36 year old female; have been on Lipitor 10mg for about 3 weeks n...

You should be talking to your dr or pharmacist, not a web site. However, a lot of medications can cause shortness of breathe and palpatations. Perhaps your doseage is too high; even 5mg may be too high. Or, it's just not good for you.
Your LDL may be high, but what's the ratio to HDL, TRYGLYCERIDES, etc. You may not need Lipitor.

I've been on Lipitor for several years. I have also experienced what you describe as a "feeling of not being able to breath" accompanied with chest pain. The doctor said is was gas (coincidentally one of Lipitor's side effects). But, the feeling was so unusual I couldn't believe it was simply gas.

Since I'm on several medications, I started eliminating one medication at a time as an experiment. I stopped taking the Lipitor several days ago and my symptoms completely disappeared.

I would definitely recommend consulting with your doctor before discontinuing any medication (although I can't imagine how stopping Lipitor for a few days would dangerous). But, now you can tell him that others have had the same experience.

- Dave