Visit http://www.fda.gov  or http://wwwlrxlist.com
and search for "statin" or "crestor".

I've researched it only far enough so far to convince myself of these facts:
1. Statins cause at least tens of thousands of cases of muscle and/or
joint pain, many cases severe and prolonged, some cases permanently
disabling. An incidence of 1-2% is admitted by the drug manufacturers
and openly advertised.
2. Too many such cases kill by dissolving the body's muscles, including
heart muscle. This (rhabdomyolisys) is detectable early enough for
reversibility *IF* the pt gets his or her liver tested regularly
(dissolving muscle tissue floods the liver with protein, revealed by a
simple blood test for CK) as prescribed and/or runs to a knowledgeable
doctor at the first sign of unexplained pain. I've forgotten the
incidence rate, but the problem is well documented and advertised and
every pt is supposed to be warned about it.
3. Manufacturer in-house documentation shows mental performance
impairment in some cases, but this has not been promulgated to the
public. Cases range from diminished coordination and word recall
problems to total loss of memory, with reversibility uncertain.
4. There may be slight variations in the threats among the different
brands, but because they all act in the same manner their SEs are not
expected to differ much.
5. Many websites disparage statins . . . but the same is true for
everything from deodorants to aspartame to puppies. The most credible
non-institutional site I've seen so far is
http://www.spacedoc.net/statin_side_effects.html . I'm about to order
his book. He's an aerospace physician astronaut whose memory was
reverted to the age of 13 by just weeks on statins and made it his
mission in life to expose the drugs. His story is quite convincing, but
then so are many such books, from diet gurus to L. Ron Hubbard.
6. My civilian doc says some of her statin pts do fine for many years,
then encounter severe joint pain onset. If I hadn't gotten accustomed to
fighting many aches and pains for decades ( from sports overuse), I'd
have caught mine much sooner.
7. I've consulted with three physicians about my pain. Two said drop the
statin cold turkey immediately (because they knew I had no known
cardiovascular problems, which require tapering off the statin); the
third was the orthopod I asked yesterday about statin-induced pain. His
synopsis is that its mechanism is not understood, it is very common, it
is not specifically treatable, and it USUALLY delines over time.

I've begin taking Coenzyme Q10 and L Carnitine, about the only
"treatment" I've found for the pain. CoQ10 is probably not beneficial in
healthy people, but one of statins' express functions is to suppress
CoQ10, which our bodies need. Any benefits will take months.

I'll be very curious to see whether the muscle memory and complex muscle
control I've clearly lost over the past few years -- pretty much my
statin history -- returns. Both of these are attributable to age or
statin SEs, so who knows what's going on in my case?

Years of personal experimentation had convinced me and my doctors that
my high LDL and triglycerides (TG) and low HDL were genetic, that it
took dozens of heavy aerobic exercise per week for months (I was happy
to oblige during windsurfing season, but not in the winter) plus a
spartan diet to have even a mild effect on my lipids. Even when that got
my BP down to 95/65 and my pulse into the 40s, my LDL/HDL/TG still ran a
borderline 190/40/150. Statins achieved much better numbers, but are
apparently not worth the SEs in my case.

I haven't researched statins enough to see what SE incidence may be
realistic, whether statins harm only the admitted few percent or in
reality harm many more. The drugs work near miracles on many health
issues, so are great for those who tolerate them well.

I.P.