What are the most likely side effects?
Muscle aches in the large muscles such as the thigh and upper arm as well as liver damage are the most frequently reported serious side effects. Most of these problems are reversible if the drug is discontinued, but any patient who is put on a statin drug needs to be followed closely. After four to six weeks on the drug, patients need to have their liver function checked, and these tests need to be repeated every three months for the first year and then every six months for as long as the patient takes the drug. This study is very significant in light of its benefits to patients with diabetes, a population that continues to grow in the U.S. as obesity levels rise. Until the Heart Protection Study data became available, evidence about the effects of lowering cholesterol in individuals with diabetes was less extensive, and not all physicians were aggressively treating it. Now we know that simvastatin should be strongly considered for all patients with diabetes with the exception of those
