Pros and cons of taking a statin

Jun 28, 2016

High cholesterol affects more than 73 million adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can build up in your arteries, which lessens or blocks blood flow, and can cause a person to have more risk for heart attacks and strokes.

A type of medication called statins can help reduce high cholesterol and keep you living longer.

What is a statin?

Illustration - Prescription bottle of statins - Are statins safe? - Experts at Heart — Statin medications interfere with enzymes that produce cholesterol, so the liver doesn’t produce as much of this cholesterol-forming enzyme.

Statin medications interfere with enzymes that produce cholesterol, so the liver doesn’t produce as much of this cholesterol-forming enzyme. Shereif Rezkalla, M.D., a Marshfield Clinic cardiologist, says anyone who has coronary heart disease should be taking statins.

“The majority of my patients take statins, and they usually deal with them very well,” said Rezkalla.

The most common brand of statin is Lipitor®.

What are the benefits of taking statins?

Anyone who has high cholesterol should take statins. Rezkalla says you will live longer, have a lower risk for heart attacks and strokes and stay out of the hospital. People with diabetes also should take them.

“Patients with diabetes will benefit more from statins since they can be at a greater risk for a heart attack if they have diabetes and high cholesterol,” said Rezkalla.

What are the side effects of taking statins?

Liver enzyme changes are a possible side effect. However, the change has to be significantly higher, or around three times the normal amount of these enzymes.

Another side effect is muscle aches and pains. Occasional aches can be tolerable and require little treatment, but a small minority of patients may develop a severe muscle pain or weakness, but doctors monitor this. The final side effect is cognitive impairments such as confusion or memory loss, especially in older people.

“Some patients report cognitive impairments, but it needs more study,” said Rezkalla. “It is still unclear if statins or other factors affect impairments.”

When should you see a doctor about taking statins?

Most statin treatments should start in young adult life. Children should only take statins if they have a special condition, such as being born with a gene that causes them to have high cholesterol.

Statins are most effective when taking them before going to bed because the enzyme the medication blocks is produced at night.

Talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of taking a statin and if you have high cholesterol, make sure it’s routinely checked.

8 responses to “Pros and cons of taking a statin”

Bonnie M

Sep 21, 2017

I'm 64 years old. My doctor wants me to start taking statins. I've read articles that state that one of the side effects of taking statins is developing Type 2 diabetes. Which is the lesser of 2 evils?

Reply
1. Kirsten Shakal, Shine365 Editor
  
  Sep 21, 2017
  
  Hi, Bonnie. We cannot provide individualized medical advice on this forum, and do not know enough about your personal health history to determine that for you. Please bring this concern to your doctor.
  
  Thank you for reading Shine365. -Kirstie
  
  Reply
Diane

Sep 14, 2017

My cholesterol is high. I tried three different statins and all three made my Fibromyalgia flair so badly that I could hardly get out of bed. The pain was brutal. I'm taking oat bran and Krill oil now. My levels have not dropped much, but I keep hoping it will in time.

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Geraldine Mirko

Sep 13, 2017

I've fought my cholesterol for years, my PCP advised me to take a statin, unfortunately, it depleted me of CoQ10, as well as insomnia, constant nauseousness, muscle aches, mental dullness, I was poisoned by statins. I take medication to inhance my life not make miserable. I stopped taking the statin under PCP assistance.
I have my cholesterol under control by changing my lifestyle to vegetarian. All my lab numbers are beautiful.

Reply
Karrell Britz

Dec 29, 2016

1) I was on statins before my gastric bypass and used to have all sorts of aches and pains. I was able to go off shortly after the surgery in 2010. In 2015 my doctor put me back on them and now aches and pains are returning. So sometimes I skip a couple days of the statins and the pains go away for a couple weeks. Is that ok for my cholesterol treatment to skip some days once in a while?

2) My Dad took statins for many years, maybe 20 or 25 years. He died of alzheimers. You mention a possible memory link. Could the statins have caused his alzhiemers? No one else in his family ever had it.

Reply
1. Kirsten Shakal, Shine365 Editor
  
  Jan 3, 2017
  
  Hi, Karrell. Thanks for reading Shine365.
  
  We cannot provide individualized medical advice on this forum. You should contact your doctor regarding your medication schedule and side effects. If you are a Marshfield Clinic patient, you can use My Marshfield Clinic messaging to do so: http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/MyMarshfieldClinic
  
  As far as memory loss, there is not enough research around the topic; as mentioned in the story: “Some patients report cognitive impairments, but it needs more study,” said Dr. Rezkalla. “It is still unclear if statins or other factors affect impairments.”
  
  I hope this helps. -Kirstie
  
  Reply
Marilyn Steben

Jun 30, 2016

Since we go to TX every winter and get free grapefruit, when my doctor suggested some years ago that I start taking a statin drug. I said no because I didn't want to give up my grapefruit. The doctor said that would be ok but if my cholesterol levels went up the first winter he wanted me to go on the med. when I got back in the spring my cholesterol levels were normal so I never did start to take a statin drug. Then in the following years I lost a lot of weight and was taken off my diabetes meds also by my next doctor. It can be done begins Monday July 11th have a doctor who is willing to work with you. Now I take very few drugs but would like to get off a few of them also.

Reply
1. MS
  
  Jul 4, 2016
  
  I don't know how the words "begins Monday July 11" got in my remark above–auto correct I assume. It should have said "if you".
  
  Reply