reboot9911

I am taking a generic statin drug (10mg, for cholesterol). Taking it for about a month. I've been feeling kind of lathargic over the last week and during my road ride today. I felt lousy. Does anyone else take statins? Do you feel any side affects? If so, what did you do about it? Please help.

Rockrivr1

Hi Reboot,

I've been taking Statins for about 5-6 years now and yes, sometimes they can make you feel wierd as your body gets used to them. There is a difference though between feeling wierd and getting cramps and unexplained pain. Either way I'd talk to your doctor about it, just to be sure. I luckily didn't have any adverse effects with the brand I was taking after I got used to them, but I know of few people that had to try a couple different ones before they found the one that worked for them.

I can't stress this enough. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns. Better safe then sorry.

Pman

This will be my first season after beginning taking a statin. I haven't noticed any difference in my weight training so hopefully that carries into cycling as well. We shall see...

reboot9911

Hi Rockrivr1,
I have switched once already due to cramps. To clarify, on my road ride today, I felt like I had ridden a hard 50 miler yesterday. My legs muscle felt "tired" and kind of "used up". This was 10 miles into my ride! FYI: I did not ride yesterday - in fact, I did a short mtb ride on Wed., that's it. I don't remember this from previous seasons. I don't want to over think this whole thing. I do talk to my doctor. So far I can't really pin point anything real bad - I just think I should be riding better and feeling better. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar. Maybe I should just shut up and ride . . .
Thanks for your reply.

pipes

I am one of the few the feel awful on them can't take them ! After about 2 months I got so bad I could barely walk . lost energy the whole world got hard to deal with I was so sore and tired . off them 2 weeks and was back to normal .

satbuilder 

I was on Lipitor a few years ago. Went to the gym to do some cardio and hit the wall after 20 minutes. Prior to that I could an hour hard no problem.

Told my dr about it and have been off it ever since.

Not a fan.

127.0.0.1

the supposed bad and good cholesterol are important to muscle recovery....

so anything that punches your liver from the inside out (statins) which reduce your
cholesterol, can and will affect muscle recovery in some people

reboot9911

Hi Gang,
I posted the original question about statins. I've been giving it time to see if they're working for me.
I want to know that as a cyclist (doing a harder cardio workout than a non-cyclist), will statins affect me more than a non-cyclist? I seem to be tired a lot. It can change from day to day. Does anyone else feel tired from statins?
My legs felt heavy and tired after just a 10-mile easy road ride the other day. That's definately not like me. Has anyone else had this experience?
I was on Simvastatin 10mg (generic Zocor) for about a month. Obviously I'll check with my doctor but I really think they only know what the pharma companies tell them. I know my own body better than they do. I was hoping to find someone on this board who might be experiencing similar symptoms Thanks for your input so far.

Road Ferret

I take 10mg/day Crestor. I get leg muscle cramps, toe cramps. I don't feel tired per se. I do spend more time stretching before and after rides and sometimes down a protein shake after rides too.

Orroadie

Hi,

I have been taking 10 mg simvastatin for about 7 years and am a cyclist. Statins have the capacity to induce lethargy whether you are exercising or not, although 10 mg is a relatively low dose. Here's what I found out. All statins block the production of CoEnzyme Q, an essential enzyme needed for muscle health and support cell mitochondria. Exercise by nature stresses muscle groups including the heart muscle. Fatigue is quite common among those taking statins, especially if you are older, and exercise vigorously. I started taking CoEnzyme Q and have no tiredness or muscle fatigue when cycling. However, if I do intensive weight training, I feel soreness and fatigue more so than normal. Many doctors are not aware that Co Enzyme Q can mitigate the effect of statins. The most effective type of CoEnzyme Q is ubiquinol, 100 mg (as opposed to ubiquinone). I am 66. Hope that helps.

Myosmith

Some health care providers hand out statins like they were chicken soup. They may have benefits but they also come with risks. Each individual must weigh one against the other. Statins aren't for everyone and some people have significant side effects. After trying three different statins I gave up due to fatigue, body aches and (most concerning) cognitive changes including serious impairment of short-term memory and speech fluency (difficulty finding words or having that "on the tip of my tongue" issue for common terms). The symptoms would come on over weeks or months and abate within a week or two of stopping the statin. I tried the CoQ10 and it may have helped the fatigue to some degree, but not the cognitive changes.

metalheart44

I have been taking various statin drugs for about 12 years. I cycle about 6k per year and do a reasonable amount of climbing and can usually hold my own in faster club rides. I take 80mg of atorvastatin (generic lipitor) and seem to have no effects. However, as Orroadie noted above, it is useful if not important to take Coq10 supplements, 100 mg per day or whatever your doc recommends. As you probably know by now, there are about 5 different statin drugs and some work better than others for particular individuals. Work with your doc to find the right drug and dose and I personally think it is essential to take the Coq10 supplement.

superdex

I take red rice yeast, and read that statins affect cellular energy blah blah -- so I also take CoQ10 to compensate....

Carbonfiberboy 

Due to a sequence of probably fortunate events, I was just diagnosed with a 50% blockage of my left anterior descending artery (LAD). Which is actually not too bad for someone my age. Still, and even though my cholesterol levels are pretty good, I'm going on 20mg of generic Lipitor. I've only been on it for 2 days and have taken 100mg of CoQ10 for many years. So far I notice no difference, but I wonder if it takes a while to notice muscle or other problems, and if so, how long? Yesterday I did some Fastpedal on my rollers, then went to the gym an lifted for an hour. All normal. I had a strong 33 mile ride today, did a lot of out of saddle work, high HR, sprints, etc.

ModeratedUser17082018

When my cardio doc told me to double my statin dosage to 40 mg, I felt no changes at first. Within about a week, I noticed some mild muscle ache in the large muscles of my back - felt like I always needed a good stretch. It become very uncomfortable - constant twitchy/aching feeling. I backed off to the original 20mg and then slowly increased to 40mg which seems to be ok for now.

rideorfly

Definitely check with your doctor.

Fatigue, muscle pain, and muscle cramps are possible side effects from statins. Your doctor can always try you on a different statin to see if that helps.

As other have said above, please take supplemental CoQ10 with your statin. (Of course, you should talk to your doctor before starting CoQ10). CoQ10 and cholesterol are made in the same pathway. So while statins block the production of cholesterol, they also block the production of CoQ10.

The implications of low CoQ10 levels are still being studied, but we know that CoQ10 is essential for cellular energy production and overall heart and blood vessel health.

ModeratedUser17082018

Well now I feel dumb replying to an ancient dead thread. Hope the OP is still amongst the living.

metalheart44

It is a recurring question and so a post to share current experience always seems relevant....

rob214

i feel better not taking statins, it's been a couple of months now that i stopped taking them and i'm planning to get my cholesterol checked soon to see if my current diet is working for me. i was getting all the bad symptoms, i had been taking them for 2 years. i feel much better without them
rob

Ball Bearing

I know several men who took statins for years before they had heart attacks. I wouldn't take them.

NealH

I would not take them either. Maintain a healthy weight and get a lot of exercise. Forget about drugs, unless there is a critical need. High cholesterol isn't one of them imho.

Orroadie

I read you comments about taking 10mg simvastatin and cycling. I am the same age as you and have taken 10 mg statins for about 10 years, and have taken CoEnzyme Q (ubiquinol) as well. While I don't how I would feel cycling if I weren't on the statins, the side effects are minimal, but I wonder if my conditioning level is diminished due to the statins. Statins reduce mitochondrial production and have been known to diminish conditioning for this reason. Like you, the effect of weight training and statins is more pronounced resulting in soreness and fatigue.. However, I have noticed that if I do weight training in the evenings, the effects are less due to less statins in your system. The half-life of simvastatin is 5 hours so every 5 hours the concentration in your blood is cut in half. Overall, it may be a compromise but worth knowing that i am more protected against the health impacts of high cholesterol. Phil

KraneXL

Not directly, but it is a precursor. Still, I acknowledge your caution with drugs and agree that they should be used only as a last resort and only after a strict diet and exercise regiment had been initiated.

In all but the most sever cases, high cholesterol can be controlled with diet alone. Start there, and add in some natural remedies such as ACV and/or Blackseed oil. In any event, you should follow your doctor's recommendations and do what you feel is right.

Hondo Gravel

I take 10mg Crestor drop my bad cholesterol by 50 points so for my it works! Luckily no body aches the doctor stated that you may get body cramps etc. I never felt goofy or out of it.

wolfchild

The question is what causes high cholesterol in people who exercise and are physically active ??...I am surprised to hear that so many cyclists who ride a lot and get a lot of aerobic exercise have to resort to drugs to lower their cholesterol... Could it be the high sugar intake that majority of cyclists follow, that causes high cholesterol ??