Suddenly stopping your statin is dangerous. Data shows that the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death within 4 years of stopping a statin is high.
You will not get any withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it.
It's important to know that stopping statins cold turkey, or even gradually, can cause serious health problems and you should talk to your doctor before doing so.
We elected to use rosuvastatin in an EOD regimen because its half-life of approximately 19 hours is the longest of available statins, and it is the most potent statin at reducing LDL-C levels. Atorvastatin also has a long half-life (~14 h) and has demonstrated effectiveness with EOD dosing.
You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level. If you forget to take your dose, do not take an extra one to make up for it.
What happens if you forget to take your cholesterol medication? If you simply forget to take a dose of your statin medication, you're not likely to have any serious effects. It could take some time for your cholesterol to build up to pre-statin levels — likely longer than a few days.
Well, stopping your statin suddenly is risky and can increase your risk of developing heart disease and other high cholesterol-related health issues such as stroke and heart attack," Dr Ahlawat shares.
Anyone who wants to stop taking a statin should talk to a doctor. In some cases, coming off these drugs can be dangerous. The doctor may suggest reducing the dosage, combining the statin with another cholesterol lowering drug, or switching to another drug entirely.
Abstract. Background: Statins are generally well tolerated, but some patients discontinue therapy secondary to adverse effects. Dosing a statin (rosuvastatin) every other day (EOD) may provide significant lipoprotein changes while avoiding common adverse effects in this statin-intolerant population.
Carimi says it's best to stick with the medication. He says the risk is too high, even if you're now living a better, healthier lifestyle. However, if you haven't had a stroke or heart attack and you are taking statins due to high cholesterol numbers, ending statin use might be an option.
How long does it take for statins to get out of your system? It can take a few months for your cholesterol levels to return to what they were prior to the medication. Side effects will generally disappear a few weeks after your last dose.
These results suggest that once-a-week rosuvastatin can significantly improve the lipid profile. We previously de- scribed 8 patients intolerant to once-a-day statin dosing who were able to tolerate once-a-week rosuvastatin (10 mg/week), with a resultant 29% reduction in LDL-C.
One of the most common complaints of people taking statins is muscle pain. You may feel this pain as a soreness, tiredness or weakness in your muscles. The pain can be a mild discomfort, or it can be serious enough to make it hard to do your daily activities.
Muscle and Kidney Damage
The most common side effects for statin patients affect the muscles. Myalgia is the most common of the muscle-related side effects. The risk increases in patients 65 years and older. Patients with kidney impairment are also at an increased risk for myalgia.
Based on the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale10 for causality assessment, the rosuvastatin use and the occurrence of memory loss was a probable association.
So, why do people take statins at night? Many statins work more effectively when they are taken at night. This is because the enzyme which makes the cholesterol is more active at night. Also, the half-life, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, of some statins is short.
Avoid eating foods high in fat or cholesterol, or rosuvastatin will not be as effective. Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may increase your risk of liver damage. Some antacids can make it harder for your body to absorb rosuvastatin.
Some medicines can affect the way that rosuvastatin works, and increase the chances of you having side effects. Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these medicines: antibiotics, such as erythromycin or fusidic acid. some antiviral medicines used to treat infections such as HIV and hepatitis.
Rosuvastatin belongs to a group of medicines called statins. It works by working on the liver to stop it making cholesterol. Rosuvastatin is used to lower cholesterol if you have been diagnosed with high blood cholesterol. It's also taken to prevent heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes.
A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup. Two statins in particular, atorvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Lipitor, and rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor, are the strongest statins.
Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph. D. The controversy in the United Kingdom started in 2013 when the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claimed statins were being overprescribed to people with low risk of heart disease, and that the drugs' side effects were worse than previously thought.
Public Citizen petitioned the FDA in 2004 and 2005 to recall Crestor. The advocacy organization's health research group documented cases of patients who developed rhabdomyolysis after taking the drug. Rhabdomyolysis is a severe form of muscle damage that can lead to permanent kidney damage, coma and sometimes death.
About 5 to 10% of people who try statins are affected. It's more common in the elderly, in women and in those taking the more potent statins. Fortunately, these effects disappear within a month after stopping statin therapy.
Missing one or two doses won t be a problem. But anything more than that would be wrong, says Dr Shah. There will be something called a rebound effect in the person s body, he adds.
Weight gain and weight loss are not known side effects of rosuvastatin. People taking the drug in clinical trials did not report weight changes. Sometimes, your doctor may recommend taking rosuvastatin along with changes in diet, such as limiting saturated fat.