Statin Side Effects
By Curtis Alexander, Pharm.D.
America’s Natural Pharmacist
Summary: While statin side effects are rare, one – rhabdomyolysis – can be serious. The only way to know for sure if you are having the side effects of statins is to have your blood labs drawn.
Dear Curtis: I’m taking Pravastatin and got a cold about the same time I started taking it. Of course I got body aches and other signs of a cold but it seems to be getting better as the cold subsides. I have continued to take the drug. But someone told me that I should go get some blood labs drawn as I may be experiencing side effects of the drug. What do you think?
A: Pravastatin (Pravachol®) is in a class of cholesterol lowering drugs called the statins. While they are generally well tolerated when side effects do occur they can be fairly serious.
While statins like Lipitor® (atorvastatin), simvastatin, and pravachol have been touted as wonder drugs by some and do indeed lower cholesterol there also come with their fair share of side effects.
While this article won’t be devoted to all of them I do want to talk about it’s most serious side effects.
Rhabdomyolysis
The most serious side effect of this class of drugs is called rhabdomyolysis. Keep in mind that this is rare, though. You’re looking at less than 1 case per 10,000 patients per year. However, that number can jump up quickly when statins are taking in combination with another class of cholesterol lowering drugs called fibrates.
In short, you experience this as severe muscle pain. Which is probably what prompted your friend to suggest you get your blood labs drawn. While rhabdomyolysis is rare, it can be serious in some cases.
Rhabdomyolysis is essentially caused by the muscle in your body being broke down. During this breakdown certain components of the muscle, particularly a protein called myoglobin, can harm the kidneys. The amount of damage that can be done to the kidneys of course depends on the amount of time that they damage had been occuring and also your kidney function prior to starting the statins.
From what you’ve told me though I’d be pretty skeptical to think that you actually have rhabdomyolysis because you continued to take the medication and you said that the muscle pains are going away. To me it just sounds like you had a bad cold that gave you body aches.
Of course, if you are concerned you can go in and get your blood labs drawn which will cost you a little bit of money but probably ease your mind.
Sometimes patients can tell if they are having rhabdomyolysis by looking at the color of their urine. It can appear red or cola in color and is indicative of ‘blood’ in the urine.