When the Cure is worse than the Complaint.

This is about something that can happen to some people on cholesterol medications.

My husband has been through a very difficult time because of tablets prescribed for cholesterol. The first tablets affected his liver so the doctor put him onto a different one. After a while he became increasingly tired and started losing weight. His ribs were sticking out and his previously strong arms and legs started wasting away. He was unable to mow the lawn or do other normal things and finally could hardly walk. He had great difficulty working and it was sheer will power and the grace of God that kept him going.

It was difficult for the doctor to figure out what was going on because my husband also has a medical condition that is complex and difficult to treat and no-one thought of his cholesterol tablets being involved until someone he knows said “Wait till you hear what happened to me”. They were on the same cholesterol tablets and had got so bad their legs would not support them and they would fall down. Their doctor immediately took them off the tablets and sent them to a physio for advice on rehabilitation.
My husband stopped his tablets and went to his doctor to let him know he wasn’t taking them any more. It has taken months for him to regain some strength and he has a long way to go to get back to how he was. Our pharmacist had not heard of people being affected like that, but just chatting to people in our neighbourhood we came across three others who had experienced the same thing.

When I googled the two tablets I learned that they are in a group called statins. I was shocked to find that the most severe form of the side effect my husband experienced is potentially fatal. I also found that there were two programs on TV last year warning people of the danger. Unfortunately we had not seen these.
One type of statin which caused fatalities was withdrawn in America and there was a class action against the manufacturer. In America there were also petitions to withdraw the tablet my husband was on, but when the pharmaceutical company came out with a lower dose version it was allowed.

Not everyone on cholesterol tablets is affected in this way, but I want to let all MoMs know so that if it happens to someone in your family who is taking cholesterol medication, you will be aware that it may be the tablet causing the problem.

Posted anonymously, 23rd May 2014

22 Comments

- - dannsbuild said
  - 29 Sep 2015
    11:58 pm
Really quite a good story! Thanks so much for sharing this!

- - mom81879 said
  - 20 Sep 2015
    6:37 pm
I have just been diagnosed with a fatty liver and told I may need cholesterol medicine. Thank you so much for the heads up, I know what to watch for

- - Sandra_S said
  - 22 May 2015
    5:29 pm
It’s good to hear about things like this.

- - mom113055 said
  - 26 Apr 2015
    3:35 pm
i ike these stories

- - mom113055 said
  - 13 Apr 2015
    1:07 pm
the story is exellent

- - mom113055 said
  - 07 Apr 2015
    11:44 am
top story to read

- - mom109463 said
  - 08 Mar 2015
    6:13 pm
This sounds so common, all medications have side effects and not all of the side effects are documented, I take about 8 different medication and every now and again when I get a new symptom the meds are the first thing my specialist looks at, he told me once that he has seen some weird things with medications and he is always wary of any interactions. pleased that you resolved the issue.

- - tamandimmy said
  - 26 May 2014
    8:15 pm
That is really scary, I hope that your husband is on the mend now

- - mrsdew17 said
  - 26 May 2014
    5:16 pm
Thanks for sharing your experience. Guess that every person will have a different reaction to the medication.

- - cinta said
  - 26 May 2014
    12:27 pm
wow how scary, glad your hubby is on the mend, but always if something is going on and your doc doesnt know get another opinion

- - mel1 said
  - 26 May 2014
    12:21 pm
My mum had to stop them too. Very sore legs and muscles. Its very common. Best to try deal with cholestrol through diet and exercise before trying the tablets.
- eestigirl replied
  
  26 May 2014 , 8:32 pm
  That’s what I think too. You know another possible side effect of the tablets is to elevate cholesterol. The wierd thing is the side effects can be found online but no information sheet is supplied in the packaging.
- - ashblonde said
  - 25 May 2014
    11:27 pm
Wow! It certainly makes you aware of what Dr’s prescribe you can sometimes be lethal. I was on a diabetic medication that was banned in the US in 2010 because it was linked to causing heart failure but it took another 2 years for it to be banned here in Australia. Fortunately no side effects for me.
- eestigirl replied
  
  26 May 2014 , 4:46 am
  Oh my goodness! What a shock for you to learn that! I’m glad it was finally banned here and that you were not affected by it.
- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 25 May 2014
    10:07 am
I’m sorry to hear about this terrible experience your husband had to go through. Statins I knew caused muscles soreness and lethargy etc but I hadn’t heard of people being affected this badly. Thanks for sharing your story and making people aware

- - meimei said
  - 24 May 2014
    7:10 pm
Really right medications can be harmful. It happen to my father in law. The medication make him hard to breath.

- - Kelly said
  - 24 May 2014
    7:08 pm
I suffer with really high cholesterol and the doctor has tried to put me on different types of tablets but none have yet worked, thankfully I\’ve not had any of the side effects that you have mentioned.
hope everything goes ok with your hubby

- - damish70 said
  - 24 May 2014
    4:23 pm
Sorry to hear about your husband-he’s certainly one of the 1 in 1000 cases that this does happen to but in general these statins work wonders in reducing one’s cholesterol levels & reduce their risk of heart disease

- - arcticwynta said
  - 24 May 2014
    4:19 pm
it is scary when these this happen when you expect them to help. I hope Hubby is on the mend.
My Hubby was given a c brand of one of his medication and while he was asleep he pulled everything out of boxes which before going to be we had packed alot of things o get put in the shed. Well he emptied every box all over the floors of 2 rooms and made by stacking the boxes into a pyramid on the kitchen bed. He got up not longer after me while I am standing their with my Jaw dropped when he came out and said to me why did you do this for when we only packed it last night. I assured him it was not me it was him I than went and opened the front door to find a drill he had taken the security door off. It turned out it was some thing they put in the coating of that medication in the generic brand,,,so scary to think the car keys where hanging near buy. So for ages I hid the car keys just in case but it has never happened since he has the non generic brand now and the chemist has it on file now

- - tilly said
  - 24 May 2014
    8:32 am
Thankyou for sharing. Medications can be harmful and I have dealt with problems myself but for other reasons.

- - krissy333 said
  - 24 May 2014
    5:15 am
Wow! Is your husband ok now? Did they find him a medication that did not negatively affect him? Thanks so much for the warning.
- eestigirl replied
  
  24 May 2014 , 6:17 am
  Thanks for asking:)
  He’s getting stronger every day. He goes for walks, mows the lawn, does gardening etc and has got a good appetite again. He is looking forward to cycling again one day and has started from scratch working out with kettle bell weights.
  Instead of medication, he takes Ubiquinol, a concentrated form of CoQ10 which is meant cholesterol from sticking to artery walls and causing clots. We found that your body makes less of this enzyme as you get past 40 so it’s good to take CoQ10 anyway for well being.