Side Effects Catalysts for Crestor Lawsuits

Many patients of the cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor are looking into their legal options as more and more side effects become associated with the medication. Crestor is a statin drug – one of many similar drugs used to treat high cholesterol – and is one of the strongest of its kind available. Side effects have been linked to dosage strength with most statin drugs, and because of the strength of Crestor, it has been associated with a higher-than-normal number of Crestor side effects.

Rhabdomyolysis, muscle injury, renal failure, and diabetes have all been linked to Crestor use. Patients who are actively trying to prevent heart disease are instead facing a slew of side effects that could be life-threatening. Diabetes in particular has stumped scientists – the facts are that patients who use statin drugs like Crestor are 9 percent more likely to develop diabetes, with patients taking higher doses of the statin drugs as much as 12 percent more likely to see a diabetes diagnosis. One theory is that the statin has an impact on how resistant a patients muscles are to insulin, resulting in elevated blood sugar levels.

Crestor is most commonly associated with muscle injury, which experts believe has something to do with the medication interfering with muscle cell metabolism. When muscles are injured, they release waste products into the body, which are processed by the kidneys. One of the substances released by injured muscles is called myoglobin. Myoglobin is a large protein that can get stuck in a patient’s kidneys and build up over time, leading to Crestor rhabdomyolysis.

If not treated properly, rhabdomyolysis can lead to kidney failure if the kidneys start to shut down because they cannot perform their usual function. Patients with kidney failure, or renal failure, need medical attention as quickly as possible in order to preserve their lives.

The Food and Drug Administration has already required warnings about Crestor-related renal failure, myopathy, and rhabdomyolysis. These side effects are especially likely at the 40 mg dose. After a 2010 study linking Crestor to diabetes, the Food and Drug Administration also required Crestor to carry a diabetes warning. Many patients see the failure to warn of diabetes risk prior to the release of the study are hoping that the late nature of the warning this is grounds for a Crestor lawsuit.