Lipitor and fats

Can anyone tell me if you can just stop Lipitor cold turkey or do you have to stop it slowly? I have been taking Lipitor for 5 years now and I have been trying to find out what is causing my leg weakness. I mentioned it to my doctor who said it si just a fact of getting older. The problem is getting worse and I noticed it started about 3 months after taking the Lipitor and has steadily gotten worse. I am 49 years old a little over weight {which I am working on}. I also noticed my asthma which I haven't delt with since a small child has come back. This may or may not have to do with the Lipitor but the pain in my knees and legs I believe do. It really hurts in the joints of my legs and sometimes in my shoulder area.

I have been on lipitor since Oct 2008, 10 mg. Off and on, I am very dizzy. The backs of my calves start to weaken and I start drinking Smart Water, because I think I"m dehydrated. The Smart Water does help, but today, the dizziness is lasting all day. I probably have tinnitus. My right ear occasionally has a loud ringing and today a little pain and feels as though it has water in it. I am going to call Life Extensions and speak to their health advisors and try something naturpathic. I am soooo scared, because I have 50% blockage in my carotid arteries. Any advice out there?

I am a 50 year old woman and have been taking Lipitor for about the last 6 months. I have developed a severe case of eczema on my scalp as well as hair loss. Also I have been having pain in my hips. I never would have attributed my symptoms to Lipitor, but now I am thinking that maybe Lipitor is the cause of them. Also I read in some of the comments that it may be connected to memory loss. I have noticed I have a hard time remembering things too but never thought it could be related to taking Lipitor.

I posted several months ago on this string and wanted to update. I had bloodwork done for the 1st time since I quit the 20mg of Lipitor in August. LDL went from 123 to 210. Total Chol went from 191 to 285. HOWEVER all shooting pains I had been experiencing in legs, feet, and chst are GONE! Went back to my Dr. today, told her that same result and my serious objection to taking any kind of statin and she prescribed CRESTOR while telling me it was more potent than Lipitor! WTF!!!

I refuse this course, am drinking 30 - 40 ozs. of water each day now like I should have been, doubled my CoQ10 to 200mg/day, finally getting back into the gym to lose weight and get the HDL up from the level of 36 it is now. also started to drink the new yogurt type "shot" of Promise for cholesterol that provides 2 grams of plant sterols per day.

I will not take statins ever. I WILL find a natural way to keep my Chol under control. I've also been convinced that you don't have to be at or under the 200mlg of total chol to be healthy. Look at your C Reactive Protein and Homosiytes (sp?) If they are in range you should be good.

I know Lipitor was the cause of my rupturing each of my Achiller tendons a year apart while playing tennis in my late 40's Muscle pain soon followed.

Boy, after reading all the negative testimonials on Lipitor, I will throw mine in the garbage. That is what they are meant for. I have severe headache, and muscle pain, and foggy head, and I have only been on the crap for 2 months. I believe a lot of people's health is being ruined, and a lot of deaths are happening as well because of Lipitor and other statins. Mark my word, one day this drug will be withdrawn from the market, and the poor Pharmacutial companies will be in huge trouble.. They have the world convinced that we all need statins to bring cholesterol down.. The era when my parents lived , and lived long lives, and on farms, with butter, bacon, lots of fats, and never heard the word STATIN. I think every one that is writing to this forum and complaining about LIPITOR, should make a phone call to PYzier and tell them your side effects, that is the only way anything positive will come from this forum.. thank you for listening... I have called Pyzier and told them as well.

I had been taking Lipitor for well over six years to help lower my Cholesterol count with no know side affects. A problem developed about two and a half years ago with nerve damage that gave me excruciating pain in my shoulder and arm. After an MRI and three cortisone shots I was referred to a neurologist for help. He had no idea what was causing the problem.

About six months after many doctors could do nothing for me, and referring me to a physical therapist, my wife showed me a story in a magazine, which I can no longer find, that talked about problems with Lipitor that had not been properly documented. The article talked about exactly the side effects I was having. The article said there was a problem with nerve damage. It had been well documented that some people had muscle problems, but it was not know there could also be a problem with nerve pain.

I contacted my doctor and stopped taking Lipitor. Two months later, the pain just disappeared. The very day the pain ceased, I had a visit from a good friend of mine who is a Radiologist and who had studied Lipitor because of a problem he was having.

He explained that Lipitor was doing the job it was supposed to do, namely keeping the liver from producing all fats. The problem I was having was that I had injured a nerve and Lipitor was keeping the liver from producing a particular fat needed to help heal that nerve. It seems that the myelin sheath around the nerve needs that fat to help the nerve heal itself, and Lipitor was preventing the production of that particular fat.

Once I quit taking Lipitor it took about two months for the healing fat production to do it's thing. Recovery of the nerves in that arm has been very slow, but they do seem to be healing now.

I thought this was such an important finding that I notified all the doctors I had seen about this problem. To my great surprise I heard from no one. Not even a thank you. I guess that since they didn't find the solution, they just were not interested.

I hope this discussion helps someone else. Thanks for listening.