Should I be scared to take Zocor after reading the side effects?

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aceofspd	I am a pharmacist, and I can tell you that Zocor and the like ruin 100 times more lives than they save. Do you know that by their own ads, 100 people have to take the drug for 3-4 years for ONE person to benefit? Do you know that the real rate of side effects is 90 to 100%? Do you even know about the effects on the brain? Memory loss, depression, fatigue, aggression, dementia, etc? Stock up on Motrin, you will be taking it daily. Oh, the diet they tell you to follow is gaurenteed to NOT lower your levels Pharmacist for 30 years who's life was almost ruined by Lipitor Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Big Mama	Honey, it's a coin toss. My husband who will be 40 this summer will be recieving his second triple bypass in two years because of heart disease. The side effects of most of his medications scare the befeezus out of me. Heck two I can't even touch, and that was before I got pregnant again! If you have serious reservations though, and believe me I understand, I would have a serious heart to heart with Doc AND pharmicist. Is there a chance you can manage w/o the med, or is it necessary at this point in time? IF you take it, they are supposed to do a monthly blood test that WILL let them know immediately if you are having any adverse effects to the medicine. Having a family history of heart problems myself, and having been the caretaker and primary breadwinner of a household full of kids (this one is number 6), for six years now because of a person who is ill due to Hardening of the Arteries, I would say roll the dice and swallow the pill, baby! Just make darn sure that you keep that monthly appointment and make sure the docter's office keeps it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nana4141	http://www.weknowcholesterol.com/Statins.html?cp=2060&KEYWORD=statins&gclid=CP-JzYjP4ZMCFRCiQQodGEzSWg Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ckm1956	In spite of one rant/answer, statins are generally safe. If they were truly as dangerous as some would say, there would literally be millions of deaths. You're much more likely to benefit from statins than get a side effect. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

melimarg_24	Honey, if you were to look at the side effects to every single medication in the world....you would probably never take any. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Spam	Not knowing what kind of heart trouble you have I would ask your Doc if there is another drug you can take. I take Coreg. You are right tho to look up all the drugs they give you, there are some side effects that are worse then the ailment. I stopped a whole bunch of pills I was getting and decided that I would just stay with Coreg and benicar Doctors I think are too ready just to write a prescription Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

klockwo	I personally wouldn't take any sort of ...statin drug. There is still a ton of research and controversy about the safety and side effects that they can cause. My aunt was on a statin drug for years and started having aches and pains as soon as she started taking it. The doctors told her that it was a normal side effect and she shouldn't worry about it. Then a year ago December she was diagnosed with a rare type of ALS. After being tested at numerous hospitals they believe that the ALS was a result of the statin drug. The disease spread extremely fast and she died this past march. There is no proof that the ALS was caused by the drug, but after doing a lot of research there seems to be a huge correlation between ALS and statin drugs. If I were you I would do a ton of research before taking the drug and if possible find an alternative method of treatment or try a non-statin drug. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

LovePharmacy	I'm a pharmacist and Zocor and it's cousins are dispensed all the time (unfortunately, many of us Americans are getting prescriptions for it due to our eating habits and sedentary lifestyle). I wanted to answer this question because ALL drugs have side effects and you should be able to have information for you to make an informed decision. There is a lot of data on Zocor and the family of statins. They save lives. They decrease morbidity and mortality (decrease the number of hospitalizations and decrease the number of deaths). Zocor does not cause kidney failure (I've never heard/read that so that's why I checked your source). Go back to your website and read it again. It is not listed under side effects, it says to not use it in patients with kidney failure or if you are at risk for kidney failure. That's because the kidneys will filter out the waste products of Zocor into your urine. If you can't pee out the by-products, then you will accumulate them and that can be toxic. Zocor is generally well tolerated but there are some patients that do have some serious side effects. Many patients get an upset stomach, bloating, or cramps when they start this medicine. So take it after dinner. These kinds of symptoms will usually go away after you get used to the drug. Zocor can be damaging to your liver. So your doctor should get your liver tested before you go on Zocor to serve as the comparison base line reading. And then you should get your liver checked at least 6 weeks after you start Zocor. Your doctor may have you check it more after that but sometimes your insurance wont pay for it. Your liver should be checked at least annually after that. A sign that Zocor is not for you is muscle pain/weakness or tiredness. And I mean intense pain throughout most of your body. It's like you did a super intense work. That's a sign that you should discontinue Zocor (we are taught that in pharmacy school but for some reason, there are doctors out there who will still keep their patients on these drugs). There is not evidence that Zocor causes ALS. There have been case reports but no causal link has been established. Also, take this drug at night time because it only works on the cholesterol that your body makes. And that process happens while you sleep. To really make an impact on your health, make dietary changes and do exercise. I have seen patients kick all of their blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetic (early stages of type 2 diabetes) meds once they made a true committment to healthy living. And that other contributor was right, talk to both your doctor and your pharmacist about all of your drugs. Pharmacists are required by law to counsel you on new prescription. You can refuse the counseling (as many patients do) but then you miss out on important information. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No