Health authorities symptoms and conditions

I am 43 yr old woman and have been on simvastatin on and off for the past 3yrs, it's only since coming across this website that I have actually managed to find a connection between this awful drug and a whole heap of medical problems. The most recent course made me so ill that I thought I had an incurable illness that no one could diagnose, at times I have been in so much pain I thought I was going to die. It started with severe knee pain, I have a little arthritis in the knee but doctors were baffled at why it would hurt so much as x-rays on knees and hips were ok. I ended up having an operation to cut a ligament, that was over a year ago and had been in crippling pain ever-since. Also; foggy head, headaches everyday lasting all day, pain in jaw, shoulders, neck, swollen throat, incredible limb swelling, numbness all down right side, kidney problems, weakness in muscles, aching hips and legs, itching, insomnia, to name a few. I complained to my doctor when I was prescribed 50mg of this poison because as soon as I took it, I immediately felt ill and collapsed from terrible weakness, couldn't even lift a feather. They reduced it to 20mg, and I blindly kept taking it, in the meantime, my leg function was worsening, my back was killing me, I couldn't sleep because of the unbelievable burning in my shoulders, hip, neck and legs, everything hurt so much. I have been in tears from the pain and frustration of not knowing what was happening to me, painkillers, even high potency prescriptions just didn't work. I was a healthy gym-going person with a slightly high cholesterol reading, and suddenly, I was almost crippled, unable to function or look after my family, couldn't even handle simple chores that I had done a thousand times before, couldn't think, speak well, do crosswords, it was unbelievable. I have had ECG's, heart stress tests, been to and fro to doctors, hospitals, specialists, even seen an osteopath with these pains, they must have thought I was a hypochondriac! Finally, I insisted on an MRI on my thigh as it had changed shape as there was a lot of muscle wasting in both my right arm and thigh, and so much pain. A lump had also appeared and was really worrying me. The doctor tried to fob me off and said it was a fat lump, I argued that if it was fat it wouldn't hurt so damn much, so the result of the MRI is that I have a tumor which is getting bigger. If I find out that this is a result of the medication, the gates of hell will open.
I took myself off this lethal stuff immediately as soon as I realized there was a connection between it and my debilitating condition, though it's too late to save my 12 yr relationship, that went down the tubes because I just couldn't function well, oh, and my job. and any chance of working after being ill for so long.
I have been off it just a few days but already I feel almost human again. I know it'll be a while before I can see a marked difference and do some of the things I used to be able to do like walk the dog!! but I am furious with my doctor's and have written a letter of complaint, and have told them that I would rather take my chances with god and be a happy person than ever trust them again. I am in no doubt whatsoever that this drug has ruined the last 3 years of my life and probably caused irreversible damage to my leg muscles. Why take a pill because the doctor said so??NEVER AGAIN from now on everything will be checked via websites like this, I am so disgusted that instead of helping me, my own doctor just prescribed other medications I need not have had because of this pill when all he had to do was take me off it. I find it hard to believe that they don't know of these side effects, or pretend not to, how can they not make the connection?? Absolutely furious. I am in worse health now than I ever was, there should be a serious health warning before this is given to anyone, and the first port of call for any complaints should be the doctors who prescribe them instead of offering alternative solutions. This is a time bomb waiting to explode.

Hi
I started taking 10 mg. daily ofLipitor 8 yrs. ago and about a year later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. There's no test for Fibro, just blood tests to elimate everything else ex: Lupus, RA etc. I've been suffering so much from muscle pain, all the tender points as in Fibro and also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three doctors diagnosed me with Fibro. and chronic fatigue. I had most of the symptoms everyone else is complaining about also. The pain in my stomach muscles are just about gone too.

It reached a point three weeks ago when I was having sharp pains all over my body and muscle cramps and charlie horses at night and I could just about walk up the stairs my hips hurt so much that decided to stop Lipitor. I was so tired all the time and in constant pain.

My doctors said it couldn't be the Lipitor. The pain in most of the tender points are just about gone but I know it will take a while to get out of my system. I lost muscle strength over the years and hope to get that back. I'm 64 years old and know it will take awhile .

I went to my doctor Tuesday and told him I took myself off the Lipitor and that I now remember being diagnosed with Fibro shortly after going on Lipitor. He got so mad at me and said that Lipitor doesn't cause a disease. As I said there's no test for Fibro and it's not a disease it's a syndrome or condition where the brain sends pain signals to the tender point muscles but there's nothing actually wrong with the muscles. I told him that 6 years ago when I tried going off Lipitor for 3 months and joined a gym, Curves, I felt fine and thought I was in remission. Then when I started taking Lipitor again I couldn't do the exercise in Curves and had to stop going. It never dawned on me it was the Lipitor.

I now have a problem with my heart, one condition I might have been born with but the Arrthymia I don't know about. My heart beats too many beats and it beats 4 beats and the 5th beat is backwards. Now I'm on 25mg of Topricin (the generic) beta blocker to slow down the heart beats. I don't know if this is caused by the Lipitor or not. My cardiologist said that Lipitor can affect every muscle in your body and she suggested that I get a RX for a blood test to tell whether I have muscle damage. I went for the test Tuesday but haven't received the results yet.

I'm going to change doctors, I don't like my doctor's attitude with me over the Lipitor. These doctors think they're God. When I told him on Tuesday about the 3 months that I felt fine 6 years ago he said that there are other drugs besides statins to lower cholesterol. I don't want to go on any drugs and the non statin drugs can cause intestinal blockage, he got upset when I told him that too. I'm going to try to lower it with flaxseed and fiber and see if that works. I go to Weight Watchers and kept 17 lbs. off for 6 years now, I do try and eat healthy.

I can't believe it cost me almost 8 years of my life in pain. It's even hard for me to get down on the floor with my granchildren, I have to crawl to the couch or chair to lift myself up and I get tired so easily. I just hope I get back to normal.

I'm so glad I found this website and figured out what was wrong with me. I hope my writing helps someone else dignosed with Fibromyalgia and taking a statin.

Thanks for listening.
Marie

I took lipitor and my cholesterol level became low. i was also being treated for high blood pressure(hypertension).
I stopped lipitor 10 days ago and my blood pressure dropped 20-30 points putting me into the normal range.
I intend to do this for 4 weeks then discuss results with my GP. My community and myself were part of the famous West of Scotland study on cholesterol. perhaps the drug companies and health authorities have taken the study results incorrectly.
it seems to me we may have another Vioxx situation with Lipitor. Time will tell.