Ezetimibe for High Cholesterol User Reviews (Page 2)

• TLC...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 7, 2019

"My husband began ezetimibe less than two weeks ago because of his intolerance of statins. Like many of the other patients on this thread, he has experienced severe joint pain in hips and elbows, severe back pain, muscle pain in arms and legs, insomnia, depression, chills, cough, and general flu-like malaise. He is exhausted from lack of sleep. The discomfort is so great that sleep is impossible. He has always been a stoic individual when not feeling well but not so now! A light bulb went off when he thought it might be this medicine. Sure enough, this tiny white pill is the culprit. It has been three days since the last dose and his symptoms are still raging on."

• Wat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2022

Ezetimibe "My cardiologist put me on statins over 2021, 80 mg, 40, 20, 10, then changed to Crestor 5, then 2.5 mg. I cannot tolerate them, period. Now, he put me on Zetia, which I resisted for about a month, but he insisted I try them. By the 3rd day, I have muscle pain in my arms, cramps in my legs and feet, diarrhea, queasy stomach, severe headaches, dizziness, and insomnia. My non-fasting cholesterol is 225/85. I am stopping Zetia, and I pray that all these side effects go away within days. No one can live like this. I have a good diet, but will work at it even harder because I will NOT take this poison again. If you have had good results, I am happy for you, but if you experience what I have, get off them now."

• Jac...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 11, 2014

Ezetimibe "I have been taking this for 10 years, and although my cholesterol numbers are good, I'm constantly fatigued. I take a handful of other medications as a result of a heart attack that left no permanent damage to my heart. Sometimes I wonder if the side effects of a lot of these medications are worth the benefit. Plus, Zetia is expensive."

• Red...
• May 31, 2017

Ezetimibe "My efforts to take something other than Statin is Zetia! My liver enzymes spike with Statins along with fatigue, muscle weakness, and cramping, major confusion, and memory difficulty! Overall, my cholesterol is in the 300s, and I need to get it lowered, so Zetia is one of many I've tried and couldn't tolerate! Side effects for me are fatigue, chills, and flushing, then sweats! Muscle charlie horses, joint pain!"

• Anonymous
• January 2, 2011

Ezetimibe "Tried several statins but both resulted in terrible muscle pain despite working to reduce both LDL and HDL levels. After switching to Zetia, no more muscle pains while lowering my LDL and maintaining my HDL levels."

• SRM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2019

"After four weeks of Ezetimibe, I have decided to stop. The first week, I experienced a severe headache and nausea. In the second week, I had stomach pain and fullness. In the third week, I experienced severe tingling in my hands and feet, extreme tiredness, and muscle cramps (charley horses) in my legs and feet, as well as heart pounding. In the fourth week, my knees had edema and were so sore I couldn't attend my exercise class anymore. On top of that, I am experiencing hair loss! I am also having awful heartburn. I stopped the drug on my own and notified my physician."

• Sum...
• August 12, 2009

Ezetimibe "I took it for about 2 years and it did lower my cholesterol somewhat. The entire time that I took it, I sweated profusely with any exercise and I would become lightheaded. I quit taking Zetia nearly a year ago and have had no horrible sweating episodes since."

• Hwh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 14, 2019

"My experience with Ezetimibe 10 mg was only for 3 weeks. It started out okay, but then I felt like it was starting to strangle me 2 weeks into using the medicine. In week 3, I saw the doctor to inform him, and 2 days later had a mini-stroke. I have now been informed that I have a bit of a high enzyme in the heart, yet 3 weeks earlier my heart was good. Please, people, be very aware of the damage statin drugs or other cholesterol medications can do to you."

• Han...
• October 29, 2009

Ezetimibe "I have used this at half the prescribed dosage for over a year. My cholesterol levels have improved dramatically even at the lower dosage. I do not believe my cholesterol is a problem but have succumbed to my doctor. I would not take statins although my insurance company says I should. I am pleased with the results."

• Wil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 12, 2017

Ezetimibe "Took Zetia at 10:30 at night with my pravastatin 30mg. By 2:00 AM, I woke with horrible leg and arm muscle pain. Never had issues on the low dose of pravastatin, but now, 2 days later, my legs still burn. I cannot stand it and hope it goes away. Never again. I had the same problems with Lipitor, only this is not going away yet. Not worth it."

• Por...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 23, 2021

"I do not recommend this drug; this is the 2nd drug I have tried for high cholesterol. My doctor said this one would not cause muscle pain; it did! In less than 4 weeks on this drug, I lost complete use of my right arm and knee, had severe back pain, the bloating was so bad that it pushed up against my chest wall, then the pain went into my chest and under my breasts. The final thing that happened that convinced me to never take another cholesterol drug was lightning bolts in my heart; that was scary! The sad thing about this drug was the cost: $173.99 with insurance for 3 months. I spoke to CVS, and there's nothing they can do. I wasted $173.99 and have 2 1/2 months of this drug left. I'm sharing this to warn you; this drug is so awful, and it's very expensive. It will damage your heart muscle, kidneys, and liver. I prefer to change my diet and lose some weight; not worth the risks nor the pain it causes. Thank you for reading and make wise choices."

• Mud...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 31, 2020

"Statins gave me severe muscle pains, nightmares, etc., so Dr. prescribed Ezetimibe. First 10 days great then I began to develop a small pain in the lower back, kidney area, and it went away about 1 hr. On the 6th week, the pain was 24 hours a day and so extreme I couldn't sleep more than 2 hrs at a time. I stopped taking it, and within 30 or so hrs, the pain ceased in my left lower back, kidney area, and now finally, 6 days later, no pain. The day after I stopped taking it, I had a blood test which showed basically no benefit whatsoever in taking this. Let me add that I have had my thyroid completely removed and am taking Synthroid."

• Mik...
• November 17, 2019

"This drug, ezetimibe, on the 7th day, made me so violently ill, my body seemed to want to get it out of me. Any drug that has this impact, even in a body that tolerates it, must be doing damage. Why my new cardiologist prescribed this for me is why I have huge reservations about allopathic drugs. Five days after I stopped taking ezetimibe, my liver is still swollen, distended, and I have very diminished vital energy. Fortunately, my toilet and sink are close together, as I needed both simultaneously. This is a bad drug, I still feel sick from it. My cholesterol was within an acceptable range, I have a heart condition."

• Aco...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 13, 2020

"I’m an insulin-dependent, Type 2 diabetic in his 70s with cholesterol and LDL issues. My cardiologist started me on ezetimibe 1 month ago on 1 tab three times a week (that should have been the first red flag). He also scheduled a review in 1 month (usually 6 mths - the second red flag). Since starting this mongrel of a medication, I have been wracked with leg pain, diarrhea, flatulence, fatigue, belching, and occasional noisy heartbeat. After reading the reviews on this site, I have decided to stop the ezetimibe immediately. I hope I’ve dodged a bullet. I also feel like I’ve been used as an experimental lab rat, but it will never happen again."

• Bir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 16, 2019

"I've been on this drug for 5 days and already feel like a giant yuck. Muscle pain, hip pain so severe I can't get up and start walking. Foot and ankle pain waking me up all night, diarrhea early in the morning, exhausted. Can't take statins. Gonna give up."

• 65...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 22, 2022

"I'm a 65-year-old female who cannot take statins because they cause severe hip, joint, and muscle pain. I was put on ezetimibe and am now having the same issues along with severe lower back pain and tiredness - the side effects are horrible. I stopped taking this drug about a month ago, and I am still waiting for it to leave my body and get back to normal. I can't even walk 2 blocks without suffering. I don't recommend this drug to anyone, it's not worth it! 10 MG was the dosage... never ever am I taking another cholesterol drug. More harm than good!"

• I A...
• October 30, 2014

Ezetimibe "Cholesterol numbers are in the normal range for the first time EVER. I take it with Livalo (the cost for both medications is horrible and are Tier 4 meds on insurance formulary list). Only side effect is perspiration comes in waves (not all the time) and has the odor of garbage. Bathing is the only solution for this problem. Deodorants only work for a short period after a 'sweat' episode."

• pja...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 9, 2021

Ezetimibe "I'd been on Zetia either 60 or 90 days before it affected my liver enzymes and pancreas. I first noticed the dark urine and light feces around a month ago. Then fatigue, loss of appetite, itchy skin. I was diagnosed with jaundice, then fearful that I had cancer while ruling out hepatitis and autoimmune diseases. Finally, I'm told by the GI specialist that it must be the other supplements I'm taking, which he claimed weren't FDA approved. However, I'll know soon, and I suspect that I was in the currently 0.1% who had serious and severe side effects. As a result, my cholesterol levels doubled instead of improved."

• KPd...
• September 20, 2011

Ezetimibe "I take 20mg of Crestor in addition to Zetia and have for 5 years or more with no side effects. I asked my doctor to take me off Zetia for 6 months to see what my numbers would look like without it. For me, it knocks about 40 points off the total score, so I'm back on Zetia again."

• Ian...
• October 18, 2016

Ezetimibe "I have been taking Zetia (10 mg) for about five years. My copay was about $100 at first but in the past two years the price has risen dramatically, even though I understand it will soon be considered a generic. My current order bears a copay of $411 for a 90-day supply and the result is that I will simply stop taking it. (My copay is 50% of the nominal full price of the drug.) Until I read some of the comments here, I was unaware that my excessive sweating might be due to this prescription drug. We must do something about pharmaceutical companies constantly marking up drug prices just because they can."

• Lis...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 18, 2022

Ezetimibe "I have been on different statins and can’t handle them. They give me vertigo, abdominal pain, stiffness, aches, and pains. I tried just fish oil for a while, but my triglycerides were too high. I am diabetic, and they want my cholesterol and triglycerides in check. My doctor put me on Zetia 6 months ago. My triglycerides are down 90 pts and my cholesterol lowered significantly as well. The problem I am having now is all the side effects just like when I was on the statins besides vertigo. I am also having anxiety and some depression, which I am now reading is also a side effect of statins. As I look back, I had them then as well. In fact, that's when my anxiety started, and I thought it was perimenopause or from my strict dieting at the time. I would love to stay on it because my numbers are great, but I can’t handle the side effects anymore. My muscle spasms have gotten really bad, and my back pain and joint stiffness are unbearable at times. My moods are horrible."

• Sha...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 14, 2019

"I've been using ezetimibe for a bit over 6 months. It didn't seem to have any side effects except my urine looked like it does when I'm dehydrated, but not dark enough to concern me (dark urine = liver damage). However, a blood test showed it's been damaging my liver. The doctor had me stop, and the morning a day after stopping, I found my shoes are loose. Which means my feet had been swollen, an issue I noticed once in a while when my shoes would be tight but attributed to just being fat. I also seem to be able to concentrate better. I can tell you I'm confident that stopping the drug relieved these side effects I didn't even know I had. Not worth the slight reduction of bad cholesterol, imo."

• Bat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 23, 2020

Ezetimibe "I have taken 10 mcg Zetia for 8 weeks. Around the 6-week mark, I started to notice I had very light pink urine. I actually did not think anymore about it since I had no other issues. On week 8, I went 3 days forgetting to take the Zetia and noticed my urine color was normal again, still not connecting the dots. Anyway, when I finally remembered to take Zetia on day 4, all became bad again. My urine was pink again, and now I had left side back pain that would’ve taken an elephant to his knee. It was monstrous and left me unable to function for 2 days. I stopped Zetia, and my urine color is normal, and my back pain disappeared. This was 2 weeks ago I stopped, and I have no more issues."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 11, 2021

Ezetimibe "I am in perfect health except for my cholesterol, and my numbers have remained the same for 15 years. After the second day of taking Zetia, I knew I would destroy my health. I felt like my face had been beaten by a baseball bat, I was sick with fever, chills, and had labored breathing. I flushed the bottle down the toilet and went online to these patient testimonials to discover the side effects that are not mentioned in the guidelines. I have had a nasty sweat all day today. I cannot wait for this horrible drug to get out of my system. Why would I take something that's going to clog my sinuses when I can't breathe, and I have clogged sinuses, or take something that's going to give me respiratory distress? I always get respiratory illness if I'm sick."

• Wil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 13, 2022

"I'm only on day two, and my stomach is a wreck! Nausea, belching, bloating, and burning. Diarrhea on top of that. I had a crazy night's sleep the first night I took it, and from the looks of some reviews I've read, others have experienced insomnia as well. I work a full-time job, so I give this one more night, then I'm done. I'd rather take my chances of high cholesterol or go full-on vegan than put up with this."