Simvastatin, brand name Zocor, is a prescription medication used to treat high cholesterol and therefore reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. It inhibits the liver's production of cholesterol and forces the body to utilize the cholesterol from ingested food resulting in lower total cholesterol. Simvastatin is an effective medication, but it does induce side effects that can interfere with quality of life, which often overshadow the benefits.
Muscle Pain
Muscle pain is the most common complaint from patients taking Simvastatin. The reason why it induces muscle pain is not known, but according to research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, it could be due to the drug inhibiting enzymes in muscle cells, therefore, interfering with normal cell function, messaging and growth.
Some patients experience muscle pain, cramps or weakness. The pain ranges from mild, causing a general burden, to severe and interfering with daily activities. In the most severe cases it can lead to rhabdomyolysis, which is the breakdown of muscle tissue that can lead to liver damage, kidney failure and even death.
Liver Damage
There are two forms of cholesterol, dietary cholesterol from the foods you eat, and body cholesterol that is produced within your body. Because body cholesterol is produced in the liver, Simvastatin acts on the liver. In addition to inhibiting cholesterol production, it can also increase production of other enzymes produced in the liver. This side effect can lead to liver damage if you continue to take the medication.
There are often no signs or symptoms of liver damage. Therefore all patients taking Simvastatin should have their liver function monitored by their doctor throughout their treatment.
Digestive
Simvastatin can, although rarely, cause digestive side effects including nausea, diarrhea or constipation. These side effects are more likely to occur in patients who already have digestive conditions. To avoid these side effects take Simvastatin in the evening with a meal.
Other Effects
There are a variety of muscular related conditions that have been linked to Simvastatin. Conditions such as mitochondrial myopathy, a form of muscular dystrophy; polymyalgia rheumatica, a disorder of the muscles and joints; or polymyositis, a disease involving inflammation of the muscles have been associated with the use of statin medications such as Simvastatin.
A study conducted by the Department of Neurology at the University of Alabama researched whether Simvastatin actually causes these conditions or only unmasks the conditions that are already present. The current theory is that statin medications may trigger these conditions to surface, but more research is needed to gain conclusive evidence.
Other conditions associated with statin use include angioedema (swelling under the skin); vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels); lupus-like syndromes and hypereosinophilic syndromes (increased eosinophil, or white blood cell, counts in the blood).
