Statins Side Effects
With most Medicines there are nearly always Side Effects – Statins are No Exception
What are the Side Effects of Statins?
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Statins are cholesterol lowering drugs that find use in cardiovascular diseases like myocardial infarction and heart attack. These diseases are characterized by presence of high levels of low density lipids which is the bad cholesterol and causes deposition of fat plaques in the vessel lumens.
The mechanism of action of statins is in the level of the enzyme HMG-CoA. They inhibit this enzyme and hence cause an inhibition of cholesterol synthesis. Statins are usually taken before night fall because most of the cholesterol is synthesized in the liver at night.
Although statins are greatly used and prescribed, like any other drug, they are not 100 percent safe. They have adverse side effects which can be very lethal and therefore patients must self educate on them and how to spot them and when to seek further medical advise.
Statins cause muscle pains and aches. This side effect is the commonest and is often put down in the drug labels. Patients can experience the pain as either mild or excruciating. It can be very immobilizing and disabling that their daily activities are barred.
The pain is best explained by a decline in the levels of the coenzyme ubiquitone which is necessary providing muscle strength. These cramps are associated with other myopathies like muscle weakness and lethargy.
The progression of muscle cramps leads to muscle breakdown. This is called rhabdomyolysis and is a killer. It often occurs as an effect of drug interaction between statins and other drugs like fibrate and niacin. Rhabdomyolysis results in excess of muscle waste product that overpowers the excretory capacity of the liver and kidneys.
This results in acute renal and hepatic failure. When these two organs failure, the end result is always likely to be death.
Statins also cause hepatic enzymes elevation. The transaminases, alanine and aspartate, are mostly affected. This therefore necessitates that patients on statins be on regular liver function monitoring to prevent any fatalities.
On the central nervous system, statins cause memory and concentration loss. They are also known to cause brain diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Statins also cause mood disorders.
The patients experience periods of depression, irritability and withdrawal form activities that are pleasurable and from the society. Other effects on the brain are; sleep problems, visual and appetite disorders. They also cause loss of the function of temperature regulation.
On the digestive system, statins don’t produce very severe side effects unless in the presence of preexisting gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, diarrhea and constipation. Statins have side effects on the reproductive system. They cause an inhibition of cholesterol synthesis which is the precursor of sex hormones; testosterone and estrogens.
This hence causes a decrease in libido, impotence and erectile dysfunction in men. Statins cause neuropathies. Damage of the peripheral nervous tissue causes muscle weakness, numbness and tingling sensation. This is very fatal especially if it affects the diaphragm, the chest wall muscles and other accessory breathing muscle. It causes patients to experience shortness of breath; they become dyspneic and can die. Statins also produce rash and flush on the skin.
Side Effects of Statins
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Statins are drugs prescribed to patients with atherosclerosis and risks of heart failure, stroke or myocardial infarction due to very high levels of low density lipids LDLs in their blood. Usually, this is the bad cholesterol as it causes the formation of lipid plaques and blocking of the blood vessel lumen. They act by inhibiting cholesterol formation by acting on the HMG-CoA reductase. Patients on statins are often on this treatment for the rest of their lives.
They use them to avoid sudden heart attacks. Stains interact with various drugs and foods in the body. Statins, falter drugs and niacin are harmful as they potentiate each other and result in very high toxic levels of these drugs.
Grape fruits are known enzyme inducers that cause increase in statins metabolism in the liver. When given with statins, they cause the side effects of statins to be more pronounced.
Patients on statins must be warned from the beginning of treatment of the adverse effects of statins. These side effects are often written on the drug labels so that patients can self educate. These side effects also come about in different severity for different patients and at have varied times of onset. The most common side effect of statins is muscle pains.
This pain can be mild or very severe. The severe form can be so bad that it disables the patients and disrupts their day to day activities. The patient presents with soreness and unexplained tiredness. The muscle cramps are due to the effect of statins on ubiquitone, an enzyme that is necessary for maintaining muscle strength. The muscle pains are associated with other myopathies like muscle weakness and tiredness.
Because of continued myopathies, the muscle tissue eventually becomes damaged and becomes degraded. This is referred to as rhabdomyolysis. It presents clinically as red urine and most often accompanied with renal and hepatic failure. This occurs because the waste product of muscle breakdown is too much that the liver and kidneys cant efficiently excrete it all. This is quite toxic and results in acute end organ failure.
Statins also cause an increase in the liver transaminases. Though these enzymes increase, they hardly result in hepatic failure. However, patients on statins should be cautious the state of their liver by about having regular liver function tests. The patients on statins also experience mild digestive effects of diarhoea, nausea and constipation.
Sexual dysfunction is also notable on patients on statins. They complain of decrease in libido, impotence and erectile dysfunction. The essence of this is because of inhibition of cholesterol formation which is the precursor for sex hormones synthesis. Neurological side effects of statins include amnesia, loss of thinking capacity, brain diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frequent headaches and sleep problems.
Patients also complain of neuropathies like numbness and tingly sensation. The patients also complain of change in mood so that they are easily irritated and annoyed. They become depressed and withdrawn from pleasurable activities and from other people. Other side effects of statins include weight gain, sleep problems, temperature irregularity and loss of appetite. Examples of statins include; simvastatin, lovastatin and rosuvastatin.
Statins Side Effects
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Out of the huge numbers of individuals who are presently being prescribed statins by their GP for the treatment and management of high cholesterol for the majority of them the use of statins is very risk free and will give them absolutely no negative effects.
Unfortunately though, for a minority they will find that the use of statins will present them with side effects.
Thankfully the side effects of statins are usually moderate, readily identified, simple to remedy and in the majority of cases usually never life threatening.
Observed side effects from the use of Statins.
Gastro intestinal tract problems.
Nausea or vomiting as well as stomach pain.
Discomfort in joints.
Peripheral neuropathy nerve damage.
Head aches.
Muscle discomfort as well as feasible harm.
Loss of stability.
Lack of feeling in the limbs.
Disability associated with the mind.
Some research indicates that statins could make the patient prone to developing depressive disorders.
It should be emphasised that even if you feel that you have one or may be more of these side effects when you are undertaking a course of treatment utilising statins you must consult your doctor first before you make any changes to your medication.
Under no circumstances should you stop taking the recommended statin drug medication without first consulting your doctor.
When a comparison is drawn between the medication which is available today for the treartment of high cholesterol, statins tend to be the most safe drugs of their type for the treatment of this type.
In the event that the symptoms become aggravated, you should immediately contact your doctor. Likewise for those who have every other uncommon side effects whenever taking statins that are impacting a person, talk to your physician in the very first instance.
As with most currently available medicines, the chance of going through side effects is unfortunately high, but it is dependent on their education as well as concentration of the side impact or effects which can provide induce to concern and further prevent the individual from ongoing the actual course.
This is also true when they really feel in themselves that they’re not obtaining any kind of benefit from the drug prescribed by their physician.
Most sufferers will require period for their bodies to become accustomed to the new medicine, along with any kind of existing negative effects diminishing if not vanishing totally in time because the course of statins progresses and the body finally becomes accustomed to the drug.
The eventual benefits acquired will significantly outweigh side effects in most sufferers whenever taking medicine which consists of statin.
For a broader image associated with feasible side effects when taking statins, further analysis needs to be carried out with larger test groups. Statins are among the the largest of prescription drugs along with numbers increasing each day as more and more people visit their own doctor for analysis and are being found to have high cholesterol, therefore presenting themselves with the possibility of cardiovascular disease.
Statins target the liver exactly where the possibly damaging cholesterol builds up. Before beginning a course of statins, your Doctor may establish liver organ performance through a blood analysis to evaluate precisely how effectively the liver is working.
A follow-up check will be done a couple of months later and comparison will be made with the first test to ascertain an extended seem liver function.
Should it be discovered that the statin drug is the main contributor to an undesirable and potentially harmful side effect, (perhaps only to be found if the statin drug had been adminstered in the longer term), your doctor may advise that there must be a reduction in the adminstered level of the statin or they may look to an alternative medication to help reduce your cholestrerol levels.
