Hi, I am a 45 year old male with high cholesterol. prescribed 20m...

eat more vegetables, walk everyday, don't expect medications to control your cholesterol

I stopped taking this dangerous drug " cold turkey" , because of the MANY side effects. If necessary, there are natural products and alternatives to control your cholesterol. Drs. all they know is to push drugs.

Muscle twitching and spasms is a common complaint among statin users. I hear this all the time, and experienced it myself when taking a different cholesterol lowering drug

50% of heart attacks occur in people with low to normal cholestero. And half of all first time heart attacks happen to people with LDL in target range. If you continue to take the Lipitor, you will lower your cholesterol, but you shift your risk from the 50% that have heart attacks, to the other 50% group that has just as many heart attacks. Where is the benefit in that?

The risks are high as you are experiencing cholesterol deprivation and its symptoms. Don't be worried about going off lipitor. You will regain your health. Serum cholesterol is a very poor predictor of cadiac events. I would not worry about cholesterol. There are other more valid risk factors.

I have high cholesterol (320) and have tried almost all of the Statin drugs. Each time I have some type of blood work (at yearly checkups mostly) I get another lecture about getting back on a Statin drug. I finally relented 3 weeks ago and started Lipitor again. I know my cholesterol is very high, but I don't eat junk food, and I do take in plenty of fish and vegetables.

This entire past week, I started developing muscle twitches in my left forefinger, then my arms, and it has scared me after reading about people on another site, www.peoplespharmacy.com developing ALS-like symptoms or going into full blown ALS after taking Lipitor.

I am stopping this drug immediately, and I am never taking another Statin drug as long as I live. I have been scared with the muscle twitching and I hope that it reverses, because it is quite un-nerving.

I didn't have so much of the muscle pain this time around, but the muscle twitches have pretty much been constant in the last few days. I hope this helps someone else. Neurogically, it has very bad side effects.

i have the same symptoms as you are describing. i think i will take myself off this drug immeditely. i have been on lipitor for about 5 years.

I have gone off the Lipitor cold turkey. I am now taking 3000mg of vitamin C, 40mg of CoQ10, extra garlic tablets,lecithin,Omega 3 tabs, and drink a glass of red wine daily. I feel as if I am being pro-active about my heart health and feel better for it.I am not as tired and the twitching has stopped! I'm so glad to be off that thing!

My twitching got so annoying and frightening, that I went off Lipitor immediately after my last post.

I am still feeling some twitching after being off the medication,. I never had that type of twitching before taking Lipitor.

I am positive that it has to be related. I will never take a statin drug again.

Since doing some research on triglycerides, I am going to drink 8 oz. of pomegranate juice daily in hopes that it will help.

Muscles soreness and muscle twitches are very common with me. It started about a month ago with lower back pain and pain in my hip area. Xrays showed some arthritis. The about a week ago I started having flu-like symptoms. Been to the doctor and I don't have the flu. Took some blood for testing and I am waiting for results. My muscles are achy. The ache travels all over my body. I have twitching in my body. I feel a constant twitch in my back. When I try to fall asleep I my whole body jerks. Feels like nerve damage. I feel very uneasy inside. I have been on Crestor in the past and then I was switched to Simvastatin in November. I am now thinking this is related to the medicine but I am not sure. I also get headached lately.

I have had major stress levels, depression, aching body etc and just feeling really like i had no control anymore. I have noticed that this has been mentioned as side effects. Now i have developed Shingles and that too has been mentioned by a lot of people as coming along soon after taking these drungs. Its great to see so many people realize that Dr today (in the main) are just drug pushers for the pharmaceutical companies, and these companies are just plain damn evil....They know the risk of these drugs but health is not their bottom line....money is...!!!! I just immediately last night went cold turkey off crestor and hope to see these drugs banned.

retro345 . . . . good for you to stop taking the POISON. I am a victim of Lipitor. I also stopped taking it "cold turkey". You are right, the drs. and the drug co's are doing a SCAM on the anti-cholesterol drugs (or any drugs) . . .it is all about big $$ and people suffer. VERY SAD.

Thank you for posting all your side effects. I was on Lipitor for ONE week! I felt like I had been beaten w/a baseball bat. Everything hurt, joints, muscles, even the balls of my feet hurt! My dr actually told me she thought it was viral but said just in case it was the Lipitor to stop taking it for two weeks then to try taking it again and see what happens. There's no way I am subjecting myself to that again!! I'm going to look for natural products w/fewer side effects to lower my cholesterol.

nochemicals . . . . .you are smart to stop taking this dangerous drug. Unfortunately, the drs. and the drug co's are doing a SCAM on the anti-cholesterol drugs . . . .it is big $$. In reality, your body/mind needs cholesterol to function properly.

Well, guess what, folks! I just had a checkup and my cholesterol level was DOWN for the first time in many years. This happened AFTER I went off the Lipitor! I'm on a regimen of vitamins etc. as noted above but NO DRUGS! (well not pharma, anyways) . I'm very pleased and pleasantly surprised. Never again will I go on those statins. They made me sick and they didn't actually reduce the level of cholesterol!

mikepaul . . . good news, I don't know what your cholesterol level is now, but, be careful that it gets too low, since your mind/body needs cholesterol. . . .it is not the enemy.