Ldl cholesterol symptoms and conditions

I am a 52 year old female and my bad cholesterol is fine but my good cholesterol is low. I have been taking Lipitor now for a few years and have numb hands and feet to the elbows and knees. My feet are extremely sensitive, worse at night and now I'm getting sharp pains that feel like a bug just bit me. My tongue is also always numb and I do get migraines.I have insane stomach issues and food intolerance. I also take medication for high blood pressure, acid reflux, & thyroid. I have now been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes but control that with diet so far. Until four years ago I had nothing wrong with me. I am slim and healthy. I had a lump in my thyroid which was removed and there was a trace of cancer. Then like dominos all the other conditions lined up. I have had MRIs and all the tests and doctors insist that I am not a severe enough diabetic to have neuropathy. I can hardly wear shoes now and it hurts when I wear runners while I walk and exercise. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I hate that my health has become so much a part of my daily life. Does anyone have neuropathy as a result of Lipitor and am I even taking the the right medication since I don't have high cholesterol?

I was put on Lipitor 10 mg. last Spring about 8 mos. ago. I have never taken medications/drugs other than aspirin or Motrin or antihistamines. Since that time I have had a strange combination of unexplained symptoms arise throughout the months. These sx's included: Headaches, stiff neck and severe neck pain, acute shoulder pain, hip pains, joint pains, severe knee pain (tendon or Ligament problems?) and loss of movement, hair loss, jaw pain and some memory confusion. Initially, I had severe HA's for several months, but attributed them to stress, however, I had never experienced HA's as a common occurrence. Then we went away to our Maui house to get away from stress, HA's continued, along with leg and shoulder pains. At the same time, I started noticing several strands of hair falling out if lightly touched my hair to move it out of my face. The pains seemed to move around my body at different times, for no apparent reason. I am used to daily exercise, living in CO in the mountains @ high altitude, not usually having muscle soreness. Now, given my leg and knee pains have gotten so bad, I cannot hike and have difficulty climbing my stairs. Skiing is out. Snorkeling caused leg cramps. No explained reason for having muscle tenderness or soreness without my usual exercise at present time. When the pain leaves one area it tends to arise in a different part of my body. At the present time, my hair loss has subsided, as also my jaw pain and headaches. However, my leg pains and knee pains are so acute (for no apparent reason) it is impossible to exercise and difficult to walk that I looked up adverse reactions to Lipitor, finding all my sx's most probably might be attributed to this drug. Partially my fault for not looking up RX information prior, especially being a medical professional for many years. My husband kept throwing away the info when purchasing the RX. Too many unexplained symptoms, I decided to obtain the drug info. myself. I tended to make excuses for months, such as: I am getting older, under stress, must be an old injury, not exercising properly, need PT therapy etc.... I am dc/ing the drug immediately and have an appt. with my MD on 1/5/09 to discuss.

Depression! Wow. I'm the world's most upbeat person but I've been slipping down the emotional slope for the past three months; wondered if it was the Niaspan I started taking at the same time. The Niaspan web site doesn't list it as a side effect, though, so I thank you all for putting your comments on this web site. I've been ready to do anything (even drastic action) to deaden the emotional pain.

I'm a scientist and will now eliminate the medication to see if I begin to feel better. I'd rather feel good than lower my bad cholesterol. What would be the point?

Hi I started taking Lipitor when I was about 41 and gradually noticed a big toe becoming numb. Then later another toe became numb. I had just started swimming about this time with fins and thought at first it may have been caused by them. But then I stopped swimming and the numbness continued. I visited a Neurologist a couple of years ago who tested for everything and found some peripheral nerve damage to the feet. I said the only thing I could think of was Lipitor. He said here was no conclusive evidence it causes this but explained how nerves are made of Lipids and lipitor limits the production of lipids. I stopped taking it but later my GP said I need to go on something for my cholesterol. He put me on Crestor. I took a Lipitor the other week and my toes tingled that night. So I am convinced it is Lipitor. I am not sure how to reverse the damage though.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2001 and have been taking 10mg simvastatin ever since. Over the last six months have had severe increasing pain in right shoulder neck and arm. Out of the blue the doctor has since automatically changed dose from 10mg to 40mg. I have not taken the 40 yet as I am too scared and am using up the 10mg. Sometimes have diarrhea and nausea. I had to wait 2 weeks for xray and another 2 weeks for the result. Am to see the doctor in 2 days because I cannot stand the pain any longer. A month ago he told me to come off the simvastin as I would not have to wait long, but after 2 weeks thought I had better go back on it again. Have now stopped again because the pains are worse. wondering about taking herbal medicine instead.

I am a 65 year old female taking 20mlg of lipitor for almost 10 years. All of a sudden I started having severe pain, shaking and weakness in the calf muscle. The pain is unbearable. Doctors after doctors including a cardiologist, rhoumatologist and internist don't know the reason. I have stopped lipitor for 3 days. I cry and pray to god to help me everyday. I cannot exercise which is my passion for many years. I am hoping the lipitor is the reason and not something else. I have to wait and see. But I suspect it is.
SR
I do have nausea, depression and low back pain and arthritis and frequent headaches.

PLEASE HELP! My father, age 74, was on lipitor for a year or so and then was switched to zocor a few weeks ago to help control his cholestorol. In the past week, the tightening he experienced in his leg, while on lipitor, has become debilitating leg pain now while he is on Zocor. Ultrasounds have ruled out a blood clot. He has no pain when he sits, but he describes the pain has his calf wanting to explode when he stands and he cannot walk with out the help of a cain. The pain radiates from his leg up to his hip.

His cardiologist has taken him off the zocor for a few weeks to see if there is an improvement. It has been 3 days and he feels a bit of relief. SO here is the million dollar question: His labs indicate his cholestorol is normal now, most likely thanks to the statins.....can anyone suggest another form of meds that will help regulate his cholestorol....say COeq10 and fish oil? Any help is SO appreciated!!! Thanks to each of you for your posts. It is so comforting for my dad to know he isn't developing a new issue and that it can be resolved with the removal of zocor!

I'm not sure my symptoms are the result of Lipitor, but I sure am going to find out by stopping taking Lipitor for a week. My symptoms - the numbing of my left foot, the reduction of motor skills in the left foot - it comes quickly and stops almost right away. I have been on Lipitor for several years taking 20 mg but recently was increased to 40 mg. I have no other
symptoms. Just touching base. Thanks for the site.

I have been on 20 mg Lipitor for years, and as I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis, all my symptoms have been blamed on that. I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and put on Lyrica because of the muscle aches and depression. My lower back, hurt in a car accident when I was 17 years old, had gotten so much worse that I had 12 steroid shots in my lower spine a couple of years ago. They didn't help my back at all, but my blood sugar went from normal to diabetic levels, and I am now on Byetta to try to lower it.
I am a 56 year old woman who was the math specialist in a school district until last December when I had to retire early. My back pain was so severe that I could no longer go from school to school carting materials. I could barely make it from the parking lot to my office. Mentally I was not ready to retire, but physically, I was (and am) a wreck. I have severe muscle pain in my shoulders, sometimes one or the other, but always present. I have tingling in my right hand, especially in my fingertips, and have trouble gripping and drop things easily. In the last few months the pain in my right thigh and calf has gotten unbearable. I thought at first it was sciatica, but I have had sciatica before, and this isn't the same, although there is tingling, burning , but the pins and needles is so deep in the muscles I have just sat and cried, or wanted to scream. I have wished I could just cut my leg off. And...I am on some pretty heavy duty pain killers for the RA: a small dose of prednisone plus Enbrel, Methotrexate, and Vicodin, and this pain is cutting right through all these meds. I get severe headaches, I went off Lipitor for 5 days and seemed a little better, but then went back on, and it came back.
Since I no longer work, I sleep longer, am exhausted ALL the time, have terrible mental fog, am clumsy, cannot stand for more than a minute or so without wanting to scream, cannot walk more than a few yards...just getting to the car is an ordeal. I tell people that I can only shop in shoe stores and furniture stores...the only stores with places to sit down.
I no longer cook or clean, cannot play with my granddaughter, even holding a book to read can be too much, and I love reading. I feel I am just dying bit by bit as I lose parts of myself.
My doctor is really into lowering cholesterol, and has put me on Zetia in the past few months...and it has been in this time that the pain in my leg has gotten unbearable. He wants my cholesterol to be between 50-60, and has said that the Zetia along with the Lipitor will do that. Is this normal or in any way reasonable??? I am having a full blood workup done tomorrow morning, and I want to go off the Lipitor starting the day after.
I came across this web site tonight while looking up Lipitor side effects, and I am shocked. I have so many of these symptoms, and there are so many I had no knowledge of at all. I knew about the muscle aches, but that's all. I hope someone can help me with what supplements and vitamins I should be taking. I started taking CoQ10 a month or so ago. What else should I be taking for my health? I know vitamin C and fish oil, but don't know how much or anything else. Right now I am just stunned with the thought that all of these problems that have left me unhappily retired, exhausted and in constant pain can all be caused from a drug I have been taking to help me be healthier.

I was put on Tricor and it was a disaster. Goal was to lower LDL and I had already had negative results with Zocor (neuropathy). After a a couple of weeks I developed low back pain (near the kidneys), followed by excessive urination and related pain. Also right hip pain. I went off the drug and still had ongoing pain in my right hip and groin. Low back pain, knee pain and neuropathy in my feet. I'm a type 2 diabetic in good control and had bypass surgery so they wanted my LDL cholesterol lower than the 73 I achieved with diet alone.

I also experienced foot drop in right ankle with no strength in heel/ankle and neuropathy in both sides of my ankle. Three weeks after going off the drug I am just now recovering but continue to have hip pain, low back pain, 50% less strength in ankle. Also groin and testicle pain. I subsequently read that being on a blood thinner like Warfarin may be contraindicated which my Cardiologist did not mention.

I am a 44 year old male. I was taking Lipitor for the past 2 years because my LDL cholesterol level had continually increased to a high of 315. My doctor felt it was best to have me take 10 mg of the drug once a day. After about 3 months I started to have really bad joint pain in my hips, lower back and gluts. I was misdiagnosed and I ended up received physical therapy and a few cortisone shots in my lower back. It still was not getting better so I began to analyze my body to try and figure why this was happening and looked up side effects from cholesterol so I stopped taking the Lipitor and sure enough the pain went away.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in April of this year (2007) kind of by accident through a routine checkup. I had gained a bit of weight over the past two years, but that was really my only symptom. I was begun on 75 mcg of a generic brand of Synthroid, levothyroxine. Since I began this medication, I have rapidly gained another 15 pounds despite a 1,000 calorie per day diet. I retain fluid horribly. My ankles, wrists, hands and face swell daily. My muscles ache, especially my legs, upon walking across a room. I'm fatigued, short of breath. My LDL cholesterol level has skyrocketed in only three months and now I'm being told I need to be on a statin drug. I cry frequently and feel uncharacteristically anxious and irritable, but this could be due to the frustration I am experiencing with the loss of my sense of well-being. In essence, I felt much better before being placed on the medication. I may, in fact, discontinue the medication totally and see if over time I begin to feel better. Like so many other stories I'm hearing, my doctor seems totally unconcerned.

I have been on 10mg of lipitor for 3 years and had dramatic lowering of total and LDL cholesterol. Since taking this I have developed muscle cramps in the legs and abdomen, especially after 2 am, as another person on here reported, and noticeable short term memory loss, which until I started reading about the side effects of lipitor, I attributed to the heavy radiation I received 10 years ago in my bone marrow transplant.

Recently my doctor took my dose of lipitor up to 20mg to try to reach the new "target" level and the cramps immediatedly got worse and I have almost constant calf muscle pain. And my short term memory is alarmingly deteriorating to the point where my co-workers have commented on it.

I am off lipitor for now, exploring fish oil supplements, and other natural remedies. I read recently that LDL only causes arterial damage when oxidizied, and that exercise boost free radicals, so am going to focus on anti-oxidants alot more as I exercise alot. Thank God for sites like this. It is easy to blame your symtoms on the wrong thing or try to ignore them.

I am up at 3 am researching this as my leg cramps do not let me sleep!

Wish I could join in by making a helpful contribution about the negative side-affrcts of Lipitor, HOWEVER, I've been on lipitor 20mg for about nine years and I don't feel any negative side-affects. This med is credited with lowering my LDL cholesterol to a safe level. I am very much interested in learning of these side affects, just in case I should be missing out on useful warning signs.

I have been taking 10 mg of Lipitor for about a month. The side effects I have noticed are pain in my knees, especially when walking down steps and numbness in my right hand for an entire day. My blood test is today. Regardless of the results, I believe I'm not going to continue this drug and try harder to lower the LDL cholesterol naturally as stated by the John Hopkins article on this site.

I took Zocor for 60 days and stopped because of pain in both my shoulders, not being totally sure this was the cause but being normally very free of such pains. It took about 3 months for the pain to subside, following stopping the Zocor. One year later I resumed statin therapy and took Pravachol for 60 days. My shoulder pain returned and I developed knee and ankle pain also. I therefore stopped the statins and I still have some shoulder pain after 7 months - the other pains have lessened.

I know that people will post here mostly when they have problems, but from similar experiences of at least five of my friends who have been on these drugs, I am beginning to think that it is a silent minority who are, in general, not posting here!

I note that statins are prescribed universally for high LDL (cholesterol) and also for the majority of diabetics, regardless of LDL levels. Seeing the cost of these pills at about $3 each, there is a huge vested interest in maintaining the position that muscular and joint problems are only occurring in a tiny minority of those being treated.

I am 36 yr old. female, 134lbs. I had been on Lipitor for 1 yr. til today 4/30/2003.results of blood qork came back in. my count in Feb,2003:Triclycerides 241 H, Cholesterol Total: 428 H,HDL Cholesterol (in range 50, LDL Cholesterol: 330H,
CHOL?HDLC RATIO: 8.58...April 2003 Triclycerides 146 H, Cholesterol Total: 323 H,HDL Cholesterol (in range 49), LDL Cholesterol: 285H,
CHOL/HDLC RATIO: 7.6. Doctor immediate concerns switched me to Zocor. I took my first dose tonight @ 9pm (4/30/2003.
Does anyone know of or has heard that Xenical would help or reduceCholesterol? I have been told it does?
Email me : DoSaye@aol.com

Thank you