Statin Side Effects – Any type of disease is dangerous for humans, but heart-related diseases should never be ignored under any circumstances. Similar to any other body part, our heart is also known to get several diseases, and cholesterol is among the most popular ones, along with hypertension.
Health experts do not have any cure for these diseases, and they usually ask everyone to consume medicine regularly to prevent any risks associated with the condition. Most diseases associated with the heart are known to cause heart attack and stroke.
High cholesterol is also one of those diseases. When you visit your health expert for the treatment of high cholesterol, your heart health expert might suggest you go with the statin drug.
There are several statins drugs available in the market, and they are highly effective when it comes to maintaining cholesterol levels. Yes, you will have to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol, as high and low are known to be very dangerous.
General Side Effects of Statin
Similar to any other drug available on the market, statin drugs are also known to cause two different types of side effects. The first set of side effects is more common and general as compared to others.
People who are experiencing the below-given list of symptoms might not have to visit their healthcare provider right away.
- Headache
- A general feeling of sick
- Sleep problems
- Digestive issues
- Dizziness
- Indigestion
- Diarrhea
You might not require immediate medical assistance if you are experiencing any of the above-given side effects, but you should let them know to your healthcare provider. Your health expert might adjust your dosage or provide you with some other medicine to lower the side effects.
Severe Side Effects of Statin
Despite its life-saving benefits, the statin is also known to cause some side effects, and you should be very well aware before you start consuming it. Most health experts explain all the side effects before suggesting you take any statin drug.
At the same time, health experts also mention all the side effects associated with the drug on the prescription bottle itself. These things are not enough as you require a little bit of extra knowledge.
Muscle Pain
Probability – High
One of the most popular side effects of statins is muscle pain and muscle damage. Even your healthcare expert will also suggest to you to beware of muscle pain and muscle damage once you have started consuming statin drugs.
There is a high probability that you will experience soreness, tiredness, and unusual weakness in your muscles without doing any exercise. The muscle pain can be mild to moderate, depending on the overall condition of the patient.
Muscle pain caused by statin drugs might harm your daily activities, and you should be very well aware of these facts before you operate any heavy machinery after consuming statins.
Don’t worry. Statin drugs are known to cause muscle pain and muscle damage, but they are not known to cause life-threatening conditions due to these Side effects.
Damage
very low probability
believe it or not. Statin drugs are also known to cause a sudden rise in enzymes that are known to cause inflammation in the liver. Health experts around the world usually allow people to consume statin drugs if the rise is mild.
On the other hand, when the rise in enzymes is taking a sharp rise and the number is increasing, then your healthcare expert will suggest you stop consuming statin drugs.
Once you start experiencing a sharp rise, then healthcare experts will suggest you stop consuming that medicine and try something else. Usually, healthcare experts suggest everyone take a liver enzymes test before they start consuming the drug.
You should also contact your health care experts if you start experiencing any symptoms associated with liver damage, including loss of appetite, pain in the upper abdominal, unusual fatigue, unusual weakness, dark-colored urine, and yellowing of the skin.
Worsen the type 2 diabetes
Certain drugs are also known to cause a sharp increase in levels of blood sugar. People who are already struggling with type 2 diabetes should be very careful while consuming statin drugs as they can interact with your diabetes medicine.
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has already issued a warning mentioning that statin drugs are known to cause type 2 diabetes, and everyone should be very careful.
Before you start consuming statin drugs, you should let your healthcare expert know about your family history with type 2 diabetes. People who already have a history of a similar disease are more vulnerable to developing symptoms.
Mental Health Statin Side Effects
Along with the physical side effects, statin drugs are also known to cause some symptoms associated with mental health.
If you are experiencing any of the below-given side effects associated with mental health, you should call your healthcare provider right away or call 911. You should never underestimate the neurological side effects of statin drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has warned everyone that statin drugs are also known to cause new confusion and memory loss. If anyone in your family is taking statin drugs, you should keep a keen eye on their behavior.
Yes, you can easily recover from these side effects once you have stopped consuming the drug, but it can temporarily impact your day-to-day activities.
Who is more vulnerable to developing side effects of statin?
Before we move ahead and discuss anything else associated with statin drugs, let’s first take a look at all the people who are in the high-risk category.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that people who fall in the below-given categories are much more vulnerable to developing symptoms associated with statin drugs.
Not every person who is going to consume statin drugs is going to experience the above-given symptoms or side effects. Some people are always going to be more vulnerable to developing these symptoms as compared to others.
- People who are taking medicine to lower cholesterol are much more vulnerable to developing symptoms.
- Women are also more vulnerable to developing symptoms as compared to men.
- People who have a smaller body frame are going to be in a similar high-risk category.
- People who are already struggling with kidney or liver disease should be very careful before consuming statin-based drugs.
- Everyone above the age of 80 is also going to fall in the high-risk category.
- Those who are alcoholics or drink alcohol regularly are much more vulnerable to developing side effects as compared to others.
If you are also in any of the Above given categories, then you should be very well aware of every side effect associated with the medicine. We highly recommend these people consult about it with their healthcare provider before consuming the medicine.
Get better from Statin Side Effects
Before we completely wrap our session up, let’s take a quick look at all the ways you can use to get better from the side effects of statin drugs.
Yes, there are some things you can use to prevent or lower the effect of all the side effects associated with statin drugs.
- First of all, You should take a break from statin drugs if you are not able to bear any side effects associated with that drug. Most health experts in the world also suggest everyone take a small break if they are experiencing any of the major side effects associated with the drug, After consulting with their healthcare provider.
A break from your drug without consulting with your healthcare provider can be very dangerous, and you should be aware of it.
- Another thing you can do to prevent the side effects or lower its intensity is to do light exercises. As you are already aware, statin drugs are known to cause muscle damage, and you can increase their frequency and intensity by combining them with vigorous exercise.
You should consult about doing regular exercises with your healthcare provider as your healthcare provider might suggest you do only lightweight exercises.
- If you are experiencing intense symptoms, then your healthcare provider might also suggest you combine your statin drugs with other cholesterol-lowering medications. Combinations of both medicines are known to provide better results.
Kindly do not take any drug on your own while you are taking statins. You should consult about it with your healthcare provider.
What are the major side effects of statins?
Statin drugs are among the best drugs to lower cholesterol levels, But they are also known to cause some major side effects, including muscle damage, neurological effects, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and liver damage.