Lipitor side effects

I am a 51 y/o white female that has been on Lipitor for 2 years. I am 5' 1" and when I had to go on it my cholestrol was 267 I weighed 112 lbs. I was shocked.... my doctor told me weight had nothing to do with cholestrol. She kept a close watch on me and my cholestrol came down...... and then my ex-husband of 17 years and I re-connected and got back together and I moved so I had to get another primary care physician. I took all my meds to her, she also kept a close watch on everything. At this time my cholestrol is down to 109 and I asked if I could stop taking it, as I take quite alot of meds, due to different things and if I could stop anything it would be great, but she said it I stopped it, my cholestrol would go right back up. So since I am not experiencing any side effects I'm okay with continuing it.

I surely hate to hear what you all are experiencing with your Lipitor..... could your doc try another cholestrol medication?

The only one of my meds that is giving me any problem is TOPAMAX........ that we are using as a Migraine preventative! HORRORS!!! Today is pretty good day. But my cognitive abilities are in the trash... I say the wrong word when I mean something else...... I search my mind looking for a memory...... I am also on disability since 2002 because of the Migraines....... I have has them since 1978, but they got progressively worse over the years until I was sick more days per week, sometimes more than 7-10 days at the time, having to be in the hospital being rehydrated and on IV pain meds.......... and as awful as the TOPAMAX is.....it has been reduced the migraines to approx 2 per month and they do not last nearly as long.

So sorry, I got waaay off topic, but I know that it is not the Lipitor that is giving me the side effects as it the last med I had to go on and I had no new side effects....... but that TOPAMAX is kicking my behind.

I'm a 38 y/o woman. For 7 yrs I knew my cholesterol has been high. I refused to take cholesterol medication and decided to diet and exercise but that didn't work. I've had 2 children in the past 3 yrs. In May of this year I started having chest pains and palpitations. I had blood tests done. I was given Inderal and also prescribed Zocor 20mg for my cholesterol. It was 243 with and LDL of 178. I took Zocor for a week. I felt so awful. I was weak, I lost my appetite. I was constantly tired. I couldn't even carry my 10 month old son, yet alone care for him. I informed my physician and she changed it to Lipitor 20mg. I thought I was doing fine. I checked my levels again after a month. My cholesterol was 113 and LDL 58. I trusted the doctor knew what she was doing. At the same time I also was taking Omega 3's. I asked my doc to lower the dosage to 10mg. From the time I was taking Zocor and the start of Lipitor. I was feeling tingling and numbness in my arms, hands, fingers, toes, feet and legs. I also was having muscle pain. I asked my doctor about that. She mentioned because of my heart palpitations, it could be symptoms of anxiety and panic. I had feeling of pins and needles throughout my body, not knowing when it would occur. I had muscle pain in my arms and legs and neck pain. I went online to see the side effects of Lipitor and came across this website. I decided to do an experiment. I stopped taking Lipitor 9 days ago. I was on statins for almost 4 months. I don't have the feeling of tingling and numbness, but I still have pins and needles and muscle pain. I have to say, I feel so much better. I hope to get better. I 'd really like to know, how long does the medication stay in your system? What are the effects of getting off it so suddenly. I'd love to feel myself again.

After being on Lipitor for over 5 years, I was told to stop cold turkey by my doctor after my routine blood test. Within 10 days I got blood clots and a pulmonary embolism. I had been on an aspirin a day for over 10 years, I drank cranberry juice often and always ate green leafy veggies. I never had any blood clots before coming off the Lipitor and I am convinced that it caused them. It has been a struggle with the pains in my legs ever since. Has anyone had the same or have heard of someone with the same side effect? ******

I am a 54 year old male who started taking Lipitor about 4 years ago. It seemed OK at first, but over the next several years I began to have increasing amounts of joint pain after exercise. Nor muscle pain, joint pain. And it seemed to be a result of exercise. By the time I stopped it, I was hurting after everything, not just exercise. I felt better within the first two weeks, but it took about 4 months for me to be able to exercise vigorously again. Over the years I seemed to have forgotten how much vitality I used to have. I am a physician, and because of the long lag time until I felt better, I wondered whether improvement might have related to other factors, so after about 5 months I decided to restart Lipitor. It surprised me that after just one dose, I got back all of the joint pain and fatigue when I was at my worst on Lipitor. I was really hurting. Needless to say, I didn't take any more.

Coincidentally, a physician friend of mine who had statin induced polyneuropathy had a similar experience. After his symptoms went away he found that after only one dose the entire polyneuropathy came back.

Stopping and restarting the drug is a way to test the correlation between the drug and the side effect. For such a large spectrum of side effects to recur after only a single dose, it argues that the problems that my friend and I had was due to some sort of immune memory response. I have not seen this in the medical literature.

I am off it now for about 8 months and am able to comfortably play singles tennis and jog - much more energy (and I took 200 mg of CoQ10 a day with the Lipitor).

I am a 51 year old male. November 2007 jaw pain sent me to the hospital where they found a 99% block in my right coronary artery, yep 4 stent's. Three month late the same this time 2 stent's and two weeks later 2 more. I now have 8 stent's. My DR. put me on several meds including Zocor. The zocor made me very tired and headaches. He change it to Lipitor 10mg. I have been on it for 7 months and a few day's ago I have notice pain in both knee's and hip. I once again find it hard to concentrate, feel sluggish and have headache's. I NEVER have headache's. Stopped taken the Lipitor, hope the pain goes away. It a shame that the medical field is so quick to put us ALL on drug's, how about herb's instead. I'm going to look into a natural way to lower my cholesterol.

Lipitor 20mg
*Muscle deterioration:*
I had to stop taking walks.
*Diarrhea:*
I am sorry to tell my doctor doesn't know how to treat me.
He raised Tenormin to 50 mg a day, and it made a catastrophy. Severe electrical heart problem. Very debilitating. Permanent chest pain. I acted: I reduced it to a minimal level of 12.5 mg a day.
I have stopped Lipitor 20 mg and replaced it with.

Nattokinase
CoQ10 (Ubiquinol)
Cucurma
Lecithin
Omega 3
Magnesium supplements
Very effective!
Above is from science. Lipitor is from business.

Now, all angina symptoms are gone. No more arythmia.
I have also dropped one aspirin a day, and replaced it with Allicin. (Concentred garlic)
I have learn that aspirin is doing the opposite of the expected effect for 40% of people. It is causing a sever eye pathology, macular degeneration, and stomach bleeding. And after many months it has no beneficial effects, only adverse effects.
Garlic has so many positive side effects.

I was given 40mg Lipitor for elevated cholesterol. I took it until I started having muscle weakness .I am a retired nurse of twenty five years, and knew this symptom was not correct. So I stopped taking the medication and told my doctor of this.He did not protest in any way.My symptoms now include;two torn ligaments, sob,mental deficits, muscle wasting, night sweats, weakness,h/a's, and more. I have not taken Lipitor for two years now. Damage is done.My doctor said it should be out of my system by now. Is this a cover up?

I have been on lipitor about 4 yrs. I am a runner and keep tract of my times. I have been losing about 4% of my speed each year and have recently had a large amount of muscle fatigue. Today a ran a 940 pace and thought I was not going to make it home. Three years ago my average pace was 805. Could the 20mg dosage be causing this problem?

I am taking lipitor for 3 months and sinds one week i have pain in my left arm and a constant twinkle in my left hand. i stop now for 3 days and wait to see the results

I am a 46 y/o male whom took lipitor 20mg for about 10 days. It was the first medication taken for me aside from occasional antibiotics. Within a week I began to develop severe nausea, weakness, postural dizziness and worst of all, chest pain at rest! I took my last dose last Saturday 8/9/08. Because of the chest pain, I went to the ER on 8/10/08 and discharged the next day after I ruled out for an MI and a negative exercise stress test. My chest pain recurred on 8/12. This AM awoke with nausea, dizziness and chest pain again. I'm going to have an adenosine stress test this PM. I consulted a pharmacologist yesterday about the metabolism of Lipitor and she told me indeed these side effects are not uncommon and in my case, Lipitor will not be eliminated from my body until probably this Sunday or early next week. Anyone experience what I'm feeling?

first of all i want to thanks from this side .it is very very helpful ,which is information from this side is truly life saving.no doctors are really believing that cholesterol medication has such horrible side effect,and if this side not exist ,so we would not know that cholesterol medication having this side effect.this side saved my father's life ,he had very severe reaction with lipitor and zetia in Australia called ezetrol .he quit lipitor 2 yrs ago and zetia 4 months ago he is doing very well since 2 days i hope this continue.he recovered from many side effect like(he was almost lost all his hair the front part after stopping the medication 70%restore so this was the first side effect that doctor relates to his age not medication ,severe shoulder pain subside,numbness in his legs subside,tremer in his left leg subside,blurry vision and poor vision subside,poor memory subside) within 2 days he feels more energy improvement in his walking some times it goes up and down and i hope this time his walking improve permanently he is now feeling 60to 70%good and not 100%but this % is quit lot for him after being disable for long time.i pray for all of you to recover fully and so my father .i found 3 thing that is really helping to bring the cholesterol down if interested plz research (turmeric,ginger,garlic)free of side effect .this is natures wonderful drugs for cholesterol plus vitamin c and lecithin.
thanks again and god bless

I have been on Zocor 40mg for many years and doing fine with it, until my doctor thought it was not working that well, hence, switched me to Lipitor 10mg. After a few months I developed severe chest pain along with neck pain. It felt like it might have been a heart attack, but it lasted more than 24 hours. I was admitted to ER for 1 night in the hospital and released the following day. They checked my heart and found it was fine. They ran my blood work, chest x-rays, cat scan and checked my lungs. All O.K.!!! The next morning they told me I had Slight Diabetes and an Under Active Thyroid and thought Esophagus Spasms were the cause of my pain. OH yeah, I also told them it hurt more with each breath of air I took in rather than out. It did not matter to them. They gave me Protonix 40mg because they thought it would reduce acid reflux to the esophagus, thus reducing my pain. Furthermore, they gave me Synthroid 25MCG for my Under Active Thyroid. After about 10 days of these medication plus LIPITOR, I had a recurrence of the same pain. I decided to research and came across this Website. I stopped the Lipitor and the next day my pain was subsiding. By this evening, my pain is almost completely gone. I am scheduled to have an Endoscopy in about a week from now and I am hesitant. Are the pharmaceuticals and physicians in cahoot with each other. I can't believe I was required to take all these tests and even more tests before the pain started (EKG, Heart Monitor, Nuclear Stress Test, Heart Scan and Angiography). Did I forget to mention I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure and put on X-Forge a few months before all this started, but I was taken off it because of side effects (dizziness, lethargic, and so on). I did research on X-Forge and it said to NEVER use it as a first method of treatment for high blood pressure. I also was having pain under my right armpit. WHY DO WE HAVE TO SUFFER LIKE THIS BEFORE ACTION IS TAKEN TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING TO SOMEONE ELSE. Well, I guess it's just the price we have to pay before we decide to do things OUR WAY!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU! THANKS FOR THE POST! PS. Can't wait to see what my Endocrinologist has to say about me next month $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

I have been on Zocor 40mg for many years and doing fine with it, until my doctor thought it was not working that well, hence, switched me to Lipitor 10mg. After a few months I developed severe chest pain along with neck pain. It felt like it might have been a heart attack, but it lasted more than 24 hours. I was admitted to ER for 1 night in the hospital and released the following day. They checked my heart and found it was fine. They ran my blood work, chest x-rays, cat scan and checked my lungs. All O.K.!!! The next morning they told me I had Slight Diabetes and an Under Active Thyroid and thought Esophagus Spasms were the cause of my pain. OH yeah, I also told them it hurt more with each breath of air I took in rather than out. It did not matter to them. They gave me Protonix 40mg because they thought it would reduce acid reflux to the esophagus, thus reducing my pain. Furthermore, they gave me Synthroid 25MCG for my Under Active Thyroid. After about 10 days of these medication plus LIPITOR, I had a recurrence of the same pain. I decided to research and came across this Website. I stopped the Lipitor and the next day my pain was subsiding. By this evening, my pain is almost completely gone. I am scheduled to have an Endoscopy in about a week from now and I am hesitant. Are the pharmaceuticals and physicians in cahoot with each other. I can't believe I was required to take all these tests and even more tests before the pain started (EKG, Heart Monitor, Nuclear Stress Test, Heart Scan and Angiography). Did I forget to mention I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure and put on X-Forge a few months before all this started, but I was taken off it because of side effects (dizziness, lethargic, and so on). I did research on X-Forge and it said to NEVER use it as a first method of treatment for high blood pressure. I also was having pain under my right armpit. WHY DO WE HAVE TO SUFFER LIKE THIS BEFORE ACTION IS TAKEN TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING TO SOMEONE ELSE. Well, I guess it's just the price we have to pay before we decide to do things OUR WAY!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU! THANKS FOR THE POST! PS. Can't wait to see what my Endocrinologist has to say about me next month $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

My grandmother had to stop taking Lipitor. We took her to the ER when I thought she was having a stroke. Her legs were extremely week, her arms were shaking and she was having trouble talking. She felt like she had the flu. She was hospitalized and the diagnosis was she had hepatitis that was caused by the Lipitor. Once she stopped taking the drug she gradually recovered but it was a long road for her.

I HAVE BEEN ON LIPITOR FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW AFTER HAVING 3 STENTS PUT IN I AM A 50 YEAR OLD MALE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ACTIVE IN SPORTS, MY LIPITOR SIDE EFFECT ONLY STARTED A FEW DAYS AGO, I HAD SEVERE PAIN IN MY RIGHT SHOULDER SO BAD I COULD HARDLY USE MY ARM THE PAIN GOT SO BAD LAST NIGHT, WE WENT TO THE ER, NO PROB FOUND JUST INFLAMMATION, SO THE DR PRESCRIBED MOTRIN 800 AND A MUSCLE RELAXER, WHICH DID GIVE ME SOME RELIEF IN ABOUT 25 MINUTES .
TODAY WHILE SHOPPING I NOTICED A PAIN NOW IN MY LEFT SHOULDER AND NOW THROUGH THE DAY IT IS JUST ABOUT AS BAD AS THE RIGHT ONE THEN AFTER DOING THIS RESEARCH I WILL AS OF RIGHT NOW STOP TAKING MY LIPITOR I WILL POST MY UPDATE TAKE CARE

I was prescribed Simvastatin 40mg four weeks ago and had horrendous side effects almost immediately eg deep depression, diarrhea, bad stomach aches and night cramps in my legs. Last week my doctor prescribed Lipitor 10mg and I feel no better in fact probably worse. The worst side effect for me is the stomach aches and constant diarrhea and complete lack of appetite. There can be absolutely nothing in my stomach any more. Does anyone else have these symptoms? After reading peoples experiences on here I feel I should stop taking this medication immediately!

Karen

I had 95% occlusion of the major artery in my heart July 2007 with no symptoms except slight shoulder pain on 3 occasions. They did a cath and inserted 2 stents. Started with Lipitor 10 mg. and my LDL dropped from 75 to 112. The MD wanted to double the dose, but I refused because of intermittent nocturnal nausea. MD switched me to another statin and I had immediate muscle involvement and severe nausea at night. She wanted me to try another statin drug and I refused. After a 2 month period of no statins, she put me back on Lipitor 10 mg. daily. I decided to cut the pill in half and take it twice a week, then move to every other day and gradually go to 10 mg. daily. Immediately, the nocturnal nausea started again. Last night I awoke at 2 a.m. with nausea, sweating, sore muscles around my rib cage. Still no sleep at 4:30 a.m., so I got up and tried to eat something. This has been the pattern every night since I went on Lipitor.

I don't know if I can take this any more.

CK

I have been on Lipitor since 2002 and now I am experiencing numbness in my feet...mostly the right foot. I was thinking I had an autoimmune disease until I read everyone's comments. I am stopping Lipitor today.
Also, I have a lot of wrist pain, leg pain and I bruise easily.

I worry how I will control my cholesterol.

Joyce
8/6/08

I ran across this site today and THANK GOD that I found it!! My mother wasn't initially given Lipitor because the first statin that her doctor prescribed made her very nauseous. He switched to 40mg of Lipitor about 2 weeks ago and she still gets extremely nauseous and have begun coughing and experiencing cold like symptoms. Her vision is EXTREMELY blurred; so much that she can't perform her job, and her previously prescribed eyeglasses are useless. She had been experiencing pain in her legs during walks that never seemed to get better. We NEVER associated it with Lipitor or the other statin until I decided to dig a little deeper.

I asked her if her doctor had told her to take CoQ10 whilst taking these statins and he's NEVER mentioned it!! As of today, my mother will no longer be taking these "medications". Reading these posts has been eye opening, to say the least. Thanks!!

For the last 2 yrs I had a horrendous cough that plagued me night & day. My Dr. didn't know what was causing the cough, couldn't give me any cough medicine to alleviate the condition. In addition to coughing, I would lose my voice. I went to an ENT specialist. She found me to have pre-polyps on my vocal chords, diagnosed me with 'vocal chord dysfunction' & told me surgery would be useless as the pre-polyps would reappear. This last June, I had a bout with bronchitis, severe enough to seek medical aid from the Emergency room Dr.'s. While there, the Dr. treating me asked about my cough. After listening to my list of aggravations, he asked if my Primary Dr. had told me that 'coughing' is a side effect of Lipitor. NO! I hadn't been told that!! --But, I QUIT taking Lipitor that day, haven't taken it since & though I still cough, somewhat, it's NOTHING compared to what I'd been suffering--for two years!!..

46 yr old male and was started on Lip. about a month ago. Overall cholesterol level was 116!! Within 3 weeks I began having soreness move across my legs and hips to begin with, Just a drained feeling. Then leg cramps in my left legs. The drained feeling intensified until I went back to my Dr. last week who immediately ordered me to stop taking any more. I had been off about 4 days when I began have severe pain, lost all color, was not able to get out of bed, could barely talk or walk and was taken to the Doctor's office this past Sat.. I was not able to set up.My wife had to basically talk for me because I was in so much pain, could not communicate, was feeling like I was leaving my body. I do not and have not taken any narcotics or alcohol, but I was given "the field sobriety test", or what I would call it, as I am retired from law enforcement and have given thousands..... But never one for lipitor!!!

I told the Dr. I do not want no drug, I want an answer. I was told to come back on Monday as the Lab. folks wouldn't be in until then. I would not have to wait.

I have used this facility for many years, but I am totally shocked. I feel I have came as close to dying as any situation I have ever been in. I have never hurt to bad. I have never have so many leg cramps. I have never woke up each morning feeling like I have never slept a minute but have been working my butt off chopping wood or digging ditches or climbing mountains all night, simply exhausted.......I will always advise people about this drug....

I take my lipitor sporadically, but when I took it on a trip, I made sure to take it every day. My hands and arms have been numb and tingling for days, sleeping was excruciating, I tried to sit up so that there was no pressure on them, and took showers to try to improve circulation or feeling, to no avail. I stopped and now 3 days later, I am starting to get some improvement. What gives???

I am a 35 yr old male and have been taking lipitor about 7 yrs. I have a genetically high cholesterol and it has been up to 275. On lipitor its around 175. Over the years I have been on this drug I went from being a normal weight and active to pretty much lethargic and sedentary due to lack of energy and gained ~50 lbs. I couldn't sleep. I got random nausea and fogginess in my brain to the point I could not remember how to perform my job. I usually had minor aches and was bloated. the past year everything has gotten much worse. For a year now, I have been getting large rashes on my body that itch severely and no medications have worked to alleviate them. I found out recently from my doctor that I have a genetic marker in my cholesterol that makes me 3 times as likely to have a heart attack. Its a portion of the cholesterol, i think its called LDL-b or something like that. Anyways, My doctor prescribed zetia to help with my cholesterol since the lipitor wasn't doing it alon. I begin feeling very sick when taking the zetia and after a week or two stopped it. The problems didn't end. As long as I remained on the lipitor, the problems seemed to continue. Its like the zetia released a dam of problems. I stopped the lipitor 4 days ago and have noticed that I feel energy coming back to me and the rash is starting to go away, but I ache severely all over. My shoulders, forearms, and legs are so sore and painful that I can't do anything about this except sleep so I don't feel the pain. I am also very weak feeling and I notice stiffness in my fingers and my grip is very weak compared to how it normally is. I have nausea and stomach cramps and constipation. I feel miserable. I notice its worse in the morning and gets a little better towards the afternoon. I typically took my lipitor in the morning. I do not know if there is a relationship here. Please advise on any help you can provide.

KMJ
07-30-08

As a retired Healthcare Professional, like you I almost died from a statin overdose. If you’re a U.S. resident or Canadian resident, I would encourage patients/consumers to send their complaint/statin adverse reaction report to the web sites listed below. Also, if your physician is unresponsive to your negative experience from any statin, inform him/her that you refuse to continue with this drug, and have sent an adverse reaction complaint to the FDA/Canadian equivalent. Provide both your doctor and pharmacy with a copy of the completed FDA Form 3500, if you’re a U.S. resident, so they (medical community) know you're serious (see my recent postings of July 20 and July 25, 2008). In addition, I would bring to the attention of your physician the following clinical experience of Dr Peter H. Langsjoen, MD, FAAC, a Blue Ribbon Cardiologist: “Over the past five years, statins have become more potent, are being prescribed in higher doses, and are being used with reckless abandon in the elderly and in patients with "normal" cholesterol levels. We are in the midst of a CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) epidemic in the US with a dramatic increase over the past decade. Are we causing this epidemic through our zealous use of statins? In large part I think the answer is yes. We are now in a position to witness the unfolding of the greatest medical tragedy of all time - never before in history has the medical establishment knowingly (Merck & Co., Inc. has two 1990 patents combining CoQ10 with statins to prevent CoQ10 depletion and attendant side effects) created a life threatening nutrient deficiency in millions of otherwise healthy people, only to then sit back with arrogance and horrific irresponsibility and watch to see what happens - as I see two to three new statin cardiomyopathies per week in my practice, I cannot help but view my once great profession with a mixture of sorrow and contempt.” Finally, I hope you find, as I did the following newsletters/medical information helpful:
http://www.vitacost.com/newsletter/newsletter.cfm?nl=189

http://www.vitacost.com/newsletter/newsletter.cfm?nl=234

http://www.vitacost.com/newsletter/newsletter.cfm?nl=370
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U.S.A.
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/problem.html
CANADA
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/compli-conform/gui-44_consumer_complaint-plainte_consommateur-eng.pdf
Contact Name: Drug Compliance Verification and Investigation Unit
Tel: (613) 952-9906
Fax: (613) 954-0941
E-Mail: DCVIU_UVCEM@hc-sc.gc.ca

I have been on Lipitor for about 4 years. Now I have an arthritic right knee and the left knee has a little bit of arthritis. My arthritis started getting really bad in both legs my left leg was just as bad as my right leg. Muscle pain was tremendous and getting up and down stairs. furniture, and the car. Then the day before Memorial Day I could hardly move, I thought I was losing both my legs. I could only walk a little bit. No energy. I too had blurred vision with this drug but the doctor said that it probably was just my diabetes. I hurt from the shoulders all the way down to the ankles..It felt like every muscle group was involved. Earlier this year the doctor put my Lipitor up to 40 mg from 20 mg even through my ldl was only 93. My last ldl was 67. The doctors say your cholesterol cannot go to low but I am wondering with all the side affedts I had. I took myself off Lipitor on Memorial Day this year and I feel better. The pain is gone except for the arithritic pain but it is not as bad as what it was on Lipitor. Soo I am done with statins I will lose weight and exercise.

I started using lipitor from my doctor, it lowered my cholesterol all around but I started to have lower back pains. At first I thought it might be prostate cancer, but after having to MRI's done they found no cancer, thank god. But I went to an orthopedic surgeon to see what the problem was. He looked at the mri's and saw lower dics hitting my nerve endings. He also thought that it might be muscle problems so he gave me 3 epidurals and that helped for a while took away about 50% of my pain, but I still have the pain, It is hard for me to get comfortable when I sit or even when I am sleeping. I don't want to think that it is the lipitor that is doing it to me but after talking with others I feel it is time to talk to my doctor about it. My doctor said that lipitor is the safest one that will do very little harm to my liver. I am not a doctor so I would not know.. My cholesterol level was 246 at one time now it is 175. I am now facing possible spine fusion to help correct my disc problem. But will also ask doctor to prescribe something else.

Alan

Statin Drugs cause congestive heart failure, muscle wasting, memory loss, cancer, damage to the liver and kidneys and generally disrupt the quality of life of anyone who takes it. I know because my elderly mother was prescribed 20 mgs lipitor after her stroke in 2006. She suffers from everything I listed except for the cancer. The doctors did all the tests to rule out other causes but her problems are worsening to the point where she can barely walk. The doctors still don't want to stop the lipitor and won't even require that she take Coq10. How criminal is that? According to Therapeutics Initiative, statins provide only a 4% absolute benefit from having a major coronary event for people in the secondary prevention group like my mother but you have to take the statin for 5 years in order to get that lousy 4% benefit.
Add in the nasty side effects over the 5 years and I am sure that the side effects would cancel out all those benefits.
Lipitor is a scam drug that ruins the lives of the patients who take it.

I started taking Lipitor 12 years ( 1997 ) ago as my Cholesterol was at 315. I was always athletic but had a crappy diet. My Cholesterol dropped to 200 within a year. However, in 2001 I ruptured my left Achilles playing tennis. Thought nothing much and that I hadn't stretched enough. Recovered from that and started playing tennis again in 2002. Within three weeks of playing again, I ruptured my RIGHT achilles! At that point I started to question the effect of Lipitor on muscles/tendons with various medical "professionals". ALL said it was nothing to do with medication. I quickly developed a tingling/numbness in both feet that doctors said could not be happening but it WAS!

I've had MRI's, nerve conduction tests, wondered if it was diabetic, alcohol, etc. Finally found sites such as this where real life experiences validated my concerns over this statin. I told my Dr. I was quitting Lipitor last Monday, she had no problem with that. This is Saturday night and I'm sitting here with a NOTICEABLE decrease in my numbness/tingling in both feet that I've had for the past TWELVE YEARS!!

I hope that the statin did cause my "mild sensory polyneuropathy" as was diagnosed in 2002. As of right now, it seems to be getting better in less than one week! I can flex my toes with NO pain and my feet don't feel like dead weights.

I WILL NEVER USE A STATIN AGAIN!

Due to the large amount of people who suffer devastating side effects from Lipitor and other statins, I would like to encourage each and everyone of you to tell your story on home video and post that video on****** This will be one of the best ways to alert the world to the dangers of this drug.

hi,daer777 i like to know the natural product that lower cholesterol.also since you stop the medication any changes or not if you don't mind?I took my father to many neurologist and they test many Parkinson medication and my father did not respond to any medication but he got worsed,yesterday he had another appointment to another neurologist he said if it is not Parkinson disease then must be genetic disorder witch is we never had in our family history and also doctor noticed that many my patient who are using lipitor responding very well with Parkinson medication ,and when i said about lipitor he got mad on me and very rudely said medication never doing this and don't blame medication,so every doctor that i saw never believed us that lipitor or ezetrol (zetia)is that cause.also doctor said if it is the medication then he must be symptom free by now ,he quit ezetrol just three months ago and lipitor 2 years ago.

hi, dear 777 i like to know about the natural product that lower cholesterol .and also like to know since you stop the medication any changes accure or not?i took my father to many neurologist and they test many Parkinson medication and no response yesterday i took him to another neurologist and and he diagnose him to genetic disorder witch is we never had in family history and he got mad on me when i said about the cholesterol medication side effect.what was his answer that when he quit the medication he should get better and as i said coz months ago he improved 80%,he said it is impossible and if it is it is miracle so no doctors are believing that medication is the cause.most symptom is disappeared but his walking and stiff muscle is not improving yet except some times.

I would encourage every patient on statins to read the recent article (Feb. 2008) by Dr. Peter Langsjoen, MD/Cardiologist: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/feb2008_Alleviating-Congestive-Heart-Failure-With-Coenzyme-Q10_01.htm

The following information from this article is pertinent to complaints of muscle pain/weakness and fatigue:

"All statin drugs block the biosynthesis of both cholesterol and CoQ10, which explains statins’ common side effects of fatigue, muscle pain and muscle weakness, and a worsening of heart failure. When CoQ10 levels are lowered by statin drug therapy, one of the first changes to occur is a weakening of heart muscle function, known as diastolic dysfunction. This has nothing to do with diastolic blood pressure, but rather represents impairment in the relaxing or filling phase of the cardiac cycle. After heart muscle contracts, it takes a great deal of cellular energy, or ATP, to re-establish the calcium gradients such that muscle fibers may relax. Thus, if diastolic dysfunction is severe, it can result in congestive heart failure. In 2004, a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that diastolic dysfunction (heart muscle weakness) occurred in 70% of previously normal patients treated with 20 mg a day of Lipitor® for six months. This heart muscle dysfunction was reversible with supplemental CoQ10."

I hope this information will be of help to patients suffering adverse reactions from statins..

I am a male of 67 years old. I took Lipitor for a year, and after a few months of taking it, I felt muscle pains in my arms and shoulders, as well as my back. I felt weak and could hardly put my socks on by myself. I told my family doctor that I thought the problem was caused by LIpitor. He said it couldn't be possible, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he sent me to a rheumatologist, who gave me an initial diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica. I went back for a checkup, and although the sed rate was normal, the C-reactive protein was elevated. He felt his diagnosis was an accurate one. He prescribed prednisone for me. I had some doubts about it, since I am diabetic, and was concerned about the elevated blood sugar it might cause. Well, it did elevate my blood sugar, and I weaned myself off it within three months. My blood sugar went back to normal, and while the prednisone helped the symptoms of muscle pain and aches, after I stopped it, the pain returned with a vengeance.

About a year passed after discontinuing the prednisone, and I felt worse and worse. Any time I engaged in physical activity, such as yard work, I was almost incapacitated for two or three days. I felt weaker and weaker, and by now, my activity is about ten per cent of what it was three or four years ago. I am unable to do anything physical without paying a heavy price.

I would tell the doctor that I felt the problem was caused by the Lipitor. He would dismiss my comments, saying that the pain should have gone away after discontinuing Lipitor. He sent me back to the rheumatologist with results of recent blood tests. Both the sed rate and C-reactive protein were normal. The rheumatologist touched my back and other areas, which caused me to jump. He said it might be fibromyalgia. I told him again that I thought it was caused by the Lipitor. He said the same thing my GP had said: if it had been the Lipitor, the pain would have gone away when I stopped taking it. I know the Lipitor caused the pain, because I tried red yeast rice for a couple months. The pain increased to almost unbearable, so I discontinued the red yeast rice. If I were not susceptible to the pain from the Lipitor, would the red yeast rice have increased the pain?

So here I am with a fuzzy diagnosis from the rheumatologist, and no clue from my family doctor (that he will verbalize, at any rate). My life has gone steadily downhill. I used to be a strong, active person, but now I can do very little, and my strength is a shadow of what it formerly was. What can I do?

On lipitor for 1 1/2 years.... starting taking yoga a month ago. Had ache in knee and leg which then went to toe on other leg. Thought it was overstretching from yoga. Pain moved to hips and lower back. All very painful but worst was yet to come. Pain moved to neck and shoulders. Could not move head. Excruciating SOBBING pain. I was in so much pain for weekend. Everyone wanted me to go to emergency room but I wanted to stick it out til Monday.

PS... went on web. Saw this is lipitor side effect. never would have expected that after 1 1/2 yrs on a 10 mg dose.

Went to pain management doctor ... got Soma (muscle relaxant), an oral steroid and Percoset. Relief was almost instant.

Called my cardiologist. He says it is the Lipitor.

No more statins for me.
And back to yoga.

Over 6 years ago, the following Petition was submitted to the FDA. I would encourage every patient being treated with statins to read it and bring it to the immediate attention of their physician:

CITIZEN PETITION TO CHANGE THE LABELING FOR
ALL STATIN DRUGS (MEVACOR, LESCOL, PRAVACHOL, ZOCOR, LIPITOR, AND ADVICOR) RECOMMENDING USE OF
100-200mg PER DAY OF SUPPLEMENTAL CO-ENZYME Q10 TO REDUCE THE RISK OF STATIN-INDUCED MYOPATHIES (INCLUDING
CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE). http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/dailys/02/May02/052902/02p-0244-cp00001-01-vol1.pdf
May 24, 2002
Petitioner:
Dr. Julian M. Whitaker, M.D.

This Petition is based on the clinical findings of Dr Peter H. Langsjoen, MD, who also reported it to the FDA as follows:

Statins kill people - lots of people - and they wound many, many more. All patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), eventually - those patients who start with a relatively low CoQ10 levels (the elderly and patients with heart failure) begin to manifest signs/symptoms of CoQ10 deficiency relatively rapidly - in 6 to 12 months. Younger, healthier people who's only "illness" is the non-illness "hypercholesterolemia" can tolerate statins for several years before getting into trouble with fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness (usually with normal muscle enzyme CPK tests) and most ominously - heart failure. In my practice of 17 years in Tyler, Texas, I have seen a frightening increase in heart failure secondary to statin usage, "statin cardiomyopathy". Over the past five years, statins have become more potent, are being prescribed in higher doses, and are being used with reckless abandon in the elderly and in patients with "normal" cholesterol levels. We are in the midst of a CHF epidemic in the US with a dramatic increase over the past decade. Are we causing this epidemic through our zealous use of statins? In large part I think the answer is yes. We are now in a position to witness the unfolding of the greatest medical tragedy of all time - never before in history has the medical establishment knowingly (Merck & Co., Inc. has two 1990 patents combining CoQ10 with statins to prevent CoQ10 depletion and attendant side effects) created a life threatening nutrient deficiency in millions of otherwise healthy people, only to then sit back with arrogance and horrific irresponsibility and watch to see what happens - as I see two to three new statin cardiomyopathies per week in my practice, I cannot help but view my once great profession with a mixture of sorrow and contempt.

I have been on Lipitor for over a year know after having a heart attack at 43 and having two stents put in. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia by in 2002. Recently, I have been having more arm, leg, back, pelvic, hip and hand pain then ever before. I am going to talk to my doctors now about the side effects. I have just know decided to start halving my Lipitor and may ween off of it completely. I'm on Niacin and Zieta in addition to the Lipitor. Have also been having a lot more digestive problems lately...am to be scheduled for a upper GI. I came here looking for info on the fact that although since being on Plavix (didn't realize Lipitor could be culprit) I have had bruising...today I found knots under two bruises on my upper arm. Not only are there knots but they (the bruises) are a different shade of blue (if that makes sense). Thanks to all who have shared their stories.

Since taking (November 2006) and quitting (Febuary 2008) Lipitor I have had a series of muscle/joint problems. This is an update and recap.
Summer 2007 I had left knee problems which surprised the physical therapists because it did not respond well to ultra sound, nor did the pain increase with mobility. I was surprised when I developed similar but lesser problems in my right knee. Autumn 2007 I was diagnosed with tennis elbow on the left arm. Late 2007 my left shoulder becomes a problem. Within days of quitting Lipitor in early 2008 I had extreme pain in my right thumb along the bone, then the middle of my hand then between my first and second fingers. Pain has also been across my wrist and up both sides of my right arm. I am wondering if I will be diagnosed with carpal tunnel - but surely this does not start with extreme pain along the bone in the right thumb!
I am feeling much better than when I was taking Lipitor, but wonder if I dodged the bullet.

he cortisone worked!). My left knee feels "normal" again, not perfect but nearly like it used to be. Within a couple of days of quitting I had severe pain in my right thumb along the bone, then in the middle of my right hand, then between the first and second fingers in my right hand. I currently have minor pain in my right wrist (this is new) on the pinkie side and minor pain in my left shoulder where the arm joins (this has been intermittent for a couple of months). I am feeling much better - but would not be at all surprised if pain appears in another part of my body before this is all history!

I am a 60 yr old woman, and have been on statins for several years, most recently 40 mg. I have been getting more and more side affects over the years that I kept attributing to age, overweight, lack of exercise. After reading so many of these postings, I stopped the statin in March. Some of the side affects i.e. the aches in my arms, hands went away fairly quickly. But my legs still ache so much and the muscles in them seem to be weak, I have a hard time standing up from a sitting position. Do any of you know if it sometimes takes this long for symptoms to go away or is it possible that they won't???

My cholesterol was tested at 220. My doctor prescribed Lipitor 40mg once daily. Initially I felt slightly nausea but continued for eight month. Most recently I have felt stiff neck, sore shoulder, increased nausea, and nervous/anxious symptoms. Yesterday I didn't take my Lipitor and within hours felt remarkably better. This morning I resumed my Lipitor and within one hour began to feel like poorly again. I'm considering stopping Lipitor and living with cholesterol level.

I wrote the message below on March 9th, 2008, but I think it might be useful if I repeat it.
_______________________________________________________________

It`s very disturbing to read all these stories. I really feel for you.

My experience comes from seeing what happened to people close to me.

They all took statins.

I started to look for information on statins, and other medications in 2004 and it continues to this day although two of my relatives are dead.

I have nothing to do with the health or pharmaceutical industry.

I saw the suffering and it made me very angry.

I am an ordinary lady in her sixties who live in Sweden.

The situation is almost the same here as in the U.S.

There is very little discussion about risks/benefits with this kind of medicatications - or others.

I think it`s a good idea to turn to the Internet and books to get other views about the cholesterol issue.

Is it really true that it`s the cholesterol that is causing heart disease?

Are you sure?

Please visit:
******

******

******

Also search articles etc on "Stopped our statins" and on the names of the different authors below.

Also read:

The Cholesterol Myths (Uffe Ravnskov)

The Great Cholesterol Con (Antony Colpo)

Book with the same title (Malcolm Kendrick)

Overdosed America (John Abramson)

The Truth about the Drug Companies (Marcia Agnell)

Malignant Medical Myths (Joel M. Kauffman)

There are many more.

Please look on the Internet for more information about each book.

It´s good to have some other information than the one given by doctors because most of them have been "educated" by the pharmaceutical companies themselves - and why should they talk about risks, side effects etc. They are interested in profits.

Finally - here are some side effects that I have seen:

pains in legs, hands, elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, cracking noise in ribs, muscle weakness, loss of hair, head ache, burning, tingling sensations in hands and feet, numbness, difficulties to swallow, loss of taste, ringing noise in ears, cramps, insomnia, irritation, depression, difficulty with short-term memory and then advancing into more serious problems.

These side effects - for 3 different people - all over 65 - did not come at once.

All of them had taken statins for years (Zocor)

It doesn´t matter which product -all statins have similar side effects.

Search for "Stopped our statins" on Google. It´s a very informative site and under "print articles" there are some articles that you can take along to your doctor for discussion.

I particularly like the one from Weston Price Foundation
and explains the different statin studies and side effects. .

My relatives also had some other medications which makes it even easier for doctors (and patients) to say that it`s just old age.

I am happy for those who get problems right away because then there maybe a chance for the patient and the doctor to see that there is a connection.

You really have to look out for yourself and the people around you!

Good Luck.

I am 55 years old. I had open Heart surgery when I was 41. In the last five years, my triglycerides where high. I was on, Lipitor, Tricor, Mobic.
I droped thr Tricor, because I went on line and learned you are not supposed to take tricor and Lipitor together. Lately I have had tingling just below my neck. I am feeling flu like symptoms the last couple of days for no apparent reason. I am weak, all my joints amd muscles ache. My Cholesterol is about 146. Well after reading all this I am going off this stuff today. Are these some of the symptoms?
Also in the last 2 years I have gone from a 8 and half size shoe to a 9 and half...like my feet have swollen.

This is a follow up to my July 5th post, I am the 42 male, it has been almost two weeks since I stopped Lipitor, all the side effects are completely gone. Muscle pain, numbness in the fingers etc..It looks like it takes at least a couple weeks for the substance to completely exit the system. I know not everybody is the same, but at least this give hope that there are cases where the condition is reversible.

after months of taking lipitor, having daily asthma attacks never experienced before. the only cause could be lipitor as am healthy in every way otherwise.

Lipitor an all Statins deplete the natural enzymes from your muscles.
Your Heart is a muscle. I haved been on Lipitor for a number of years
with many of the side effects posted here. I have had Heart Failure fo
a year now and the best doctors could not help me. My son recently
researched an found a possible solution the indicated Statins deplete
th heart muscled of COQ10 a natural enzyme in the Heart Muscle.
This depletion over time can caused Heart failure due to weak walls.
Since my doctors could offer no solution, I decided to try it for 90 days.
I am off Lipitor an taking 400mg of COQ10 per day.
I am now in day seven an have slept in my own bed with my wife for the first time in a year. I am less restless, an have ha no recurrence of Heart Failure. The drug companies know the problems but thy have
deep pockets an the best lobby to get laws passed and FDA approvals.

They have now received approval to get kids on Statins so they can
make even more money before the patient run out. Thy should be ashamed but they are not!!

I am 53 years old and was almost 4 years on Lipitor and started experiencing periphial neuropathology that was horrible! I had a keen neurologist who took me off after doing several tests for Lyme, Lupus, MS, etc. She said she sees more and more of my symptoms 3 to 8 years plus on Lipitor. I went off Lipitor on June 1st (my birthday), so have been off for more than a month. All of the zapping and tingling has subsided in my hands, feet, face, arms, and head. I still have neuropathology in my hands, some muscle weakness in my arms, and numbness in my toes which are all slowly diminishing. My neurologist says she expects full recovery in 4-6 months. Take B complex vitamins. I take Shaklee's twice a day.This greatly helps in the repair of the nerve damage from Lipitor. My neurologist also recommended me taking FBCx, ******(1-2 with every meal containing fat, the website explains dosage), and 1 tablespoon of omega 3 fish oils in the form of flax or fish to reduce cholesterol. There are other things I take like garlic, cinnamon extract, green tea extract. If you type in "lower cholesterol with supplements" online you will find other things like red rice yeast as well. Good luck!

I found this web site in February, and posted my side effects at this time, and stopped taking lipitor. I have been getting better every day and most of my muscle weakness has gone away. I started including Co Q-10 100mg daily and 2000 of vitamin C if i don't take the Co Q-10 for a few days my burning pain seems to be back especially in my arms and calfs I have no health insurance so I have been unanable to have any blood work done. or even seen a doctor for any of my concerns regarding the Lipitor. I just know that when I did go to the doctor with complaints about weakness and pain they would give me more medications for the symptoms.

Here are some more side effects that I encountered during my ordeal with Lipitor. A week after I started the medication, I started experiencing blurry and decreased vision, this used to go away and come back sometimes, I could swear I always had 20/20 although I never went to eye doctor, but I never needed glasses all my life, if fact any type of glasses will blurry my vision and make me dizzy. I had my first eyes exam a couple days after I discontinued Lipitor, guess what? I have 20/20 vision.
More details about the back and right arm pain, not only the pain was unbearable, I felt my muscles sagging and they did not have any strength, this thing sucked the life out of my muscles, it made me very tired and easily irritable. My fist victim was my little baby ( my beautiful 4 year old), her daddy couldn’t hold her anymore, I even avoided staying close to her, because anyone who touches that right arm will make it feel like another deep stab to the arm deep into the bone. I have never experienced pain like this. I knew about toothache when I had a cavity at 23, but it was fixed and went away, I even experienced the pain of a broken arm at 16, but this thing was something else. The other victim is my wife, I stopped doing stuff, I used to be a very active dude, I do stuff on weekends with family and even every day after work ( you name it, park, boating, swimming pool, malls etc..). It felt like I was dying one piece at a time, going down the tubes fast with no clue of what was wrong with me.

I am a 42 male, I have always been healthy and felt healthy as long I can remember, I never went to the doctor. So this year, 3 months ago to be exact, I decided to do “the right thing”, start taking a physical at least once every years, who know something might be wrong with me and I don’t know it.

Anyway, after I took the physical and some blood tests, my doctors office calls me and they told me that the sugar was a little high (124) and that I am at risk for Diabetes, so they started me on a diabetes medication. Although my Cholesterol wasn’t high, they suggested starting Lipitor (20 ML) just in case because I am at risk and I don’t want to take chances.

A month into it, I started having some back pain, but never suspected medication. I was exercising at least 4 times a week, some cardio and free weights, so I thought, I might have made the wrong move while exercising or maybe sleeping without knowing it ( although I never recall such a thing). Usually it takes a few days for the pain to go away when I did the wrong move, but this pain wouldn’t go away. A month after that (last month), a sharp pain started on my right wrist (shooting pain), that goes up my right arm until my shoulder blade and upper right back. The pain was so sharp and wouldn’t let go, all day, all night and every minute in between. Also, I experienced some numbness on some of my right fingers (especially the thumb and index). I never suspected the medication. Of course the doctors wanted me to take all sorts of tests and MRIs etc..you name it. They also wanted me to go on pain pills (strong ones), I never did, and I used Advil instead, which did not help much. This pain ruined my two week vacations to France (I didn’t not want to forgo the airplane ticket and the hotel, they were already paid for).
I started “googling” the web for “sharp back pain”, just to get some clues, which led me to side effect sites, which led me to this site. I decided to stop all medications immediately 3 days ago, the pain went away, I still have s slight numbness on my thumb, although it is much better, I will keep you posted. Thanks to all the people who shared their story with us, I know that everyone of us could be a different case, what worked for me doesn’t necessarily work for someone else, I know that many here are frustrated about these side effects and whether they are permanent or not, I wish I have the answers. One thing is sure, Lipitor could be poison for some people, I felt going down fast for the last 3 months with no way to stop it, glad I found this site.

Because of a “Global economy” - I suspect ingredients (even for Brand names) are coming from China or being manufactured in India with poor to non-existent quality control standards, and is the primary reason for the majority of Adverse Reactions to the Statins in general. Please take time to submit your complaint directly to the FDA, and hope they investigate and take action (see bottom of page for web sites to submit complaint).

My own recent experience with statins: After 3-weeks of being on generic Simvastatin 80mg for elevated LDL, I experienced significant fatigue, shortness of breath with tightness around my chest and a bout of Gout in my left foot. I would encourage patients/consumers to directly send their complaint to the web sites listed at the very bottom, if you are either a U.S. (FDA Form 3500) or Canadian resident. Also, if your physician is unresponsive to your negative experience with Statins (generic or Brand Name), inform him/her that you refuse to continue with this drug, and that you have sent an adverse reaction complaint to the FDA/Canadian equivalent. Provide both your doctor and pharmacy with a copy of the FDA Form 3500 if you’re a U.S. resident, so they know you're serious. Lastly, I'm back to feeling normal, after I "demanded" my physician switch me to generic Pravastatin 40mg (2 tabs a day - 80mg), manufactured by Teva Pharmaceutical - corporate HQ Israel with manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. By the way, a 90-day supply of this quality-controlled drug is available at Walmart Pharmacy for $10. I hope this helps, especially seniors on a fixed income.

U.S.A.
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/problem.html

CANADA
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/compli-conform/gui-44_consumer_complaint-plainte_consommateur-eng.pdf
Contact Name: Drug Compliance Verification and Investigation Unit Tel: (613) 952-9906 Fax: (613) 954-0941 E-Mail: DCVIU_UVCEM@hc-sc.gc.ca

This is an update from my first posting earlier this year. I still have localized pain in my neck and shoulder area sometimes extending down my arms to my fingertips. I am 58 years old and stopped taking Lipitor 5 months ago. I am always in discomfort but the very severe pain comes in waves at least 3-4 times a month and lasts for about 1-2 days. I have noticed an improvement since stopping Lipitor but my cholesterol count is on its way up so I am trying to control that. Not an easy task but at least I am not totally debilitated as I was in January and February. I am totally off all meds and vitamins as of this writing. I am trying to cleanse myself and start over with diet and exercise. Hang tough ... this is definitely the battle of your life!!! KooKoo