{"id":412003,"date":"2026-02-06T23:57:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/412003\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T23:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:57:31","slug":"nhs-says-stop-taking-rosuvastatin-and-call-doctor-if-you-have-these-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/412003\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS says ‘stop taking’ rosuvastatin and call doctor if you have these symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosuvastatin is prescribed to people with high cholesterol<\/p>\n

Fiona Callingham Lifestyle writer<\/p>\n

02:33, 31 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

The NHS advises people taking rosuvastatin to stop if they experience certain side effects(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

People currently on a commonly prescribed medicine are being urged to “stop taking” it if they experience certain adverse reactions. They should also “call a doctor” if any of these “serious” symptoms emerge.<\/p>\n

Statins are amongst the most regularly dispensed medications across the UK. The British Heart Foundation<\/a> (BHF) suggests that roughly seven to eight million adults in the UK are presently using them.<\/p>\n

These tablets can help lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – often known as “bad” cholesterol – circulating in the blood. Rosuvastatin represents one type of statin drug.<\/p>\n

According to the NHS website<\/a>: “It works by working on the liver to stop it making cholesterol. Rosuvastatin is used to lower cholesterol if you have been diagnosed with high blood cholesterol.<\/p>\n

“It’s also taken to prevent heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes. Your doctor may also prescribe rosuvastatin if you have diabetes, kidney disease, or a family history of rheumatoid arthritis or heart disease.”<\/p>\n

This drug is available only on prescription. Whilst this suggests a healthcare practitioner deems it suitable treatment, unwanted reactions may still arise.<\/p>\n

The NHS<\/a> explained that “serious” side effects are “rare” and occur in fewer than one in 1,000 people. It recommended patients to “stop taking rosuvastatin and call a doctor or call 111 now” should they develop any of the following issues.<\/p>\n

Muscle pain, tenderness, weakness or cramps<\/p>\n

If you get unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, weakness or cramps \u2013 these can be signs of muscle breakdown and kidney damage. \u201cThis can happen a few weeks or months after you first start taking this medicine,\u201d the NHS said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell your doctor about any unexplained muscle aches and pains, tenderness or weakness straight away\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaundice<\/p>\n

Jaundice is when the whites of your eyes or your skin turns yellow although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin. It can also cause pale poo and dark pee \u2013 these can be signs of liver problems.<\/p>\n

Severe stomach pain<\/p>\n

According to the NHS, this can be a sign of acute pancreatitis.<\/p>\n

Cough, shortness of breath and weight loss<\/p>\n

These can be signs of lung disease.<\/p>\n

Rash<\/p>\n

If you get a skin rash with pink-red blotches, especially on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet \u2013 this could be a sign of erythema multiforme.<\/p>\n

Weakness in your arms or legs<\/p>\n

The NHS said if you have a weakness in your arms or legs that gets worse after activity, or if you get double vision, drooping eyelids, problems swallowing or shortness of breath, these can be a sign of myasthenia gravis.<\/p>\n

When to call 999<\/p>\n

You should call 999 now or go to A&E if you develop severe breathing or swallowing. problems.<\/p>\n

Common side effects<\/p>\n

These common side effects of rosuvastatin happen in more than one in 100 people. There are things you can do to help cope with them:<\/p>\n

Feeling sick (nausea)HeadachesStomach painFeeling weak or dizzyConstipationProtein in your pee (urine)<\/p>\n

The NHS added: \u201cIf the advice on how to cope does not help and any of these side effects bother you or do not go away, keep taking the medicine, but tell your doctor or pharmacist. They may recommend trying an alternative statin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rosuvastatin is prescribed to people with high cholesterol Fiona Callingham Lifestyle writer 02:33, 31 Jan 2026 The NHS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,104,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-412003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-nhs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}