My father 60 years old has cramp pain in both calves in the legs on rest with burning i think lower when he warms them,he has high cholesterol and hypertention,on statins,is it statins or other cause
May 20, 2013
1- Statins are notorious for causing muscle pains, the most common statin side effect. This pain is described as a soreness, tiredness or weakness in muscles. The pain can be range from mild discomfort to severe pain that interferes with daily activities. For example, standing up from a sitting position, climbing stairs or walking can be uncomfortable or tiring. A sever yet not so common adverse effect is rhabdomyolysis or muscle tissue breakdown, and this is accompanied by kidney failure and liver damage.
You father must be closely followed-up by a cardiologist to make sure his blood pressure and cholesterol levels are under control, to do regular test to check that his muscles and liver are not damaged by the statins. He may also need a Duplex ultrasound of his legs to rule out any blockage of arteries.
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Muscle symptoms are common with statin drugs.“Myopathy," involving actual damage to muscle tissue, can be very serious. For this reason, if somebody develops new muscle pain, weakness, or tenderness on the drugs he should inform his dr immediately.Very rarely, if myopathy occurs and the drugs are not stopped, a very dangerous condition, called “rhabdomyolysis”, can occur.
Myopathy and rhabdomyolysis are more common if people are on other cholesterol lowering drugs, particularly niacin or gemfibrozil (or other “fibrates”), as well as a statin.
your father must undergo a blood test called a “CK” (creatine kinase) test that assesses whether muscle damage is present.in addition to the tests that dr dimassi pointed to,CK is a muscle enzyme, and the test is also done during suspected heart attacks, to test for damage to the heart muscle.normal levels of "CK" do not exclude a relation to statins.
to know it is statin or not the blamed for any side effect the doctor may let your father :
-Take a brief break from statin therapy.Taking a break of 10 to 14 days can give you some time to compare how you feel when you are and aren't taking a statin. This can help you determine whether your aches and pains are due to statins instead of something else.
-Switch to another statin drug. It's thought that simvastatin (Zocor) may be more likely to cause muscle pain as a side effect than other statins when it's taken at high doses.Newer statin drugs are being studied that may have may have fewer side effects.
-Change your dose. Lowering your dose may reduce some of your side effects, but it may also reduce some of the cholesterol-lowering benefits your medication has
-Consider other cholesterol-lowering medications.
-Muscle aches from statins can't be relieved with acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) the way other muscle aches are.
-Try coenzyme Q10 supplements may help to prevent statin side effects in some people
Myopathy and rhabdomyolysis are more common if people are on other cholesterol lowering drugs, particularly niacin or gemfibrozil (or other “fibrates”), as well as a statin.
your father must undergo a blood test called a “CK” (creatine kinase) test that assesses whether muscle damage is present.in addition to the tests that dr dimassi pointed to,CK is a muscle enzyme, and the test is also done during suspected heart attacks, to test for damage to the heart muscle.normal levels of "CK" do not exclude a relation to statins.
to know it is statin or not the blamed for any side effect the doctor may let your father :
-Take a brief break from statin therapy.Taking a break of 10 to 14 days can give you some time to compare how you feel when you are and aren't taking a statin. This can help you determine whether your aches and pains are due to statins instead of something else.
-Switch to another statin drug. It's thought that simvastatin (Zocor) may be more likely to cause muscle pain as a side effect than other statins when it's taken at high doses.Newer statin drugs are being studied that may have may have fewer side effects.
-Change your dose. Lowering your dose may reduce some of your side effects, but it may also reduce some of the cholesterol-lowering benefits your medication has
-Consider other cholesterol-lowering medications.
-Muscle aches from statins can't be relieved with acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) the way other muscle aches are.
-Try coenzyme Q10 supplements may help to prevent statin side effects in some people
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