Crestor Isn't Right for Me

When I woke up on Friday morning, 11 days after beginning Crestor, I was feeling achy, but the day before at work, I was hauling computers around, setting them up, and carrying old monitors away, so I thought that was why I was feeling sore. I'd been working pretty intently that week to set up some computer systems at work, so I gave in to the sore feeling and went back to sleep, figuring I'd just call in late. But a few hours later, my stomach felt cramped and my muscles in my shoulders felt like I'd just carried my super fat cousin Nelson up a hill. So I called in sick for the entire day. But the sore muscles and the cramping persisted. It wasn't until late that day after sleeping on and off for about 15 hours that I got up and tried to have a bowl of oatmeal and some coffee. I had no appetite either, although the coffee tasted good. I think even on my death bed, a cup of coffee would taste good. In any case, it occurred to me that if I was having bad side effects from Crestor that's exactly how I'd be feeling. Muscle aches, cramps, nausea. So I took myself off of the Crestor. I felt better after sleeping into early afternoon on Saturday, my second day without Crestor, still the muscles were tender, even after a foray to the Club for spa, sauna, steam, and a few laps in the pool. By Sunday, today, I feel my old self again, and will talk to my doctor tomorrow about what I might take instead. Is there a milder statin?

Just a Little Bit Sore

Right shoulder feeling a little sore. This is my fifth day of using Crestor.

Day 3

Today, I took my 3rd dose of Crestor. I haven't noticed any side effects yet. No muscle aches yet. That is supposed to be the most prominent side effect. I've always been awestruck by how a little pill can control blood pressure or the accumulation of plaque in the arteries, or manage the level of sugar in the blood, or provide a calming effect from panic attacks, or cause hallucinations and a distorted concept of time and reality.

Does the Doctor Know Best

I did not take my Crestor today, but called the doctor instead to discuss his choice of cholesterol medication. I had read theat Crestor's risk outweighed its success in comparison to a few other statin based anti-cholesterol drugs. He told me that recent studies, including one in Lancet, claim the opposite, that Crestor's side effects do not occur as frequently as others and that it is very effective. I going to research this a little more and by morning I may begin taking Crestor. I intend to use this blog to discuss any changes that I notice in my body and/or energy level.

The Bad News

The doctor called me to let me know that the blood work up that I had last Monday shows that my LDL level (that's BAD cholesterol) is 170. It should be 70-100. So beginning tomorrow morning, I'm supposed to start taking 10mg of Crestor a day. A few web sites (worstpills.org) warn about this drug, especially at higher dosages. I need to be aware of unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever. I need to also be aware of kidney problems as this drug has been known to effect kidneys, so that means check the urine to see if it get darker or bloody. And definitely get back to the doctor for blood tests in 3 months.

The site noted above warns: "Rosuvastatin joins atorvastatin and fluvastatin as the statins that have not demonstrated a health benefit to the patients that use them in terms of reducing the serious cardiovascular consequences of high cholesterol such as a first or second heart attack or stroke. Lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin have shown such benefits to patients in addition to their cholesterol-lowering properties and this is reflected in the professional product labels and advertising for these drugs."

I'm going to discuss this with my doctor, and then determine whether I will begin using Crestor. In any case I will record any perceptible changes that I notice in my energy level, muscles, and urine, regardless of which statin I begin using. Perhaps, this will be the impetus I needed to exercise more and cut back on pizza.