How Can Cholesterol Levels Be Managed While Having Severe Fatigue Due To Atorvastatin?

Posted on Thu, 21 Dec 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 Answered on

Fri, 18 May 2018 Last reviewed on

Question : I have taken atorvastatin for about a year. Lately I've been feeling very fatigued and my cardiologist told me to stop taking it for three to four weeks to see if that helped with the fatigue. It did help and he instructed me to continue to withhold the drug.

What can I expect will happen if I continue with that advice? Will my cholesterol go up? Dangerously?

Answered by Dr. salah saad shoman (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
No

Detailed Answer:
Dear sir, I have gone through your question and I understand your concerns but it is a common side effect of atorvastatin to cause unusual fatigue , tiredness and body pains.. So, I agree with your doctor that you should not go back to taking it.. However, cholesterol level can be normalized by adopting a healthy diet and excersice .. walking 15-30 minutes daily will help regulate cholesterol levels and keeping them within normal levels.. You can even try walk at home videos on the YouTube..
Also adding two servings per day of whole wheat products such as oats, XXXXXXX and brown bread will help keep the levels of cholesterol within normal levels.. cutting on fatty dairy products and replacing them with low fat ones such as skimmed milk is important too.. Unsaturated fats found in olive oil and seafoods is safe to take an won't increase your cholesterol levels .. I hope you find this helpful . if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng