All is not well in the world of treatment of high cholesterol levels with statins, however. While statins are extremely effective in the treatment of cholesterol levels, the problem arises of statin side effects.
These statin side effects are common to statins as a group, but can be more for certain members of the statin family, and less for others.
The incidence of statin side effects also varies depending on the individual taking the statin, and whether the statin is taken alone or in conjunction with other drugs. Statin side effects, while minimal, can be sometimes potentially disturbing and can be serious enough to warrant discontinuation of the drug.
Following is the list of the most common statin side effects.
Muscle pain. This is said to be the most common side effect. This comes on as soreness, weakness or tiredness of your muscles. This may be so mild as to be a simple discomfort when walking or can be so severe that it causes pain when climbing stairs. Very rarely, the condition of rhabdomyolysis may occur, where there is severe muscle damage, leading to liver and kidney failure and death.
Liver Damage. Sometimes statins cause a rise in liver enzymes. If the increase is mild, it is said to be safe to continue the drug. Moderate rises usually can be reversed by discontinuing the drug. Because the effect is different in different people and in different statins, the doctor may recommend a different statin. Continued use of the drug in the face of a marked rise of liver enzymes may lead to liver damage. Liver damage may be totally asymptomatic. It is thus advisable for one to have liver function tests done about 6 week after starting a course of statins, and monitor these every 3 to 6 months or so.
Gastrointestinal Symptoms. The usual symptoms are nausea, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea or constipation. These statin side effects, although very common as a whole for all users of all medicines, are said to be rather rare with statin therapy. It is suggested that statins be taking in the evening or nights to reduce the incidence of these side effects.
