High blood cholesterol leads to coronary heart disease, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. When lifestyle modifications aren't enough to bring your blood cholesterol levels under control, your doctor may prescribe medications. Statin drugs, which block a substance your liver needs to produce cholesterol, are the most commonly prescribed medicines for high cholesterol. Other options include bile acid-binding resins, such as colestipol, which stimulate the liver to bind excess blood cholesterol into bile acids, and cholesterol absorption inhibitors, such as ezetimibe, which limit the amount of cholesterol your small intestine absorbs from food. All of these drugs may cause significant side effects.
Minor Side Effects
Bile acid-binding resins and statins may cause nausea and constipation. Statins and cholesterol absorption inhibitors may also lead to diarrhea, and you may develop gas, vomiting or belching after taking bile acid-binding resins. Cholesterol absorption inhibitors are associated with other minor side effects such as headache, dizziness, sore throat, sneezing and runny nose. Statins and cholesterol absorption inhibitors may cause joint aches, and statins are also associated with muscle aches.
Muscle Damage
Statin drugs may cause a more severe type of muscle pain and tenderness known as statin myopathy. The higher your statin dose, the more likely you are to experience muscle pain and damage. In some instances, muscle cells break down and release a protein called myoglobin that may travel through the bloodstream and damage your kidneys, warns MayoClinic.com.
Liver Damage
Since statin drugs and cholesterol absorption inhibitors may be toxic to your liver, your doctor will order regular blood tests to measure liver enzymes. You may continue taking these cholesterol-lowering drugs if enzyme levels are mildly elevated, but the doctor will stop them if you have severely elevated enzyme levels. If you continue these medicines, you'll risk permanent liver damage. Contact your doctor if you develop any of the following: pain in the upper right part of your abdomen, yellowing of your skin or eyes, pale or fatty stools, appetite loss or excess tiredness.
Anaphylactic Shock
People may develop a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to cholesterol absorption inhibitors. Seek medical attention immediately if you experience shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, rash, hives, severe itching or swelling of your face, lips, throat, eyes, hands, feet, ankles or lower legs after taking one of these medicines.
