Zetia for High Cholesterol User Reviews (Page 2)

• Sum...
• August 12, 2009

"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."

• Han...
• October 29, 2009

"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

"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."

• I A...
• October 30, 2014

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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."

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

"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

"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."

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

"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

"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."

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

"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."

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

"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

"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."

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

"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

"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

"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

"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."

• Agg...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 13, 2024

"I took 10mg of Zetia for high cholesterol for a period of time. Later, I needed heart surgery and was off of it for a period of time. When I resumed the medication, I realized how bad it made me feel, even at a low dose, nothing specific, just general fatigue."

• BMI...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 4, 2024

"As with Zetia or statins, you must have a BMI of less than 29. If you are too fat or not continuing to get your BMI down to 25, you will not benefit. You can't just pop pills and expect magic if you continue to eat junk food and have a BMI of 30+. My BMI is 26, and 10mg of Zetia works with no side effects. I will add 20mg of a statin soon (not 40mg like crazy doctors prescribe). If your BMI is over 29, you will be lucky to live 5 weeks longer on meds. If your BMI is under 29, you may get 5 years longer. Exercise and diet are the key. There is no magic pill. If you don't care about living 5 years longer, then get off the pills and go smack down some more ice cream, candy bars, and Cokes. Any doctor that tells you any pills work without a better diet and more exercise is on the crack pipe and doesn't translate the scientific findings over the last 4 decades... Many doctors tell you how it really is, in that you need to lose weight. You are not listening to the most important part of the conversation."

• fgr...
• June 25, 2013

"I have been using Zetia for two years. I am also having extreme muscle pain with profuse sweating when I get too hot."

• Nun...
• March 5, 2014

"Dizziness, tiredness, runny nose, sore throat, cough, diarrhea, generally feel bad."

• Hei...
• March 21, 2013

"Stopped taking Zetia at night as I had horrific nightmares. Will try it in the morning, see if I have any side effects. Can't take statins because of muscle pain."

• gon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 11, 2016

"Only took 2 days. Leg pains already, flu-like symptoms, felt feverish, but no fever. Cold, clammy chills. I can't take statins, and it seems this is a no-go also."