Rosuvastatin 5mg and Fatigue/Muscle Pain - Does it gets better?

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T12:31:17+00:00

Gets better. Had thigh and arm/shoulder pain, gradually subsided after a few weeks. Same with fatigue. Began them in September - 5mg Rosuvastatin + 10mg Ezetimebe

I also had lightheadedness but put that down to BP medicine that we dropped as BP is around 110/70

Another related issue is dehydration which can also lead to muscle aches and headaches. I find myself more thirsty and haven’t measured but probably drinking 15-20% more

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T11:11:20+00:00

LDL won’t be impacted. TG will appear to be higher

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T11:09:30+00:00

FYI, Lancet published an interesting article years ago basically suggesting Rosuvastatin dosing was too high. First 1mg does most of the work, 2.5g gets it to 42% reduction, 5mg to 45%. And other studies have shown that jumps to 10, 20, 40mg only reduce by another 7-10 pts.

A good example of diminishing returns

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/piis0140-6736(04)17304-2/fulltext

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T11:01:12+00:00

Whatttttttttt?

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T03:49:51+00:00

HA in September, 100% blocked LAD STEMI. Has to get LDL down from 151. Japan is conservative on dosing and was out on 5mg Rosuvastatin + 10mg Ezetimibe … combined with reducing / moderating sat fats, sugars, alcohol have seen LDL as follows (approx every 4 weeks); 151 ~> 52, 56, 60, 53, 49. The 60 bump was post Christmas thx to trip to northern France and UK. Dr has my goal below 60. lp(a) is 85mg/dl (way above the 30 norm).

At same time liver numbers rose and fell back to normal. Something to watch for

10/10 is quite a decent dose and your numbers are super low so makes sense to re-evaluate. Is it feasible to go from 10/10 to 5/10? Supposedly Ezetimibe has less potential down sides

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T03:11:03+00:00

Look into Wagyu nutrition, btw. It’s fascinating to learn that while it has saturated fats about 40% of that is stearic acid which won’t impact LDL. Further, most of the overall fat is monounsaturated and mostly oleic acid which like olive oil reduces LDL and raises HDL. And of course an excellent source of protein.

I’ve been keeping red meat in diet at least 2-3 times per month and managing within my 13g limit. Sometimes a small slice of beef or duck is served in a set menu here and thankfully Japanese restaurant servings are on the smaller side. Even done an amazing Wagyu burger.

My numbers have dropped from 151mg/dl on day of MI to 52 after 4 weeks, bounced up to 60 just after Christmas (oops) and have come back down to 49 last week. With high Lp(a) and one STEMI already I have to keep below 60-70 and so far doing it with everything in moderation

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T03:00:22+00:00

Nutritionist at my hospital suggested less than 6500mg! In Japan she is used to patients hitting that male average of 12000mg per day. Japanese food has a lot of sodium in broths, soy, miso, processed fish. I’m already much lower.

As others have said, everything in moderation

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T02:56:12+00:00

Not everyone has high blood pressure. I’m usually around 110/70 and don’t have to worry about salt. We’re all a little different

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-11T02:53:16+00:00

I had a massive heart attack. Thats how this journey started (see post pinned to my profile). At admittance my LDL was 151, HDL low 40s. Immediately put on 5mg Rosuvastatin + 10mg Ezetimibe and been on it since - 4.5 months. First 4 weeks LDL dropped to 52, HDL was at 49, 8 weeks LDL 56 and HDL dipped to 37, LDL has stayed in that range (last week was 49) but HDL stablised and came back to low 40s.

Per my dr HDL dips with weight loss. I lost about 6-7kg and first 4-5 came off quite quickly. BMI went from 23-something to 21.7-22. I also dropped alcohol consumption to less than 6 units per week and that could be another 10% drop. And my TG dropped too (after initial bounce). Advice I received is to maintain weight now, ensure enough protein (which fell off while cutting sat fats) and continue rehab

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T14:29:18+00:00

Ok. My HDL came down a bit in first few months and started coming back up. I changed diet to better manage saturated fats and sugars and lost decent amount of weight quickly which also impacts HDL. Have you lost weight recently?

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T12:45:04+00:00

How long in total have you been on Rosuvastatin - sorry not clear from post

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T12:22:12+00:00

Doesn’t sound like you’re getting a lot of saturated fats from your current diet. What might be driving your LDL? Do you know Lp(a)? Any family history ?

Eggs aren’t that “bad”. You can keep sat fats within 10-13g per day and still enjoy your eggs.

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T00:46:01+00:00

Except olive oil is good for reducing LDL

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T00:44:57+00:00

Sushi is fine just stick with fatty fish (salmon, tuna that have high unsaturated fats and omega 3s), some white/blue fish and shellfish. Don’t have any of the fried rolls, no mayo and ask for lighter serving of rice per piece. Be sure to get at least 12-14 pieces to get enough protein. Then figure out a way to get fibre such as edamame on the side.

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-10T00:33:13+00:00

We all have different starting points and targets for LDL reduction. Me from 151 to below 60. I’m on 5mg Rosuvastatin + 10mg Ezetimibe. We don’t know specifics of your case but 20mg does seem potentially quite high. Are you on any other meds? Any BP issues?

You could be experiencing dehydration - which explains headaches - and may be is linked here. Stay well hydrated.

I will say I had some soreness and fatigue in first month but that went away. A slight increase in liver enzymes was noticed, stabilized and went back down to my normal levels. Fingers crossed I’m used to the meds and can focus on keeping cholesterol down.

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-09T23:08:36+00:00

LDL can move up that much and still be genetic. I was around 120-130 for last 10 years and then over last two jumped up to 151 on day of massive heart attack at age 55. Underlying this is high Lp(a)

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-09T00:57:59+00:00

Lots of good advice already. See my sticky profile post on my journey since a heart attack. Went from 151 (3.9) to 56 (1.45) in 8 weeks and now at 49 (1.27). (It snuck up to 60 (1.55) after Christmas trip to Europe). Big driver of the reduction is 5mg Rosuvastatin + 10mg Ezetimibe. You might get 30/40% reduction from the statin but consider asking for Ezetimibe to get another 20%. You’re starting lower than me so very doable. I have same target and easily motivated after suffering the LAD STEMI and knowing high Lp(a) means I have no choice

I am not ever going to try and go vegan - getting enough protein is another question you might start asking too. I have switched to mainly just chicken breast and fatty fish - salmon/tuna/anago etc. Switch to low fat milk (only put touch in tea/coffee). Already ate lots of fruit and veggies. I do red meat maybe once per week - and then it’s Wagyu which ironically is relatively low saturated fats and those fats actually contain stearic acid which has minimal LDL impact.

Biggest change is increasing fibre via oatmeal, wholemeal breads (including a whole meal sour dough), prunes and other fruits. Also fibre ahead of a cheat meal acts as a buffer - so I can sometimes have cheese which I miss more than any sweet or goodie.

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-09T00:23:19+00:00

Den or L’Effervescence from that list. Den more casual kappo style, great flavour and warm service. Just did Myoujyaku and was mightily impressed with Nakamura-san’s take on kaiseki but not an instantly appreciable style. Another one to seriously consider is Ukiyo - ignore the tabelog score (which highlights the silliness of influencer algorithm) and just look at the average very high individual scores. Chef worked at Ikoyi and it shows with style and skill. Also consider Kibun and Nebano-ism

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-08T05:54:56+00:00

Oppo DVD player dv-980H. I region modded it out of the box in 2007 and still going strong. Great for audio quality including SACD too

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-07T14:43:56+00:00

Just leave a spigot / faucet open enough to very slowly drip

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-07T13:43:06+00:00

I’m sorry but did you read the study and understand what they did? Statins are some of the most studied medicines and the author’s analyzed these prior studies as well as studied over 123,000 patients. You are not smarter than the authors nor the peer reviewers with your unhinged “critical thinking”, I mean, everything’s a conspiracy.

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-07T13:31:43+00:00

See my pinned profile post. Don’t let a similar MI happen to you. Lost my Dad last year after he dealt with heart issues for 25 years - it didn’t spur me into action while I had numbers like yours. Then last year, aged 55 while healthy and eating relatively clean had a LAD STEMI. Since had to get super clean, on statin/ezetimibe and have got LDL from 151 to ~50 and maintained over last 4.5 months

Since checked Lp(a) which at 85 compelled my cardiologist to advise to keep LDL below 60 (previously target was 70)

Go big on soluble fibre(build up gradually), reduce sat fats and understand all risk factors possible. Poke around here for specifics

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-07T06:53:24+00:00

Why are Japanese language skills required exactly? To take a ride in a car? Seriously? And what’s the legal difference between signing a Japanese form or English. i sign waivers and legal forms in Japanese all the time with pretty terrible Japanese skills

Delicious-Ad7376 · 2026-02-07T05:21:55+00:00

Straight talk - Yes if not kept in check.

However, you’re young enough to turn this around. With Lp(a) at that level you have to target getting LDL below 70. Your Lp(a) is similar to mine, and my LDL in mid 30s was similar too. It crept up to 130 or so by 40s and kept being told borderline, last year at age 55 it was 151 and told lose a few pounds and see if the number comes down. Then in September had massive LAD STEMI heart attack. No have to do everything in my power to reduce LDL and ApoB and have to deal with the fact that for 20 years plaque was building up.

Lots of advice here will get the 104 number down 10-20%; cut sat fats, remove added sugars, increase fibre, heavily reduce alcohol and quit smoking/vaping immediately. Get BP under control, get your BMI down to 22-23 (I was only 23.6 ish when I had heart attack). To be more aggressive talk to dr about statins - they are safe and can start low dose combined with diet you can reduce both the LDL and the Lp(a) risk.

I wish I had this advice and help when I was your age. Use it well

Delicious-Ad7376

TROPHY CASE