statin switch question

[Jay4471]

does anyone know if its normal when switching statins for the alt ast numbers to spike or is this a sign of body rejecting new statin? was on liptor 20 but not liking it so two weeks ago started simvastatin 30 to see if more tolerable b/c my research said it had the lowest rate of side effects of the potent statins. numbers were normal on 20 lipitor but are now alt 68 ast 54.

[erijon]

AST & ALT are liver enzymes that increase when there is inflammation in the liver.

[oldie]

i have just changed from Crestor to Lipitor and back again. No side effects. Why are you taking statins? You have a heart problem? What are ast and alt? I've been on stats for four years wnd never heard of them.

[Jay4471]

thanks for reply

[erijon]

It's normal and those numbers are not really high. A couple things, first off doctors don't get too concerned until these get over 300. Also, statins have been show to be harmless to the liver. In fact, the FDA no longer recommends that doctors do additional blood tests to check for effects of a statin on the liver.

Ask you doctor when they would like to retest.