How long do side effects from statins last once you stop taking them?

I wound up with myositis which has caused permanent damage to my swallowing ability. It is fortunate I survived.

Atorvastatin in 40 mg after my TIA 2023, after 3 months I could not stand the muscle pain. Stopped it and took a break 1 month then escalated, became 20 mg which I had for 2.5 years when my liver values became 3 times as high.
New doctor and have now started with Rosuvastatin for 1.5 months and now supplement with Ezetimide, going well so far.

Sorry, I posted my post twice!

My relief was almost immediately once I figured it out. I started by reducing medications one at a time and waiting 3 days between stopping another. Dr kept telling me it was arthritis but I knew something was wrong. He still does't believe me.

@carolinlv I am wondering the same thing. Did your side effects get better? And how long did it take? I am almost 2 months off of atorvastatin (80mg) and feel a little better, but still have crushing fatigue and flu-like feelings sometimes. Have to sleep or lie down more often than I did before the statin. Hoping it will get better

@carolinlv Did it ever get better? I messaged you the same question to a different response.

@danelle9354 I started Ezetimibe 10 mg June 2024, doctor added 5 mg of Rosuvastatin Oct 2024. A month later blood work look good. March 2025 my shoulders started aching, May 2025 I woke up the room was moving. I stopped the Rosuvastatin, the next I stopped Ezetimibe because I was not getting any better. I had shoulder aching I hardly pickup my arms, my hips ached.Oct 8 2025 the pain finally stopped but hip started back up I Nov. My PSA was 7.4 in June It was checked again in Sept it was 5.55 below normal for my age 81. Bitter Ruben liver function was 1.65 in Jan 2025, 1.40 Jun 2025 (normal is around 1.00) No more statins for me. I will be seeing my cardiologist at the end of November 2025

@270george It's been a year and four months and just recently I have seemingly resolved my inability to tolerate cholesterol medication. I tried the repatha in March for the second time after receiving it once in 2024 and feeling neuropathy pains., shaking and dizziness. It took four months to recover but I decided to try again to see if my reactions were the same as last year and they were. I was incapacitated with neuropathy pains, dizziness and shaking from March through May 2025. I stopped taking any cholesterol medication and just CQ10 and citrus bergamot which also caused dizziness. With diet and cardio I got my cholesterol down from 211 to 196 but my cardiologist and surgeon were still pushing cholesterol mediation and I was approved for Leqvio, the six month shot for lowering cholesterol in October. I had my first shot on October 27th. I had a week of feeling woozy but tno neuropathy pains. i want to have blood tests to see what my cholesterol is now that I am on this medication. So far I feel good although I am now on nortriptyline for migraines and it has also stopped the neuropathy pains in my legs. I am still woozy most days and so I do cardio and yoga which seems to help with that. It's a very frustrating and difficult road to navigate. I hope you find some answers soon.

I have lower right leg pain off and on for years. It got worse about in Nov 2025 maybe statin had made it worse. I had no leg pain while on statin. Doctor will be doing a EMG test Friday. I will talk to my cardiologist the end of Nov. about getting the shot. I know several people who are getting the shot (every two weeks or once a month ) and they have no problems with a shot. I do cardio and strength exercises almost everyday. I think it helps with the residual pain from the statin. Thank you for the information.

@270george This is not repatha which is every two weeks. The leqvio shot is done at the hospital and it's every six months but initially it's every three months so I received a shot in October and the next one is in January. after that it is every six months. In 2024 I had a bad reaction to statins that were introduced after my emergency angioplasty. I had never been on statins before and I had to go back to the hospital after taking them for a few weeks. My cardiologist put me on repatha this year but it also did not work well for me causing shakes and numbness in my legs and arms. You have to prove that none of the other cholesterol medications worked for you and that you have had reactions in order to be approved for Leqvio. Hopefully, your cardiologist can obtain it for you to try.