Statins: Abdominal side effects – ‘your dose may need to be adjusted’

This Morning: Dr Chris reveals grapefruit can affect statins

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Statins can help to treat cholesterol if other lifestyle measures haven’t worked.

Lifestyle measures that can help include changes to the diet, increased levels of activity, quitting smoking, and reducing alcohol consumption.

Although statins can cause side effects, these aren’t debilitating and people can normally tolerate them.

Common side effects of statins include headaches, dizziness, nausea, feeling unusually tired or physically weak, constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion, farting, muscle pain, sleep problems, and low platelet count.

Statins can also cause uncommon side effects such as vomiting, memory problems, hair loss, pins and needles, hepatitis, pancreatitis, acne, and sexual problems.

Each person prescribed statins can react to the medication in a different ways; in some cases “your dose may need to be adjusted” say the NHS.

The list of potential side effects will normally be listed on the leaflet that comes with every packet of medicine.

If an individual experiences a side effect not mentioned on the leaflet, there is a way for them to report this.

It’s called the Yellow Card Scheme.

Launched in 1964, it was created as a way for the public to report problems or side effects with medicinal products.

Today it can be used by the public to report issues and side effects with any medicinal product or device.

During the pandemic a special Covid Yellow Card Scheme was set up allowing the public to report problems with Covid specific products, treatments, and tests.

How long this variant of the yellow card scheme will continue for now restrictions have been lifted is yet to be known.

Cases of COVID-19 have risen in the UK in recent weeks.

This is in large part down to the recent removal of the final Covid restrictions that also removed the legal requirement to self-isolate if someone tests positive.

As a result, case numbers have risen and so too will hospitalisations.

On the other hand, Covid has become less deadly than flu in recent months, giving hope to scientists and politicians alike that there won’t be another lockdown.

However, the world is an unpredictable place and Covid isn’t going away fast.

A new variant, known as Deltacron, has become of interest.

Featuring elements of the Delta and Omicron variants, the worry was that it would cause the severe illness of Delta and spread as quickly as Omicron.

For the moment it appears it has neither of these features; however, scientists are keeping a close eye on its development as well as looking out for other new variants.

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