven’t personally experienced it, in cases where atorvastatin is suspected of causing Peripheral Neuropathy, reports and clinical observations suggest that the tingling, burning, or shock-like sensations may persist for several weeks after stopping, with many people beginning to notice gradual improvement within about 1 to 3 months and more substantial recovery over 3 to 6 months, although in some cases symptoms can linger longer or only partially resolve depending on how long the nerves were affected before discontinuation.

@heisenberg34
Started Rosuvastatin 20mg a few years ago and and immediately started feeling random tingling and pain in the feet but never attributed it to this med. About a week ago the pain got so bad I thought I would lose my mind. Upon reading reports, I suspected it may be this med. Went to the doc and she told me to go off it for about 3 weeks to see if there is any improvement. After missing my first two doses my neuropathy nerve pain in my feet almost totally subsided within 48 hours. The throbbing, tingling and random shooting pains have almost stopped. Still have some residual but not near as bad. And I was even on the lowest dose. Im beside myself with joy and hope I never have to deal with that pain again. It was beyond miserable and torturous and was getting worse as the days went by. Hopefully, that is all behind me now. Don't understand if this is so common, why these meds are given to people.

@singyourheartout Glad to hear that you are feeling better. I just went off atorvastatin about a month ago. Went on Ezetimibe. No difference so far. Still have the shooting pain in my feet and legs. Will be getting cholesterol checked in the next few weeks. This stuff feels like a crap shoot.

@heisenberg34 Everyone’s body is different. It’s not that Im out of the dark yet, but it seems too much of a coincidence that within 24-48 of stopping it the neuropathy pain subsided almost instantly. Got 3 more weeks to go to see if the statin “for me” was the issue. I do know that neuropathy can develop for other reasons also. But for now Im about 90% free of that pain and only noticed a slight amount of tingling countable on one hand sharp pains last night . We’ll see. Good luck. I pray you’ll be able to break free. I know nobody’s gonna get off this plant pain free but everyone wants to avoid as much as possible. 🙏 🙏Hopefully this new med will have mercy

@jhkenn97 How do you know that your statins caused the PN? I haven't heard of any diagnostic tests that can pinpoint the root cause of PN. I will say that it may be coincidental that my own PN started about the time that my Primary put me on it for slightly elevated cholesterol.

@heisenberg34
My Dr pit me on Statin and my calf pain started. He changed Statin twice but still pain continued.
Also my blood sugar shot up and I am on Metformin.
After a year finally my Dr changed to Fenofibrate and all my pain gone and Metformin reduced to 500 mg

It would be great to hear from anyone out there who developed statin-induced neuropathy and then weaned off the statin and saw their neuropathy diminish or even disappear. I would certainly be willing to trade a higher cholesterol for an end to this maddening pain, numbness, and buzzing that plagues me almost twenty-four seven.

@heisenberg34 I am that person exactly. My cholesterol was high and I've been on a low dose statin now for3 years and developed neuropathy so painful that it felt like torture. The tingling, the random shocks, the needle like pain in my toes and feet drove me bonkers. Im off now for one week and those symptoms have almost totally subsided and will see my doctor for eval again in a few weeks. Meanwhile, my cholesterol is back up again now in spite of a healthy diet and exercise. Dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. But I am 76 years old so Im taking that into consideration. I was dealing with torn meniscus, vascular issues and now some veins shutting down but the combination of all three at the same time was as if my days were clearly and in bold numbered . At least going off the statin, speaking for myself, the peripheral neuropathy pain is almost non-existent now. I realize my body is deteriorating right now as is everyone's but at least for now I have enough mind function to discuss determine what may or may not be causing me issues and able to come to some form of pain reduction as I move naturally to non-existence.