Bird, The first few times I read the fine print on some of my mom's meds and then mine I got a chuckle. Constipation and diarrhea seem to be listed on nearly everything. You'd think it would ballance out!
Yeah, the list of possible side effects reads like the unedited version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Shortness of breath, dry eyes, excessive tears, shortness of pants, tight shoes, and on and on... Even my glaucoma meds can cause heavier eye lashes and darkening of your iris (haven't noticed either but the prospect makes my wife jealous.)
All the statins have a warning about the possibility of serious muscle damage. I too tend to find weight that others loose so I need all my muscles in fair shape to move me around. I didn't experience so much weakness as pain. Lower back pain, joint pain below the waste (didn't seem to effect joints above waste. Anyway I think I have one statin left to try. They work well on my cholesterol but as they begin to build up during the first couple months the side effects get pretty bad. Then the alternative drugs are well tolerated but way less effective.
There is a drug you may want to look at. It is Zetia and it isn't a statin and works differently. It works well in combination with statins. Some statins come with it added in. It worked very well in combo with a statin for me but the statin side effects got in the way.
Pat