Lipitor and back muscles

I am not sure my symptoms are related to Lipitor, but it is the only med i was taking and when i finally suspected the connection 3 wk ago, i stopped taking it.

It occured to me that i was complaining of muscle and joint weakness in conversations with others, but related it to my age (53) and lack of exercise. Then i had a few episodes of sudden brief cramping in my back muscles -- totally unexplained by anything else -- and a couple episodes of dizziness, or true vertigo, while sitting and typing at my computer (i am a medical transcriptionist). Those got my attention. Come to find out my mother and brother also had identical muscle problems and switched their cholesterol medications away from Lipitor.

There are numerous other little things, running into walls and furniture, numbness in my feet or hands, yes, the cognitive things i've read here too, etc. Again, don't know if it is the medication, but after doing some reading of other's experiences, i do plan to do my best to improve my health withOUT the use of medication.

I am searching for Lipitor side effect and came across this website. Now I am convinced that what I am feeling are resulting from Lipitor.
I am taking (20mg/day) Lipitor for only a few weeks and I have unexplained patch of rash at the base of my neck, extreme headache, neck pain (it feels as if the back muscles in my neck could not support my head), muscle spasm, cold feet and joint pain. I am 42, otherwise healthy male (except for high cholesterol, 300). I began experiencing these symptoms and decided to search to see if I can find the causes. I could not find any resonable/plausible causes. I came acrross this site. Now, I think I will stop taking Lipitor and take my chances with the high cholesterol. I rather live a short life without a lot of pain and complications than to suffer a long life of pain and bitterness.
Good luck everyone!

Trying to diagnose my problem with muscle problems has been dismal and I stopped taking lipitor 5 days ago when I felt I had to do something drastic. Initially discomfort, then pain, was in my neck. Over the last year it moved into my shoulders, then through my back muscles, into my buttocks, then into legs and recently also into my arms. I am a 64 year old female and I just can't continue to function properly with this complaint. My doctor has not even suggested that it might be lipitor but nothing else has worked out. I'm still really miserable. How long before some improvement and how much COQ10 should I take? (I was on 10mg lipitor for about 2 years)

After taking statins (Provacol, Lovastatin, Lipitor, and Zocor) for over 4 years and having strong muscle pains throught out my body, I stopped taking statins.

During this time the doctor tested me for everything else. I started taking Celebrex to stop the pain. It greatly reduced it.

However, i stopped Celebrex after how it might affect heart patients was made known.

Now 2 months after I stopped Lipitor, 95% plus of my pains are gone. I did not realize how severe they were until i stopped. one can get used to pain, but it does negatively affect you without you being consciously aware of it.

I now aggressively use diet and exercise to control my cholesterol. a better solution in all aspects.

when I started statins, i had no apparent side affects like muscle pain for about 10-12 months. however over time the pain started kept building and spreading. Eventually my legs muscles, back muscles, chest muscles, hip joints, elbow joints, and knee joints all ached.

A friend of mine who had been taking Lipitor (20mg) for a little over a year, recently started having muscle pains.

What I do not understand is why this side affect is not better know and published.