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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I have peripheal neuropathy and i wonder if caused by statins terrible muscle pain in legs stiff feet and tingling all over body.. my dr wants me to try repatha but i am concerned about i8t after reading reviews.

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@silvern12

I have peripheal neuropathy and i wonder if caused by statins terrible muscle pain in legs stiff feet and tingling all over body.. my dr wants me to try repatha but i am concerned about i8t after reading reviews.

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My cholesterol levels responded to Bergamot extract. My son who lives in Australia was put on it by his physician. It's an Italian citrus fruit, so I'm thinking it's effective because of its polyphenol content. But if you're taking any medications that say not to eat grapefruit, you shouldn't use this either. Its effect in increasing my good cholesterol was even more dramatic than my lower bad cholesterol numbers. It had the most stunning effect in lowering my triglycerides. Then I cut out white flour foods (pasta and bread) and red meat and my numbers got even better. Then I started walking for 20 minutes a day and they got better again. Right now I'm dealing with chemo-induced neuropathy, and I'm working my way through the long list of treatments that have been studied. It's been 18 months since I completed treatment. I'm still tingly with deadened feeling, but my fingers and toes no longer hurt to the touch, and my toenails that fell off have grown back.

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@writerbroad

My cholesterol levels responded to Bergamot extract. My son who lives in Australia was put on it by his physician. It's an Italian citrus fruit, so I'm thinking it's effective because of its polyphenol content. But if you're taking any medications that say not to eat grapefruit, you shouldn't use this either. Its effect in increasing my good cholesterol was even more dramatic than my lower bad cholesterol numbers. It had the most stunning effect in lowering my triglycerides. Then I cut out white flour foods (pasta and bread) and red meat and my numbers got even better. Then I started walking for 20 minutes a day and they got better again. Right now I'm dealing with chemo-induced neuropathy, and I'm working my way through the long list of treatments that have been studied. It's been 18 months since I completed treatment. I'm still tingly with deadened feeling, but my fingers and toes no longer hurt to the touch, and my toenails that fell off have grown back.

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How much did it help your players drone and did you have any side effects with it I take rosuvastatin and it's killing me right now my body

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@gator123

How much did it help your players drone and did you have any side effects with it I take rosuvastatin and it's killing me right now my body

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I'm sorry I meant how much did your numbers

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@ubelinda

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

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From recent literature, Statins like Lipitor are known to increase blood glucose levels and may result in diabetes, not in all, but some people. This in turn may also add to neuropathy.

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@gator123

How much did it help your players drone and did you have any side effects with it I take rosuvastatin and it's killing me right now my body

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I'm reorganizing all my files right now, and I can't find the chart where I kept track of all that. I think my total cholesterol went down to 200 (still a high number), but my good cholesterol went way up. The most dramatic was my very high triglycerides settled down well into normal territory. I've had no side effects. I took two 500 mg capsules 30 minutes before breakfast for a month, then one capsule daily. You can read comments on Amazon how other people take it. There is a very good book out written by Bowden and Sinatra (a nutritionist and a cardiologist) with the unfortunate title THE GREAT CHOLESTEROL MYTH. I call it unfortunate because it's sounds so sensational that some people don't take it seriously, but it cites hundreds of clinical studies that support their statements. There is a new edition out that includes all the bergamot studies. My doctors still test my cholesterol, but the only number I pay attention to is triglycerides. The studies they cite show that women should never take statins, and they are only helpful for middle-aged men who have had a heart attack.

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I take meds at night that are contraindicated with grapefruit, but I’m able to take citrus bergamot without issue.

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@joslyn

I take meds at night that are contraindicated with grapefruit, but I’m able to take citrus bergamot without issue.

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I take the supplement midday.

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I was prescribed and started Avorstatin recently and quickly had side effects of and exacerbation of muscle pain, fatigue, cognition/vision/dizziness issues which were already present from some cardiac issues/meds. Would be interested in trying a different type (hydrophylic) statin as they are known to have less side effects, preferably rosuvastatin or pravastatin which I came upon partially from this article entitled...
"Take a lower dose""
- "A little statin is better than none, so try taking the lowest dose of a hydrophilic statin once a week. For example, start with rosuvastatin 2.5 mg on Mondays. If you can tolerate it, add 2.5 mg on Thursdays. If that doesn't bother you, add a third day. Another option is to stay on the twice-weekly schedule and raise the dose to 5 mg. By introducing statins slowly, 70% of statin intolerant patients end up being able to take a statin, 60% of them can take it every day, and 10% can take it three times a week, Dr. Cho says."

I haven't been able to get my cardiologist to start this yet but after quitting the statin on my own, I began taking 3000mg (2000mg is the minimum suggested dosage) of plant sterols/stanols which are fairly effective at reducing the bad cholesterol. It's my understanding that the stanols are better at this but it's hard to find stanols by themselves. Benecol is a stanol product that is put into buttery spreads and is also available in chews and a drink, which is the one I would prefer, but the drink is only available in Europe I believe, the chews are very expensive and a little hard to find and even the buttery spread is not available in stores in my area and I really don't use butters or margarines at all, so it's not a choice for me. What I'm using right now is a product called Cholest off which I got from my Costco and is made by Naturemade and widely available. Niacin in fairly large doses is proven to be effective but the niacin flush is too much for me. Likewise there are other supplements that are supposed to help such are garlic, etc.

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@lvnv89131

I was prescribed and started Avorstatin recently and quickly had side effects of and exacerbation of muscle pain, fatigue, cognition/vision/dizziness issues which were already present from some cardiac issues/meds. Would be interested in trying a different type (hydrophylic) statin as they are known to have less side effects, preferably rosuvastatin or pravastatin which I came upon partially from this article entitled...
"Take a lower dose""
- "A little statin is better than none, so try taking the lowest dose of a hydrophilic statin once a week. For example, start with rosuvastatin 2.5 mg on Mondays. If you can tolerate it, add 2.5 mg on Thursdays. If that doesn't bother you, add a third day. Another option is to stay on the twice-weekly schedule and raise the dose to 5 mg. By introducing statins slowly, 70% of statin intolerant patients end up being able to take a statin, 60% of them can take it every day, and 10% can take it three times a week, Dr. Cho says."

I haven't been able to get my cardiologist to start this yet but after quitting the statin on my own, I began taking 3000mg (2000mg is the minimum suggested dosage) of plant sterols/stanols which are fairly effective at reducing the bad cholesterol. It's my understanding that the stanols are better at this but it's hard to find stanols by themselves. Benecol is a stanol product that is put into buttery spreads and is also available in chews and a drink, which is the one I would prefer, but the drink is only available in Europe I believe, the chews are very expensive and a little hard to find and even the buttery spread is not available in stores in my area and I really don't use butters or margarines at all, so it's not a choice for me. What I'm using right now is a product called Cholest off which I got from my Costco and is made by Naturemade and widely available. Niacin in fairly large doses is proven to be effective but the niacin flush is too much for me. Likewise there are other supplements that are supposed to help such are garlic, etc.

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Statins will increase, or initiate neuropathy. There is no evidence anywhere that is proof that statins reduce death under any circumstances. Statins are the intersection of politics, group think, and effective sales techniques.

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