Ezetimibe for High Cholesterol User Reviews (Page 3)

• jac...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 18, 2019

"I put up with night pains for the first 6 months. Now I have chest pain and arm pains when working and moving my arms. Memory and concentration seem to have become an annoyance. Just know, when you suddenly stop using ezetimibe, the side effects do not suddenly stop."

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2023

Ezetimibe "46 yrs old. I had high cholesterol of over 300 and have been taking Lipitor 40 mg for 7 years. A cardiologist added Zetia 10 mg to my Lipitor to bring down my overall cholesterol. Started taking it on July 7th, 2022. I didn’t have side effects right away. By August, I developed a pain on the left side of my neck that over time nothing I took would get rid of the pain, only dulled it. During that time, my menstrual cycle was not consistent, and I became very fatigued over time. To the point, I was exhausted by the end of the day, which caused me to gain weight. In November 2022, I just stopped taking it to see if my neck pain would go away, and two weeks later it was gone. A month later, my menstrual cycle was back to normal, and within the last 30 days, I’m not as fatigued as I used to be while working. Yes, it did lower my LDL and brought my overall cholesterol number down within 3 months. But keep in mind I have had high HDL and perfect triglyceride numbers prior to taking this and still do!"

• BAN...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 6, 2014

Ezetimibe "Combining the Zetia with low dose Atorvastatin has produced good results with my cholesterol numbers. My Cardiologist added it to my regimen about 4 years ago and it has not added any side effects other than in the wallet."

• Geo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2020

"I am a 68-year-old female. Four days ago, I started this drug, ezetimibe, with Rosuvastatin because of diabetes type 2 and a heart problem. I immediately experienced severe stomach pain, bloating, gas, nausea, diarrhea, lightheadedness, painful urination, and muscle cramping. As of today, I will cease the use of this drug, the pain in my lower abdomen is horrendous. I just looked up the side effects of this drug, and all of the above are listed!"

• mol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 11, 2021

Ezetimibe "I was put on Zetia when I could not take statins because of severe muscle pain. Three weeks in, I started having pain in my elbow and both shoulders. I stopped the medication, so I ended up taking it for less than one month. Six months later, after stopping the medication, still the pain did not go away."

• Gar...
• August 24, 2017

"Multiple statins over the years caused severe muscle aches in the lower body, fatigue, stomach pain, and scary loss of memory and focus. Took months but dramatic improvement after stoppage. Have talked to many people with identical experiences. Been on ezetimibe for two months. Experiencing pain and swelling in the left hand, wrist, and forearm, body fatigue, sudden short bouts of liquid diarrhea, waking up during the night sleep absolutely drenched and awash in perspiration, loss of muscular strength, and increasing loss of mental focus. Talked today to a friend having comparable symptoms. Stopping this drug immediately."

• Pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 9, 2019

"Doctor put me on this to lower cholesterol. I'm a person with 3 heart stents. Second day I took it, got all kinds of side effects: trouble breathing, stomach pain, terrible swelling, headache, cramping of muscles. Don't understand why he would do that, as it says it doesn't mix well with blood thinners. Stay away from this drug if possible, very dangerous."

• Rob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 16, 2021

"Started taking Ezetimibe about two months ago. Terrible side effects to start with, but just thought my body would get used to it. What a mistake, as I never felt so ill in my life. Shoulder pain, stomach pain, chest pains, most of all, it's the feeling of being ill, fuzzy head, not just with it. Stopped taking it now for two days, still getting symptoms. Hope I can get back to my normal self soon. I would rather have high cholesterol than take this pill that makes you feel like rubbish."

• Sue...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 2, 2018

"My doctor recommended I try ezetimibe and said I might experience some joint/muscle pain. Within 10 days, I had severe lower back pain and needed physio and a chiropractor for 3 weeks of therapy. I stopped this medication and returned to my doctor who assured me that this medication does not cause localized pain in one specific area. So I agreed to restart ezetimibe, and within another two weeks had severe knee swelling and pain, and again my doctor does not believe ezetimibe is the cause. However, from reading some of the above comments, it sounds as though others have experienced similar localized pain. I now have to get an X-ray of my knee and more medical treatment. I’m not 100% sure ezetimibe is the cause, but I’m not convinced it isn’t either."

• Gra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 18, 2020

"Had high cholesterol for over 40 years and runs in the family. Statins for 12 months took a year out of my life. Even when given different ones, the side effects were intolerable. A recent blood test showed still too high LDL, so prescribed ezetimibe as told not a statin, and only side effects in less than one percent of the population, and possible only side effect would be diarrhea. Day 1, all good. Day 2, some diarrhea in the morning, by afternoon headache which got worse all through the night and into day 3. Day 3, pains in upper shoulder, legs, nausea, and still really bad headache. Ginger tabs eased the nausea, but nothing fixed the headache, and stayed awake all night. Day 4 worse than day 3, so have stopped. I have always reacted to prescription meds, always get the side effects, but would rather have a quality of life with high LDL than feel like this. Have not heard of any other alternatives."

• Cha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 28, 2019

"Ezetimibe caused serious insomnia problems, with resulting tiredness all day. I also had a constant low level of anxiety and mild depression while taking it. My brain didn't function as well-forgetting to do routine things (like putting the milk back in the refrigerator as an example). It took me a while to realize that it was the medication causing these symptoms because they can be caused by simple increases in stress, etc."

• Jan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 27, 2023

Ezetimibe "I was hoping this would work as I am statin intolerant. I began belching nonstop and had chest pain. I have never felt like this before. Quitting my one cup of coffee a day and anything else known to aggravate GERD had no impact. I also had leg pain starting from the buttocks all the way down through the arches of my feet. I rarely get ocular migraines but started to get them frequently. I’m off of it and feeling much better. A glass of wine or coffee does not bother me. It was the medication."

• Mar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 5, 2021

Ezetimibe "I was diagnosed with PAD and given statins, which caused severe brain fog and confusion to the degree that my spouse thought I had dementia. I changed to ezetimibe to reduce high cholesterol, but even though it is not listed for Zetia, I still get the brain fog, although not quite as bad. I am afraid to stop taking them. Has anyone suffered the same effects? I am also taking clopidogrel and high blood pressure medication. I am 79 years old."

• Jak...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 12, 2021

"After 2 or 3 days, I became so dizzy and/or lightheaded. Didn’t think it was the new med, I went to the ER thinking it was a sinus infection and was prescribed amoxicillin for 7 days-nothing, as I was the same, if not worse. Went to the primary’s office and was told to discontinue ezetimibe, and what do you know? I'm getting better. I’ll be reading this site much more before starting new meds."

• EAa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2020

"I have decided to stop taking this horrible medicine. I have been taking this medicine for my cholesterol, and my joints, hands, legs, and feet hurt so much that I can't even sleep. This medicine should not be prescribed if the quality of life is going to be this poor."

• Reg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 6, 2020

"Don’t take this medication. I started taking it 2 weeks ago and have lost function in my left shoulder. I wish I had caught on sooner, but now even though I haven’t taken the drug for a few days, I’m still wearing a sling and can barely use my left arm. I’m not sure if the damage is permanent."

• Mel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2024

Ezetimibe "8/2/24 My experience with Zetia has been unexplainable. My numbers were very high, and now, after being on it for 3 months, they are very low. So low I had my doctor do another blood test because I thought the test results were wrong. The second test, done a week later, was even lower. Now I am concerned they will get too low. All statins I was put on caused severe cramping: arms, legs, feet, hands, under my rib cage, back. The only side effect I have with Zetia is possible cramping in my forearms when I stretch and my calves. I also have had hair loss. Now taking Rogaine to see if that helps. I am 75 years old, so lots of complaints may be from just getting old."

• bob...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 17, 2020

Ezetimibe "I started taking Ezetimibe in Feb. 2019. I cannot tolerate statins. After 10 months, I started to develop joint pain, muscle weakness, a runny nose, and was very tired. I checked my blood pressure. It was 213 over 120. I decided that Ezetimibe could be the problem. I stopped taking Ezetimibe. After 2-1/2 days, my blood pressure dropped to 152 over 94. I feel 100% better. There is a question that my liver could have been damaged."

• Gre...
• August 5, 2016

Ezetimibe "Dropped total number down 86 points, teamed only with red yeast rice supplements. 10 mg per day with dinner. I live in Phoenix, so can't tell if Zetia is causing sweat or Phoenix heat, but it has worked great. Very active life and no known side effects. Mail prescription plan costs 40.00 for 90 days."

• Won...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 5, 2024

Ezetimibe "With Crestor, 40mg, my APOB was still in the high 90s. I'm very fit and eat well. Doc added Zetia and my APOB went down to 49. Miraculous. Zetia helps cholesterol “absorbers” as statins help “producers”. There is a blood test by Boston Heart Diagnostics that your doc could order to find out if you are a producer or absorber (or both). If your doctor doesn’t dig this deep before prescribing meds, you need a new doctor."

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 8, 2022

"My doctor prescribed this after statins caused horrible pain in the muscles. Then he prescribed cholestyramine, a powder resin, that caused little side effects, but my triglycerides shot up. I did learn that resin has to be washed out of the mouth by brushing your teeth or it can rot teeth. I then tried red yeast rice, and that caused the same pain as the statins. My doctor told me it contains lovastatin. He then put me on this Zetia or ezetimibe. I thought everything was okay at first, but I started coughing with water in the back of my throat, and it felt like water was in my lungs. Then my back hurt continuously, and my foot pain came back. Then I started having continuous diarrhea 3-4 times a day and even didn’t make it to the toilet a couple times. This is a horrible drug. I had my blood work done, and my liver enzymes shot up on top of it."

• Fly...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 23, 2018

"I was taking the name brand Zetia for many years after trying 5 different statins that caused leg cramps that had me jumping out of bed at night and no way to stop the horrendous pain. No, pickle juice and hot showers didn't work. Things were going well with the Zetia until my insurance company refused to cover the drug this year and said I had to take the generic ezetimibe. What a disaster! It was like doing a colonoscopy prep every day. I couldn't leave the house because I was constantly running to the bathroom with severe diarrhea that lasted about 8-10 hours until the drug wore off. It made it impossible to even go to work. I couldn't eat anything without it running right through me (that's how it controlled the cholesterol--nothing stayed with you). Frankly, I'd rather take NOTHING than go through that again."

• ejn...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 18, 2017

"I have used this for a few months, as I cannot take a statin due to muscle pains. During this period, I developed a stiff shoulder that later progressed to a frozen shoulder. Worse, I had problems with focused thinking, and because of my lack of focused thinking, I only noticed this at 6 weeks. As I am a teacher, I immediately quit using it. I was lucky this happened in the school holidays. I have no idea what it did for my cholesterol, as the second side effect I noticed was such that I felt unable to continue it."

• Mar...
• July 3, 2021

"I started on ezetimibe 4 weeks ago after trying 5 different statins. Since starting this med, I keep telling my doc I get very dizzy and sleep for England, i.e., slept 15 hrs today and extreme dizziness. Think I will leave the tablet off from tonight as I can’t tolerate the way I feel. Since my heart attack 2 years ago, I have not felt right, all down to medication. Think I’d rather have a shorter life with no meds as all these meds cause more problems. Does anyone else feel dizzy constantly on these meds?"

• Rio...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 4, 2018

"I have been on this number of years - maybe 7. I think the Ezetimibe was effective on reducing the cholesterol as designed, however, I have had bouts of diarrhea for years, like my stomach explodes and out it comes. The doctors have not come up with a cause and/or a solution. Lately, I have reason to believe it is caused by the Ezetimibe that I take. It seems to come on me about 2 or 3 hours after I take it. Anybody else have this problem?"