Answer/Reply:

I had a similar experience while taking Crestor 5mg daily. Racing heart, sinking or falling sensation, as though in a tunnel and dropping. I went to my PCP while this was happening and had to see a different doctor. He said it might have been an anxiety attack, which I have never had before or since. Personally, I think my blood sugar was to low. (I'm hypoglycemic).
In any event, it hasn't happened since. (several months ago) It never occured to me that the Crestor could be responsible.

56 year old Male

Posted: 2009-01-02 18:08:18

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I was switched from Lipitor 80mg to Crestor 20 mg. I have never had muscle cramps or aching, but what I think has happened was heart rhytym disturbance, more so than usual. I have always had an arrhythmia, but never like this. It got so bad I could barely walk up three steps without being very winded. Wound up in the ER over this past Thanksgiving, all tests, X-rays and EKGs normal, except for rhythm. I was having back to back to back PVCs, all day long and all night long, which was the cause of the shortness of breath, inefficient rate. I was put on 50mg Toprol and it helped for about a week, then back I went again to the back to back PVCs. I ran out of Crestor and still had a full bottle of Lipitor, so got back on the Lipitor. Began a walking program, and after perhaps 8 Lipitor, and for the first time in months, I can walk up stairs without being extremely short of breath. My rhythm is not nearly as irritable, and I can hold a conversation without losing breath. This would have been scary except all the ER tests showed absolutely nothing but rhythm distrubances. I am waiting to see if withholding the Crestor continues to improve my rate. BTW - my LDL was only 10 points over high normal when my cardiologist switched me to Crestor. My trigs and HDL were perfect.
Rhythm issues will make you think you are having an anxiety attack. The next time this occurs and if you are still on Crestor, you may need an EKG. Just remember, the jury is still out on side effects with the statins. Also remember, it was less than 25 years ago when the medical world said that cholesterol needed to be under 350 to be healthy.

Posted: 2009-02-04 22:50:45

Answer/Reply:

I was on crestor, 10 mgs at bedtime for a little over a year with no side effects. Then within the past few months I noticed a fast pulse, usually 45 minutes after taking it. One night I got up and took my blood pressure and was shocked to find it was 175/110 ! I checked it for the next week and it was always high and with a fast pulse. My doctor has taken me off it for the time being, and was surprised to hear of this side effect.

59 year old Female

Posted: 2009-09-30 14:24:31

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Increased blood pressure or pulse rate are not listed as reported side effects in the Crestor prescribing informaiton. It is possible there is another underlying cause. It is best to continue monitoring your symptoms and discussing them with your physician if they continue.

Posted: 2009-10-30 23:53:41

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

In a newspaper article in a local newspaper I found out that any statin can lower the presence of a co-enzyme called Q10. When that is lowered muscle aches, fatigue and something called exercise intolerance. I think exercise intolerance means that after you exercise the muscle ache an fatigue are worsened. I have experienced this myself. The answer seems to be to take the Q10 supplement as long as you're taking a statin. I'm not a doctor, I'm not prescribing this to you. All I am saying is that Q10 has worked very well for me. Please do discuss this with your doctor, tho I believe this study is very new and most cardi's won't be on to this just yet. I have included a transcript of the article for your perusal.

Good luck.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
This correspondence appeared in the Southtown Star on December 14, 2008.


Dear. Dr. Gott:

I am a physician in California. I thought you would like to know a little about statin therapy and co-enzyme Q10. According to a publication in the Archives of Neurology, atorvastatin (Lipitor) has been shown to decrease CO-Q10 by about 50 per cent in one month. This depletion may lead to exercise intolerance and muscle pain and inflammation.
I, personally, have had many patients better tolerate statins when given the co-enzyme Q10 as well. Please pass this on to your readers and other physicians.

Dear Reader:

Thank you for informing me of this finding. I have received a few sporadic letters regarding administration of CO-Q10 with statins. Yours was one of the only ones that included a reference. Given this information, I must now recommend that people taking statins talk to their physicians about the possibility of adding the enzyme supplement, especially if they are experiencing aching muscles and joints. I must also point out that if these symptoms continue to worsen or do not respond to the additional CO-Q10, then it is time to consider non-statin cholesterol reducers.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: 2008-12-24 08:37:38

Answer/Reply:

There is no pill that can take the place of healthy diet and exercise. The "muscle pain, hair loss and all over body pain" that you speak of is part of life for many people on statins.

52 year old Male

Posted: 2009-02-02 05:18:17

Answer/Reply:

Yes there is, CQ10 which is an OTC vitamin which is supposed to help the side effects of statins. Check it out on line. It's kind of expensive, but well worth it if it works.

62 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-04 14:11:14

Answer/Reply:

Statins like crestor are high risk to muscles. The medical literature talks about this.

52 year old Male

Posted: 2009-02-02 05:15:36

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I have been on Crestor 20mg for over two years. My physician has increased Crestor to 40 mg once a day. Since then I am having swelling in my stomach. I look as if I am 7 mos pregnate. I am male, 65 yrs old.

Posted: 2009-02-02 20:29:52

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

If you think you should see another doctor...DO IT! You shouldn't hesitate to get a second, third, or fourth opinion! If your current doctor is offended so be it...he doesn't live in your body and know it like you do. Medicine is not an exact science...each body is different...we each have our own DNA and if we must take an active part in our medical treatment. The doctor's today are for the most part over-whelmed with patients...so if you don't take care of you...who will?

Posted: 2009-01-07 19:17:43

Answer/Reply:

You need to get off the Crestor and see if some or all of your illnesses go away. My mom and brother can't take any of the statins because of all the problems it caused them. You need to find another doctor if this one is not willing to take you off of your meds one at a time to see if your symtoms go away. Statins do have alot of side effects.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 17:52:29

Answer/Reply:

I take tricor and crestor and it wasn't helping me. The doctor decided to add prescription stength omega-3 which is called lovaza. It is working. On my last doctor visit my levels have dropped.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 18:10:20

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I am also 63 years old and yes I also have hair loss. I did not even associate this with taking the Crestor, but it started shortly after I started taking crestor.

Posted: 2008-11-20 08:08:06

Answer/Reply:

I am a 54 yr old female on Crestor for maybe 6 months or longer. Everytime I take a shower and go to squeeze the water out of my hair, a lot of hair comes out. I have thick hair, but at this rate, I'll be bald at 65.

56 year old Female

Posted: 2008-11-21 19:43:28

Answer/Reply:

I also am taking Crestor (under protest) as my level is not that high, taking more for prevention of potential threat. I just joined this site and found that clonidine was possibly making my hair thinner and it was rapidly coming out but believe crestor contributes too. I also suffer leg pain and sore muscles but Drs. think this is worth the "good" that crestor does. I am almost to the point of giving up some of the meds as the side effects are almost as bad as the problem it is supposedly helping.
We go to Drs. trying to stay healthy but sometimes we are given so many drugs that I am questioning the quality of life .Are the side effects worth it?

71 year old Female

Posted: 2008-11-29 21:57:44

Answer/Reply:

I totally agree with you on that I was taking crestor for about 7 months or so and I am experiencing muscle pain in my shoulders, hands, and ankles constantly but it's worse when I lie down. I am also on Metformin for diabetes and Atenolol and Micardis for blood pressure and I feel like i was feeling alot better before taking any of this meds. I am almost tempted just to stop taking them all together. I just switched from Crestor to Ezetrol about 4 days ago but I have been off the Crestor for about two weeks and i still have pain.

47 year old Female

Posted: 2008-12-15 20:22:17

Answer/Reply:

I am 67 and in a similar situation. I am statin intolerant but need a statin to lower LDL and CRP.
I have read a lot about using low dose statins and fish oil (Lovaza). So I convinced my doctor to start me on a very low dose of Crestor. 2.5 mg every other day....I have read that even doses as low as this, lower cholesterol significantly and that if the dose is titrated for each individual starting very low to avoid side effects and perhaps increasing slowly a lot of the side effects can be mitigated and the desired effect can still be attained. Do a google search on Low Dose Statins and fish oil or just low dose statins. There is a Japanese study that for people who need just a small lowering of LDL huge doses are not needed. If you have a high CRP fish oil and other modalities can lower it as well as High Dose Crestor. Even 10 mg daily of Crestor gives me horrible muscle pains so I have to be extra cautious.

68 year old Female

Posted: 2008-12-25 10:21:27

Answer/Reply:

I take crestor and tricor and neither were helping so my doctor also started me on lovaza. On my last dr visit my levels have started to drop.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 18:14:43

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

be careful with clonodine. my 11 year old son now has alopecia areata because of it. it is severe not a nice thing for him

Posted: 2009-02-19 00:14:13

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I'm a 50 year old woman and have been taking Crestor for about three months and every time I wash my hair I notice my hair is falling out, and I can see it thinning out on my forehead. I'm wondering whether it's worth cutting down on the Crestor, i.e. taking every second or third day instead of daily and whether that will improve the hair condition.

Posted: 2008-12-03 10:27:18

Answer/Reply:

I suffered from hair loss as well as being cold all the time. Have you had your Thyriod checked.
My hair loss greatly decrease after starting thyroid medication. As far as having any side effects from Crestor. I have had none. I tried several cholestrol lowering drugs and nothing helped. The combination of chestor and Zetia brought me from 340 - 167.

48 year old Female

Posted: 2009-01-10 23:35:50

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Is Crestor safe to take

Posted: 2008-11-08 18:16:14

Answer/Reply:

I don't know if I would take something that may affect my liver. My husband has Hep C and did the drug studies and none of them work.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 18:23:40

Answer/Reply:

I have been taking Crestor for over 2 years and also take Calcium with D and have not had any side effects. I had taken several other meds for Cholestrol and none worked as good as Crestor in getting my numbers down to a normal range. It is a more costly drug for me but well worth the extra $$$ to have good numbers for the first time since the early 1980's when they came out with meds for this condition.I also take Plavix which I just started and so far have had no ill side effects from that at this time.

68 year old Female

Posted: 2008-11-12 06:41:22

Answer/Reply:

I started taking 5 mg Crestor 10/15/08 and now have developed high Calcium levels in my blood lab work. Also, leg cramps at night. I would like to know if Crestor might be the cause of this.
I was for taking Pravacol before switching to Crestor

73 year old Male

Posted: 2008-11-21 19:40:02

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

No, you can not take grapefruit in any form with a statin or any other medication ... as it will allow a build up of the medications in your liver and can cause adverse effects and damage your liver.

Posted: 2008-11-07 03:29:06

Answer/Reply:

I'm not sure about the grapefruit issue.

But I can tell you this. The CDC states that half of all heart attacks occur in people with low to normal cholesterol. So when you lowered your cholesterol from 291 down to 159, you shifted your risk from the 50% group that has heart attacks, to the other 50% group that has just as many heart attacks.

The real shift here that matters is the $1,300 month from patient and insurance company, to the drug company's pockets.

52 year old Male

Posted: 2008-11-17 15:04:43

Answer/Reply:

Corrrection: $1,300 per year, not month

52 year old Male

Posted: 2009-02-02 05:20:51

Answer/Reply:

My husbands numbers were normal and had a heart attack in June 2008. He had to have a quadruple bypass.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 18:33:35

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Statins like atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), and lovastatin (Mevacor) are broken down by an enzyme in the liver and grapefruit juice may prevent this enzyme from working on the break down of these statins. This ends up increasing the statin drug level in the blood and may increase the risk of side effects.

Some of the other statins such as fluvastatin (Lescol), pravastatin (Pravachol), and rosuvastatin (Crestor) have little to no interaction with grapefruit juice since they are broken down differently.

Posted: 2008-10-03 15:12:40

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Many statins (such as Crestor) have been shown to reduce cholesterol / lipids, and reduce risk of cardiovascular problems over the long term. Sadly, most studies of these drugs look at the rate of growth of plaque rather than regression.... e.g. most studies report taking DRUG A meant that plaques grew more slowly than for patients taking DRUG B.

Posted: 2008-07-22 13:07:17

Answer/Reply:

I read an article that to low LDL or to high LDL causes raise in caner (75-85 %). They looked for a 4.5 year period. I think my LDL is too low. I will discus this with my internist.

I now use 10 mg, maybe 5 mg is better for me ?

39 year old Male

Posted: 2008-08-29 23:05:08

Answer/Reply:

There is such a thing as too low LDL. LDL, the one marketeers call "bad" serves a very important purpose in our health.

LDL is a protien that carries cholesterol from the liver to the tissues of the body. Once on the job site, LDL goes to work repairing damaged cells. Cholesterol is the building blocks to new cells, and gives cell walls their structural integrity. Think of cholesterol as serving the same purpose as the 2x4 studs in the walls of your house.

The body uses LDL to make steroid hormones. ALL your steroid hormones are manufactured fom LDL.

LDL is used to help maintaine your nervous system. It carries cholesterol from your liver to your nerve pathways. It forms the layer of insulation on your nerves to help ensure smooth nerve impulses.

Without LDL cholesterol, we would not exist. Its saves your life everyday. In fact, while you were reading this posting LDL saved your life. But Marketeers don't talk about that.

52 year old Male

Posted: 2009-02-02 05:34:09

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Crestor is a statin....all statin drugs used for colesterol reduction can attack and destroy muscle cell structures causing pain and weakness mainly in the legs....however you must remember that the heart is a muscle as well.....statin drugs are supposed to safe guard the heart muscle....???

Posted: 2008-08-04 03:13:12

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

I am not sure, but I do know that I started Crestor 3 weeks ago and I am fatigued and coughing like crazy.

Posted: 2008-09-06 08:43:13

Answer/Reply:

I've been on Crestor,Tricor and Zetia since June. For about 3 mos. I started feeling alot of pain in my body. I also have MS. I thought my legs were finally starting to give out. I've been scared out of my mind. someone told me about side effects from these meds. It all fits. My brother-in-law went thru the same thing...ya know, as bad as it hurts everywhere, I'm relieved. Hopefully, it's not my MS doing this.I called my cardio dr. and was told to drop Crestor(40 mg.) for a month...I hold out hope that this is just a side effects of a drug. If not...well..I guess it's time to make another attitude adjustment. Maybe.. my time's run out..I just hope it's the meds.I'm trying to keep good thoughts.

57 year old Female

Posted: 2008-10-27 22:07:19

Answer/Reply:

I think it is the crestor.

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-02 18:46:38

Answer/Reply:

I have been taking Crestor for a couple of months now. I have been suffering from severe muscle pain, my asthma has become worse as well. I went to a doctor and had some tests done and it turns out that Crestor has caused me suffer from Muscular Dystrophy - which means my muscles have wasted away.
I advise everyone not to take this medication, there are surely other cholesterol lowering drugs that dont cause all this.

55 year old Male

Posted: 2008-08-06 09:11:20

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Please honestly google "Baba Ramdev" in India a "true Yoga guru" and please have an open mind, I did not not initially but you'll be amazed at the results. Half of Indian wakes up to him in the morning.

Posted: 2009-02-17 16:16:14