Liver function test symptoms and conditions

I am a 61 year old mail. Two years ago I suffered chest pain resulting in the fitting of two stents was placed on Lipitor and had the usual liver function test which proved normal. Initially I was put on a low dose but as my cholesterol level did not improve eventually I was placed on 80mg which is the highest dose and this did lower my cholesterol level to a satisfactory level. A few months ago I had severe unexplained back pain which I thought might be due to the statin and when I stopped taking it, very quickly the pain went. I have restarted the medication for about 6 weeks now and in the last few days have had intense pain in my lower legs, hips and lumbar region. I have decided now to stop taking the drug and will be seeing my doctor shortly. Although I am taking other medication (amlodipine, perindopril and bisoprolol) for blood pressure I feel quite sure that my intolerable pain is due to the statin.

I've been on Lipitor for 1 year and have all the side affects that you all are describing.
I've also developed an inflamed liver.
Any one else?
if I get more response, I'm seriously considering a lawsuit against the pharmacy company.

Tom

I took Lipitor for about 2 years- 5 mg.
Leg cramps-soreness throughout my muscles- very sore buttocks-
my legs are shaky- if I use them too much; (as in walking 3 miles)
I am (was ) an avid body builder that could squat with 100 lbs- and now ( I am a health conscious -non drinking- NO other medication 104 lb slim female) have quivering legs if I stand for too long. I even had a muscle biopsy- and it cam back negative- I have not had a statin for 6 months- but I still have cramps- and abnormal liver values- and I have NO other conditions-I have been scanned from head to toe - open MRI- closed MRI -but the muscle stiffness- soreness- especially legs- continues-
does anyone know how long it lasts? I have also been tested for liver cancer- thank God-negative.
I really feel that Lipitor did this- has anyone else gone from fit as a fiddle to a quivering -achy person- I have gone through 5 doctors- internal - gastrointestinal - neurologist- hematologist and all is negative- just high liver values and muscle pain. Thank you so much.Maxine

Cure for side effects? CoQ 10 helped me it could help you to. I don't think the private mail on this site works. You can contact me: seekers999@hotmaildotcom if you're a real person you know what to do with the"dot"... "." But nobody needs me, do the research yourself! checkout coq-10 and how lipitor and other statin drugs deplete your body of it causing muscle atrophy. (see my previous post for link)
I don't recommend websites or charge (even though I'm on social security disability w/kids and financially challanged ;-) I;m just trying to help people get better by pointing them in the right direction.

I was crippled up on crutches! Worst pain in my life! Couldn't even get to the bathroom 15' away WITH THE CRUTCHES!! If felt like muscle was tearing with each step, within a week the pain was gone!! The mental fog was gone also and I quit taking the Prozac, but this might have been also due to the Acetyl-L Carnititne.(500mg 3X a day)

I just know that stopping the lipitor didn't stop the pain and confusion!

God Bless all as they try and work their way through these terrible side effects! Remember I had to increase the coq 10 to 900mg a day before I saw benefits on the 3rd day.... There is hope! I hope it works for you!

I have taken Cipro, another quinolones drug, before without any major side affects. I also was given single treatments of Levaquin by my uro after treatments for IC with no major problems. I was put on Avelox another quinolones drug a couple of weeks ago for a sinus infection and my neck and shoulders became very stiff and sore. I continued the meds. I had been on them a few days when I got a large cyst on my face ( I don't believe this was related to that drug but maybe another one I am on for IC.) The doctor put me on K-FLex and gave me shots of another antibiotic. I still had the shoulder pain but still didn't put it together. I went back for a recheck a couple of days later and the doctor added Levaquin to the mix. The first night I took it I woke up a couple of hours later with my whole right side in pain....worse than when my gallbladder died and had to be removed. I had to sit up to sleep and got little rest. I am on Vicodin for my IC and that helped some. I told my doctor when I went in that day for the recheck and he said it was muscle pain. I took it again that night with the same reaction only worse. I took myself off of the Levaquin as my cyst is getting much better and the K-Flex is working. I still took the Avelox then next night with the same pain result. I have taken myself off of that too. Today my pain is down by about half to the point that the Vicodin is keeping it down to a dull roar. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow before returning to work. I will tell my doctor to never give this to me again and will be getting a medic alert to protect myself for receiving it in the future. I was ready to go to ER thinking my Liver or Appendix was in trouble. I will still have my doctor do another liver function test tomorrow, I had one just before going on this medication for other things and it was normal then.

I know that you can take qunolones one or more times without any major problems because I have. But be aware because the next time you take them it may not be the case.

I am a 54 yrs old female who was on 20 mg of Lipitor for 5 weeks with no obvious side effects until I had a Liver Function Test. My ALT, AST and GGT had risen to twice the normal limits however my cholesterol had dramatically reduced. I immediately stopped taking Lipitor. Six weeks after stopping the medication my Liver Function Test has dropped a little but still high. The Liver Function Test was normal before I took Lipitor and now I need to have many other tests just to make sure that it was Lipitor - crazy - I cure one problem (cholesterol) and gain another (malfunctioning liver!)

Has anyone experienced a rise in the Liver Function Test and how long did it take to revert to normal?

Would appreciate any adverise or information.

*****

muscle cramps, profuse sweating, sleepiness. hallucinations, I feel like I am living in two realities. I also have high liver function test results. My teeths are getting so many caveties, is that normal???

I'm a 64 year-old retired pilot. I've had a form of rheumatoid arthritis for years. Recently I had chest pains & breathlessness when walking the dog & going uphill. Cholesterol was 6.8 so, prior to an Angiogram next month, I was put on 20 mg of Simvastatin about 5 weeks ago. The Cholesterol went down to 4.4 but I gradually began to feel quite ill with dreadful tiredness & lethargy, feeling low & depressed, not wanting to do anything, With chest pains & breathlessness worse than before. Joint & muscle pains were now really bad and I felt tender all over. Yesterday I felt very nauseous, with stomach tightness, dizzyness and a strange feeling of "unreality" and restlessness. I had lost interest in life, couldn't sleep & was quite ill. I could barely walk!

The last time I felt anything similar was 20 years ago when I got Shingles and the doctor (not the same one) prescribed Zovirax tablets. Boy, I was nearly suicidal then and "afraid" to hear the doorbell or the phone go. This was not good in an Airline pilot so I flushed the tablets away, saw my doctor (who only then read me the side-effects) and vowed to be very careful in future.

I saw my (excellent) doctor today; he immediately took me off Simvastatin, agreed that I was quite normal but probably just on one side of the bell-shaped curve of human responses to this drug. He took blood for a liver function test, checked blood pressure (normal) and listened to my heart and chest (all OK). He recommended a "Statin holiday" and said he may try me on another, different form (much fewer side effects) of the drug. I slept a lot all day today, couldn't eat at all except for an orange (still nauseous), felt the lower back pain still and was generally fairly ill. However, I think now (at nearly midnight and without taking my nightly pill) that I am beginning to feel a whole lot better!

I can live with the high Cholesterol (since all other factors in my life are good) but I cannot live with Simvastatin. Simple as that. You are not alone!

I am not sure if this is from morphine or other meds I take for RA or Lupus but I have been having a consistently high liver function test result?