Are these simvastatin (zocor) side effects serious?

Question

I am 19 years old and just recently started taking simvastatin for my familial hypercholesterol -- LDL is 198 -- I am very healthy, both with nutrition and exercise (I am actually a "nutrition and fitness" major). So medication was the only thing left. I am aware of the side effects, but I wanted to know when are the side effect severe enough to stop taking the medication?
I occasionally experience muscle spasms on a daily basis and tend to have slight pain in biceps from time to time recently as well. It has been not quite 2 weeks yet that I have started taking the medication.

Answer 1

While the side effects of muscle pain and spasms rarely lead to a serious condition, it is still advisable that you notify your doctor about these symptoms. In rare cases, it can lead to rhabdomyolysis, a very serious condtion. He may wish to try you on a different medication but he can only determine that based on the frequency and severity your spams/pain. Please notify your doctor asap.

Answer 2

I personally wouldn't take any sort of ...statin drug. There is still a ton of research and controversy about the safety and side effects that they can cause. My aunt was on a statin drug for years and started having aches and pains as soon as she started taking it. The doctors told her that it was a normal side effect and she shouldn't worry about it. Then a year ago December she was diagnosed with a rare type of ALS. After being tested at numerous hospitals they believe that the ALS was a result of the statin drug. The disease spread extremely fast and she died this past march. There is no proof that the ALS was caused by the drug, but after doing a lot of research there seems to be a huge correlation between ALS and statin drugs. If I were you I would do a ton of research before taking the drug and if possible find an alternative method of treatment or try a non-statin drug.