Q. Am I the only person using statins who is having memory problems? It has happened with two different statins. I actually had amnesia, and that really frightened me.
I’ve been off and on simvastatin. It causes me problems with pulling up a name or a word during a conversation or writing an email. I keep going back to it because Lipitor and pravastatin gave me leg cramps and amnesia.
My doctor does not seem to believe me when I describe the amnesia incidents. I told him about buying two batteries for my car within several months with absolutely no memory of buying the first one.
I have strokes in my family on both sides so this is very scary and I don’t know what to do.
A. People have been telling us for more than a decade about memory problems while taking statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs. Now the FDA has acknowledged that medications like atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin and simvastatin can interfere with cognitive function and memory in some patients. You can find much more information about this complication in a chapter on “The Dark Side of Statins” in our book, Best Choices from The People’s Pharmacy.
In addition to drugs, there are other ways to lower the risk of heart disease. We are sending you our Guide to Cholesterol Control and Heart Health with non-drug approaches and information about other types of cholesterol-lowering medicines. Controlling blood pressure is key to reducing the risk of stroke.
