I'm tired/exhausted, and I hurt. . . but things are looking up and I finally think answers are coming

[Melensdad]

For the past 4-5 years I've been taking a 'statin' medication.

For the past 40 years I've been treated for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

For the past 30 years I've been on a C-Pap machine.

When I started having a lot of pain, roughly during Covid, which is also roughly when I started taking Statins, none of my doctors suspected the Statins as the source of my pain. All assumed my arthritis medications needed to be bumped up to the next level. Which did not solve my problem. So then after a 1month cleansing period and then 6 to 12 months of trial with a stronger arthritis drug, my pain persisted and I repeated the process of a1 month cleansing period and then another 6 to 12 months trial blah blah blah

And so finally after bitching and moaning to one of my doctors she took me off of statins a couple weeks ago. MOST of the pain is gone.

Also, my CPap machine broke. So I don't sleep well, In fact I sleep like crap. And without sleep I get sore.

New sleep doctor appointment is NEXT week. New GP appointment to discuss "statins" is this week.

I need sleep. Constantly tired. Exhausted every day.

I suppose I need something to replace the statins?

I just wish, despite the fact that all my doctors are in the SAME medical group, they would all review all the tests and all the other notes and all the complaints. Has healthcare gotten worse overall? I have so much to be thankful for in quick tests, quick results, but it seems like more coordination between all the doctors needs to happen.

Glad that I will be seeing 2 of my 3 specialty docs in very short order so I can discuss with them. Most people, especially fencing students and other coaches, tell me I have an amazingly positive view of life and am optimistic. But privately I bitch a lot. Old, crabby, sore and tired. I think I understand now, more than the doctors, what is going on. I plan to fix this mess.

 

[waybomb]

I simply stopped taking the statins.
My sister was put on statins years before me, she gave them up and her life is better.
Don't know if they actually extend life, but living with out the bloating and constant mild pain, it's worth it.
I stopped and everything is better.
Doctor says I'm not a doctor and should not play doctor.
But he's also the doctor that days a reduced carb diet is bad for you.

 

[Melensdad]

I simply stopped taking the statins.
My sister was put on statins years before me, she gave them up and her life is better.
Don't know if they actually extend life, but living with out the bloating and constant mild pain, it's worth it.
I stopped and everything is better.
Doctor says I'm not a doctor and should not play doctor.
But he's also the doctor that days a reduced carb diet is bad for you.

Pretty much my experience (so far) too.

I see my doctor next week so I need to give her a report then.

I see the sleep doctor the following week and hope I can get a new C-Pap ASAP.

I only get a few good hours of sleep each night. Generally I wake up with modest energy and minimal pain. But by early afternoon I need a nap. On my busy coaching days I pound down espresso shots all day. 6 to 8 of them. Then diet pepsi in the car for added caffeine. And when I get tired I also get sore.

So while a lot of pain has been reduced by getting rid of the statins, I'm really looking forward to sleeping well because that will help in a lot of ways.


* FWIW, when I went lo-carb I lost weight and felt better. I'm eating like crap now, but I'm also sore, crabby and tired. Put food in front of me when I am hungry and that is what I will eat.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Years ago, I gave up on statins for all the reasons that have been mentioned. I told my doctor that I was through and she convinced me to give it one more try with a different statin that she said worked differently from the others that I had been on. It was Crestor, or its generic, and in the ensuing years it has never given me a problem. My cholesterol is down about 140. Why she didn't start me on it in the first place I will never know. It would have saved me years of discomfort and pain.

 

[loboloco]

What people tend to forget is that a) doctor's are practicing on you and b) when the doc screws up he ain't the one pays the price.