Tamoxifen/AI and Statins

exercise_guru

I could use some advice. My cholesterol is over 270 and my ratio is 6. My liver markers are also elevated. They tried taking me off of tamoxifen with no effect.

My gastroenterologist wants to start me on statins ASAP. Currently I am on tamoxifen because I had severe muscle and bone aches on Arimidex and femara.

Is anyone taking a Statin can you lend your experience or advice? I am concerned about muscle aches because I really need to lose weight and exercise and tamoxifen and a hysterectomy already make that difficult.

Lula73

quick question...how long were you on the tamoxifen and how long a break did you take from it before running the cholesterol and liver enzyme labs again?

exercise_guru

Good question my cholesterol shot up 100 points within 3 months of when I first went on Arimidex. It never came back down and continued to climb. I was off tamoxifen for 12 weeks and cut carbs and sugar. The liver enzymes and cholesterol stayed the same.

exercise_guru

My cholesterol shot up 100 points within 3 months of when I first went on Arimidex. It never came back down and continued to climb. The pain in my hands and feet were so bad I switched to tamoxifen.

When my liver enzymes continued to rise they had me take a break from tamoxifen. I was off tamoxifen for 12 weeks and cut carbs and sugar. The liver enzymes and cholesterol stayed the same.

As far as cardio and exercise it's less about the desire than the ability. I actually really love to bike and a lot of exercise stuff but I still have residual neuropathy and weakness in my hands and feet so that's an issue as well. I have taken up swimming which is exercise.

dtad

exercise guru...just be careful. Statins have their own set of potential serious side effects. Hopefully you won't experience any of them but IMO its important to be aware of them. Good luck and keep us posted...

KleeKai

Hi,

I've been taking simvastatin for many years prior to my breast cancer diagnosis. I take the lowest dose, 10mg, once a day. It's been fairly well maintained. My triglycerides did rise about a year ago so I've worked on my diet and my recent blood work shows a drop back down to normal. I still find it difficult to motivate myself for exercise. Side effects from tamoxifen and the AI's haven't helped. Also, the cancer treatment induced osteoarthritis in my hands, knees and ankles so I ache whenever I do exercise.

Good luck.

keepthefaith

My cholesterol is high also. My GP prescribed a statin, but I am not taking it....she thinks since the rest of my bloodwork is in the normal range, it is likely a genetic thing and exercise or diet probably won't benefit much, if at all. I eat fairly well and walk often. I quit Tamoxifen a yr and a half ago. Trying to find a healthy balance w/o adding more issues, is challenging for sure.

DiabeticCancerChick

I've had high cholesterol all my life (it's a genetic thing for me), but since my ratios were always good, nothing was ever done about it... until a few months ago when my LDL was 177 and deemed unacceptable. My endocrinologist put me on a statin (5mg atorvastatin/day, which is half a pill, tiny dose) and told me that it can deplete an enzyme, CoQ10, and to try supplements if I had any adverse effects. Well dang, I sure did have adverse effects about 7-10 days into it. I had muscle aches, mild enough to be a non-issue, but I developed profound fatigue such that I could barely keep my eyes open, I also felt like I had anemia and would huff & puff over the least little exertion, and worst of all, I started feeling dizzy, like I was about to pass out, even though my blood pressure was normal. So I got myself to the drug store and bought a bottle of CoQ10, hoping like hell it would do something, because I really couldn't live with those symptoms. And yes it did work. Perfectly. A few hours later I felt fantastic, all my symptoms completely gone. So I've been taking CoQ10 supplements ever since, and my symptoms have not returned. Not much is known yet about the correlation between CoQ10 and statins, but I just wanted you to know that in my case CoQ10 supplements are like a magic pill, and atorvastatin is now very easily tolerated. Oh, and my LDL went from 177 to 93 (normal range) on that tiny dose of statin.

exercise_guru

I appreciate thise feedback. I am meeting with a dietician. She would like to see if we can use dietary intervention. I will ask her about coenzymeQ. There is some speculation that stains can help prevent reoccurance because some breast cancer uses cholesterol as a fuel Source. I will meet with my family doctor about statins this week. Likely I will put off taking them because I am just barely able to get back on my bike.