I have been reading some research that suggests that with Zocor, there might be a connection over time. Then this morning I listened to a Dallas NPR station where a doc was minimizing this affect. His thinking was that if these symptoms occurred 4-6 months after starting a statin, then perhaps there would be more of a connection to the neuropathy. The jury is still out on this one. Thanks to @colleenyoung for your references,

Hello @colleenyoung. I finally had an EMG, which confirmed a diagnosis of carpel tunnel. He described the four levels (with four being the worst) and I am at level three. The neurologists did do some muscle conduction studies to check for statin damage, and concluded that the Zocor I had been taking was not an issue. He also checked my neck to make sure there was not a pinched nerve. His recommendation is to wear the wrist braces 24/7 for 2-3 months. If there is no improvement, the next step would be steroid injections, then surgery if that is not successful.
I am curious if there are any strengthening exercises I could be doing without aggravating the existing inflammation. At the same time, I am inclined to think that any exercises should wait until I see progress with the braces. Any thoughts on this? Thank you.

Good to hear you have an action plan @sjpphil. Before doing any exercises, I recommend talk to your doctor about it first. Rest may be better than exercise in this case. If strengthening exercises are recommended, you may wish to consult a knowledgeable physical therapist.

You are correct @colleenyoung! I am pushing the window by thinking that exercise is the way to go at this point. Resting the wrist to reduce any inflammation and more patience are in order for me! Thanks for all of your referrals to articles and other groups for discussion.

I was a worker's compensation adjuster for 30 years. Carpal tunnel was a condition that many of my workers had to deal with. Carpal tunnel is brought on by repetitive motion. No exercise please. Rest the wrist and most wear gear to keep the wrist from much movement. If your carpal tunnel is brought on by repetitive motion and you keep doing the same activity after surgery, then the surgery will not help you very much. The repetitive motion is causing a spasm that bumps/strikes the carpal bone in the wrist. A piece of bone is removed with surgery but the spasm will keep happening with continued over working of the wrist. I suppose that there could be another problem that would cause carpal tunnel pain but I am not aware of any. In 30 years, I never sent any of my workers for PT. The owner of the business would change working positions so that the same movements were not repeated after surgery. If you have an acute carpal tunnel problem, chances are great that the condition will wake you up in the wee hours of the morning with very much pain. I have found, for me, that in cases like this, I get a second opinion before any surgery. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon.

I have taken simvastatin for long time. I have recently been diagnosed with perpheral neuropathy I went off simvasatin for a month and litlle if any effect. Back on at half of prior dose Reduced from 40 to 20

Hello @ssandy, welcome to Mayo Connect. We are glad you found us. It's a good place to share your health concerns, ask questions and learn what others with similar health concerns are doing for treatment. I have small fiber peripheral neuropathy. My doctor tried to prescribe simvastatin to me to help with my cholesterol numbers but I turned it down specifically because there is evidence that it causes or makes neuropathy worse. I would have a discussion with your doctor. I told my doctor I would work on my diet to help my numbers.

Here are some helpful links that offer information on statins and neuropathy:

The implications of statin induced peripheral neuropathy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103035/

Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/8/2082.1

Medication Induced Neuropathy
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-003-0043-8

Can you share what your diagnosis is for taking simvastatin?

John

@ssandy Sandy, my dose of simvastatin was raised by half, and I was on it for a couple years. Then it was cut back to the original. In neither case did it make any difference in my neuropathy. I have tried Lyrica, and a bunch of others, and nothing has made any positive or negative difference. I have neuropathy everywhere. It just seems to bounce around...neck, jaw, feet, hands, butt, back, legs, everywhere. I have Light Chain Amyloidosis.

ThanksDoes exercise help?  I have seen some notes saying rest is better?How about acupuncture which seems  To have a cult of its own?

Someone asked why I was on simvasatin. Prescribed for high cholesterol. When i went off for a month my cholesterol jumped to 275Back on it at 20mg or half of prior dosage.