New Warnings Added to Statin Drug Label by the FDA
Do you take statin medication to keep your cholesterol levels within normal?
A warning label is being added to statin medications, including Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor. The warning is to make users aware that the medication may raise blood sugar levels and cause memory loss.
Statins are frequently prescribed by doctors because studies have shown the effectiveness of the drug to reduce the risk of heart attack and heart disease. However, it’s important that patients and doctors are well aware of the negative side effects linked to the medication.
In addition to elevated blood sugar and memory loss, some of the potential side effects of statin medications include:
- Muscle tenderness/pain
- Headache
- Difficulty sleeping
- Flushing of the skin
- Muscle aches, tenderness, or weakness
- Drowsiness/weakness
- Dizziness
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Abdominal cramping and/or pain
- Bloating and/or gas
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Rash
If you use combine statin medications with the following medications, you increase your risk of developing muscle injury:
Fibrates – a cholesterol lowering drug
Niacing in high doses
Ranexa – used to treat angina
Colchicine – used to treat gout
Don’t forget, all medication is metabolized by the liver. The more medications you take the greater the workload you place on the liver. It’s important when taking statin medications to work with your doctor to determine how often you need to monitor your liver enzymes.
Signs of compromised liver function include unusual fatigue, decreased appetite, dark colored urine, yellow hue to the skin or whites of the eye, and upper belly pain.
Let’s go back to the new warning label regarding elevated blood sugar and memory loss. The blood sugar rise may not be great enough to cause alarm for most individuals, but if you have diabetes this may be enough to cause additional health concerns. Also, the elevated blood sugar and memory loss tend to reverse once statins are discontinued.
If you have not implemented diet and lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol levels, I encourage you to do so. You may be able to reduce or completely eliminate your need for statin medications.
To get started you can access the ecourse How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps at http://lowercholesterolwithlisa.com.
Clarke, Patrick E. “Drugs.” Cholesterol-lowering Drugs Get Labeling Changes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://lisanelsonrd.com
