Hey there

[jpaulwhite]

Hello!

I stopped commuting back in March of 2012. Today is my first day back! So excited!

I roll from Bailey’s Crossroads to Ballston every morning around 745-820. Return between 6 and 620. Takes 25 minutes on a good day to get to Ballston, about 15-20 to get back to Bailey’s. Just saying hello to everyone I’m a pretty large fellow riding one of these [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTU4WDEyNzc=/z/vCkAAOxyCQ5Tlhtl/$_35.JPG[/IMG]

I stopped riding before because I take Cholesterol medicine (Pravastatin) and my legs started hurting really really bad after I started taking the Pravastatin (I went on it AFTER I had been commuting for a few months daily) So my Dr. suggs I stop riding and see if my legs stopped hurting. Well they did lol, but I haven’t made it back until now.

Is there anyone else out there on Statins? (Mostly Cholesterol medicine) Just trying to figure out other peoples experience with it. I still take it, but hopefully this time if my legs are killing me my doctor said it wouldn’t be because of the medicine, it’ll be because of the riding.

Topic

[dasgeh]

@jpaulwhite 92182 wrote:

Hello!

I stopped commuting back in March of 2012. Today is my first day back! So excited!

I roll from Bailey’s Crossroads to Ballston every morning around 745-820. Return between 6 and 620. Takes 25 minutes on a good day to get to Ballston, about 15-20 to get back to Bailey’s. Just saying hello to everyone I’m a pretty large fellow riding one of these [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTU4WDEyNzc=/z/vCkAAOxyCQ5Tlhtl/$_35.JPG[/IMG]

I stopped riding before because I take Cholesterol medicine (Pravastatin) and my legs started hurting really really bad after I started taking the Pravastatin (I went on it AFTER I had been commuting for a few months daily) So my Dr. suggs I stop riding and see if my legs stopped hurting. Well they did lol, but I haven’t made it back until now.

Is there anyone else out there on Statins? (Mostly Cholesterol medicine) Just trying to figure out other peoples experience with it. I still take it, but hopefully this time if my legs are killing me my doctor said it wouldn’t be because of the medicine, it’ll be because of the riding.

Welcome back. We were just discussing routing near Bailey’s Xroads, so I’m curious: what’s your route?

Also, as you get back into it, don’t forget you can throw your bike on a MetroBus any time. Good luck!

[jpaulwhite]

Well let’s see. Up Lacy Blvd, right on Hoffmans Lane (Did you know the same people this street was named after own the Hoffmann Center in Alexandria and used to own half of JK Auto Parts) then make a left on Moncure to Columbia Pike. RIght on Columbia Pike then bust a left on Spring Hill Lane, right on Robinwood Ln, left on Carlin Springs. Ride in the street all the way past 50 and up that first big hill. Then the sidewalk to almost the end of Carlin Springs there. There’s a small hill almost halfway between 50 and Ballston on Carlin Springs. If there’s no traffic out there I’ll shoot out in the street from there to Ballston (Momentum coming down that hill works wonders lol). If there’s too much traffic I just ride the sidewalk to Ballston.

Cars on Carlin Springs get mad quick! I guess it doesn’t help that im riding on a major two lane road right after 6PM when people are flying from Ballston to Route 50 to go to DC/Fairfax, etc. I always hear someone talking sh*t.

[jpaulwhite]

I was born and raised out there so any questions you got send em to me! I know all the bike routes and I see people riding past my house commuting on bikes daily. Haven’t waved yet but now I will

[Dickie]

Welcome back to riding, and welcome to the forum. I have been taking Lipitor for four years due to a congenital heart defect. I occasionally feel aches beyond what I consider normal for the amount of riding I do and this has been explained as a possible side effect of the medication (as well as my heart issue), however it was never bad enough to prevent me from riding so I might be lucky in that regard. It is pretty common for people taking statins to have occasional muscle soreness, but it is much rarer (less than 1%) to have debilitating pain…. did your Dr. suggest anything else other than not riding? Did he prescribe a different statin or do additional blood work, kidney tests, etc?…. just worth investigating if in fact your pain returns. I do take a daily dose of Coenzyme Q10 to combat the muscle soreness but the evidence it not clear if this helps or not.

Hope that helps a little, and I hope to see you out there riding.

[jpaulwhite]

@Dickie 92224 wrote:

Welcome back to riding, and welcome to the forum. I have been taking Lipitor for four years due to a congenital heart defect. I occasionally feel aches beyond what I consider normal for the amount of riding I do and this has been explained as a possible side effect of the medication (as well as my heart issue), however it was never bad enough to prevent me from riding so I might be lucky in that regard. It is pretty common for people taking statins to have occasional muscle soreness, but it is much rarer (less than 1%) to have debilitating pain…. did your Dr. suggest anything else other than not riding? Did he prescribe a different statin or do additional blood work, kidney tests, etc?…. just worth investigating if in fact your pain returns. I do take a daily dose of Coenzyme Q10 to combat the muscle soreness but the evidence it not clear if this helps or not.

Hope that helps a little, and I hope to see you out there riding.

Hey Dickie!

Thanks for sharing. No my Dr didn’t suggest anything other than not riding. Which I thought was a bit lazy to be honest. I got a 2nd opinion and they pretty much told me the same thing. But the pain did go away when I stopped. She did order some additional tests and everything looked fine at the time. I have an appointment scheduled next Tuesday. I’m having Bloodwork done so I can have a good Baseline. Then if my legs DO start hurting I can have more Bloodwork done and see if my numbers are crazy. If my legs do start hurting and the numbers look ok I may just try to tough it out as long as it won’t hurt me medically. But let’s hope they keep feeling great

So now I am back on my 2nd day of commuting. And I feel excellent! Surprisingly so since I have been off for like two years. And to think I was this ‘-‘ close to driving today. I tried to talk myself into driving by saying oh no my old body needs some rest. 2 days at least! But then I remembered what I read yesterday…about that first mile being the hardest? MAN that is SO TRUE! After about a quarter mile I started feeling much better. By the time I got a mile under my belt I was good to go

[culimerc]

I would think that the overall health benefits of cycling a couple hours a week would prompt your Doctor to look for solutions or alternatives. Seems odd “stop exercising if it hurts”. Exercise helps lower blood pressure (the purpose of the statin to begin with), and lowers the chances of diabetes and heart disease.

[Dickie]

@culimerc 92296 wrote:

I would think that the overall health benefits of cycling a couple hours a week would prompt your Doctor to look for solutions or alternatives. Seems odd “stop exercising if it hurts”. Exercise helps lower blood pressure (the purpose of the statin to begin with), and lowers the chances of diabetes and heart disease.

Completely agree and exactly why I questioned the doctor’s response. My cardiologist had me try every possibly life style change before eventually prescribing a Statin. Actually Statins do little to help lower blood pressure, they are designed to inhibit the liver from overproducing an enzyme known to increase cholesterol. High cholesterol generally goes hand in hand with high blood pressure, but they are not connected.

[vern]

Welcome back to commuting! As for statins, a common side effect of statins is muscular pain. Every time I go in my doctor asks me about that, but it’s never been a issue for me. I can also tell you that bike riding, at least for me, can help to significantly lower cholesterol levels (and weight). Since I started commuting a year ago I’ve dropped 30 lbs. (along with better diet management), and my cholesterol has dropped profoundly. A year ago I was on Lipitor 40mg daily AND Zetia 10mg. Despite my doctor’s resistance (at first), my lipitor perscription is down to 10 mg and my cholesterol level is still quite low. My doctor is now on the bandwagon and he gets that my cycling with diet management is doing the deed. I’m hoping to get off the statin completely after my next blood check.

[cvcalhoun]

Muscle aches are the most common side effect of statins. And it can be hard to determine whether statins are the culprit, because sometimes it’s a combination thing–statins can make you more vulnerable to muscle aches from exercise. But given that exercise itself tends to lower cholesterol (which is what the statins are designed to do), ceasing exercise so you can take statins is counterproductive. Mayo Clinic has some suggestions for dealing with the side effects of statins:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statin-side-effects/art-20046013?pg=2

[Author]

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