Thank you for the level-headed response. The next step for me is a stress test/echo this coming Wednesday. The cardiologist is also going to do a “point of care” lipid test that day; he says it’s nearly as good as normal blood testing and will give us an indication if the statin is in fact lowering the LDL.

I know I am in a worked up state and it could influence my perception of things, but I am confident that my body is truly having a negative reaction to the statin. It’s tough to put into words, but I’ve been a runner for most of my adult life. I’ve had days when I’ve felt great and days when it’s been a slog, but I have *never* experienced the kind of struggle I’ve faced every time I’ve tried to run since starting this statin. And I wasn’t even thinking that might be a side effect; the doctor prescribed it and I took it on a Thursday, I went out for my Friday run with no knowledge of reported statin side effects and found myself struggling mightily to keep moving. I’ve realized over two weeks that I’m fighting tired muscles, everywhere in my body. I feel this most acutely when trying to exercise, but even just sitting around my body feels like it would after a day of intense physical labor. I just want to sit down, slouch, and lean my body against things.

Long way of saying what I’m afraid this is telling me is that the root of my problem is deeper than just the mildly elevated cholesterol I have and that my reaction to the statin is an indication of this. And that either (a) the statin won’t work to bring down cholesterol or (b) even if it does, it won’t actually do anything to help my plaque situation. Something is terribly wrong in my body to have accumulated so much so early in life.