Lipitor and leg cramps

What a rotten drug. The past seven months have been hell for me. I am 42 years of age and put on this crap last November. I have suffered from bad headaches, leg cramps, Insomnia, Plantar Fasciitis, mood swings and the list goes on. After seeing this site and all your responses I believe the best thing to do is get of the crap. I will write in 2 weeks to give an update.
cheers from Down Under

I was put on Lipitor 10 mg. last Spring about 8 mos. ago. I have never taken medications/drugs other than aspirin or Motrin or antihistamines. Since that time I have had a strange combination of unexplained symptoms arise throughout the months. These sx's included: Headaches, stiff neck and severe neck pain, acute shoulder pain, hip pains, joint pains, severe knee pain (tendon or Ligament problems?) and loss of movement, hair loss, jaw pain and some memory confusion. Initially, I had severe HA's for several months, but attributed them to stress, however, I had never experienced HA's as a common occurrence. Then we went away to our Maui house to get away from stress, HA's continued, along with leg and shoulder pains. At the same time, I started noticing several strands of hair falling out if lightly touched my hair to move it out of my face. The pains seemed to move around my body at different times, for no apparent reason. I am used to daily exercise, living in CO in the mountains @ high altitude, not usually having muscle soreness. Now, given my leg and knee pains have gotten so bad, I cannot hike and have difficulty climbing my stairs. Skiing is out. Snorkeling caused leg cramps. No explained reason for having muscle tenderness or soreness without my usual exercise at present time. When the pain leaves one area it tends to arise in a different part of my body. At the present time, my hair loss has subsided, as also my jaw pain and headaches. However, my leg pains and knee pains are so acute (for no apparent reason) it is impossible to exercise and difficult to walk that I looked up adverse reactions to Lipitor, finding all my sx's most probably might be attributed to this drug. Partially my fault for not looking up RX information prior, especially being a medical professional for many years. My husband kept throwing away the info when purchasing the RX. Too many unexplained symptoms, I decided to obtain the drug info. myself. I tended to make excuses for months, such as: I am getting older, under stress, must be an old injury, not exercising properly, need PT therapy etc.... I am dc/ing the drug immediately and have an appt. with my MD on 1/5/09 to discuss.

I have atherosclerosis and had a triple bypass in 1996 - since then I have been taking lipitor - first started out at 40 mg and just recently started taking 80 mg. I can relate to the leg cramps - both my right and left calf are pretty knotted up, and my calf muscles twitch somewhat when I get in bed - and then just prior to waking up I usually get a cramp in one or both legs. I have really had no other side effects - I excercise regularly on the elliptical machine. I feel like maybe drinking more water might alleviate the cramps - I'm going to religiously try to keep hydrated this year. Even so, I do feel like the cramping is a result of the medicine.

feeling some relief to have validation to why i have been feeling this way.

i thought i was going the way of father (heart attack in his 40s) due to many symptoms over the past month similar to heart issues, except the leg cramps. i thought of my mother in-law, her diabetes, poor circulation.

i knew i had just had a thorough heart evaluation with my doctor last spring and everything was fine, except my hereditary cholesterol. frustrating. he had prescribed lipitor at that time. last week while driving to my office Christmas party i thought about driving straight to emergency.

food always seemed to help, as well lots of water. I think because i had liquids when eating, dehydration is what was being addressed.

on my own, i stopped lipitor (only prescribed medication i take) four days ago. no more nausea, no more light headiness (briefly early morning yesterday), no more weakness, leg pain decreased; these were my main symptoms.

I also experienced occasional foot cramps, general aches, heaviness in my esophagus immediately upon eating (thought of my mom with her hiatal hernia) indigestion maybe.

I had one episode a month ago (about the time all this started) where out of the blue i thought my legs were going to fall from under me, they became tingly like they were going to sleep, i was light headed as if i could faint. i had just finished a relaxing picnic by a natural stream, on a beautiful sunny day.

doctors who prescribe this medication should be more aware of these side affects. seems they are either not listening to their patients, or do not have the knowledge of these side affects, and in result, should not be allowed to prescribe.

My concern now is how long the discomfort in my legs will last, though they have improved. to make sure no serious damage has occurred,
i will see my cardiologist in two weeks to have blood work.

I would suggest to anyone who has not contacted their physician since stopping the statin, to do so. print a copy of this site and bring it with you!

T. - 47 years - trying to stay healthy!

Bobby you are so right "BIG Pharama" and thank you for your well researched comments that you post.
BUT let's not forget big pharma whom I do hate over this issue does state a lot of the adverse side effects on the labels.
SO MR and MRS DOCTOR why don't you read the instructions and advise us of what to watch out for. I told my doctor over a 3 year period of leg cramps that made me squeal and physically dropped me, I also told him over 3 years that my swimming speed overnight dropped by 25% which I now know is a dangerous condition called loss of muscle power. In the end I went to him knowing I was dying, I could only shuffle not walk straight and my whole body was hunched like an ape, people in the street were looking at me. My speech was slurry. This clown who was previously highly respected and revered by myself and wife asked me if I had a low pain threshold, he stood up behind his desk imitated my ape like shuffle then told me to stand up and walk straight. So in my mind there are 2 very clear issues.
1) The big pharma criminal scam.
2) The doctors failing to be safe, read instructions and think for themselves.

I'm in New Zealand a couple of months ago a 69 yr old fellow in Australia with an axe chopped up his wife and grandchildren killing them. A neighbor said they were an ordinary family and the man had become deeply withdrawn.
I stopped a car in the middle of the street and attacked it with my walking stick, I heard "voices" and stalked my house at night with an axe in my hand.

Go to space doctor DOT net and type in Allen Woodley suicide. There are 3 examples here where people lost their minds and took their own lives through statins.

We the "small" people have to originally put the pressure and file the complaints against the doctors then they can resist the pharmas.

No I am getting my faculties back make no mistake I will be filing a police complaint of criminal negligence.

Get the instructions and front the doctor after all he/she is the "retailer" and they can take it up with their "wholesaler"

These b#$%^&&ds are not only wrecking us but they are demonstrably negligently and criminally wrecking the lives of society's grandparents whose golden years we must protect.

Incidentally when I asked my doctor in January for an apology he rammed his bunched fist in my face in his surgery and said how dare you doubt my ability as a doctor. Not bad some of these clowns.

Then of course as we who have been forced to research ourselves we all now know that cholesterol and elevated cholesterol as we get older is absolutely essential for longevity.

These practitioners are totally unbelievable.

I am wondering if the plantar foot pain that my husband is suffering for 6 months could be from lipitor that he is taking for several years now. Has anyone have this problem?

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 took Lipitor for 2 years with all the pain in my shoulder, hand and arm as well as fuzzy memory. I had a friend over for Lunch an have no memory of anything that happened including his arriving and leaving on his Harley and we all know how loud they are. I ended up in the hospital with all kins of tests including an MRI all of which I have no memory of to this date. My hospital bills are still coming in as well as all the Doctors that saw me. I just received my Divorce and then this happened , I was out of work for a week , the Doctors thought I had had a heart attack, stroke or aneurysm.I also had all the foot pain making it impossible to stand up , leg cramps, sleeplessness, sheer exhaustion, depression, headache and nausea. The Doctor at the Hospital took me off of the Lipitor and said to take a 325mg. aspirin daily . This happened on March 23, 2008 . I am felling better but I still pain in my shoulder , neck , stomach , and feet and legs but is nothing like it was. Here I am left with a few thousand dollars of Doctor and Hospital bills. Why can`t something be done about all of this we are all going thru? I called the FDA to report it and got no where. Did I really expect anything to happen ! I hope someone gets something done for us . I would be one of the first to sign up to take Lipitor off the market and get what is due us.

I had TIA two years back, my neurologist put me on 80mg Lipitor (Lipiget in Pakistan). I have a whole list of problems since then: tingling in lower part of legs, memory loss, cold sweats, swelling in upper abdomen, lethargy, leg cramps and backache.
Seemeen

I took Lipitor for about 2 years- 5 mg.
Leg cramps-soreness throughout my muscles- very sore buttocks-
my legs are shaky- if I use them too much; (as in walking 3 miles)
I am (was ) an avid body builder that could squat with 100 lbs- and now ( I am a health conscious -non drinking- NO other medication 104 lb slim female) have quivering legs if I stand for too long. I even had a muscle biopsy- and it cam back negative- I have not had a statin for 6 months- but I still have cramps- and abnormal liver values- and I have NO other conditions-I have been scanned from head to toe - open MRI- closed MRI -but the muscle stiffness- soreness- especially legs- continues-
does anyone know how long it lasts? I have also been tested for liver cancer- thank God-negative.
I really feel that Lipitor did this- has anyone else gone from fit as a fiddle to a quivering -achy person- I have gone through 5 doctors- internal - gastrointestinal - neurologist- hematologist and all is negative- just high liver values and muscle pain. Thank you so much.Maxine

I am a 52 year old male from South Florida. Two years ago my Dr prescribed Lipitor. I started to feel weakness in my legs after mowing the lawn but I dismissed it as just being worn out from the summer heat and humidity. About six months ago the little toe on my left foot became numb and it spread to my other toes. I get continuous spasms in my left big toe and now the toes on my right foot are becoming numb. When I sleep at night I am continuously being woken with leg cramps in my feet, calfs and thighs. My feet feel heavy, my legs feel weak. There are times that I just lose my balance. I have a physical job and when I get home I don't want to do anything. I am going to see a neurologist on 3/31 to see what he thinks. My biggest fear is that I now have permanent damage. I have not read any articles about individuals having a full recovery after stopping the medication.

I am 60 years old female & have been taking Lipitor for about 4 years. I recently went off the drug for 3 months, & in that time much of the muscle pain I was experiencing began to lesson. I have pain in both arms from the below up to my shoulder. Hip pain & leg cramps. I have trouble sleeping & absolutely no sex drive. Of course, my Cholesterol went sky high, over 300. I have only been back on 80 mgs for a month and a half, & all of the aches and pains are back ten fold. I feel a hundred years old.I have to make a big decision...die of high Cholesterol, or live a life of constant pain and sleep deprivation. This is really bad. I f I had to run or crawl to save my life, I'd never make it.

I am in tears reading everyone's Lipitor experiences because I can relate to so much of what you all are saying. I am a 48 year old female. Was on Lipitor for a little over a year, and stopped taking it about 6 weeks ago. My symptoms included excruciating neck and arm pain, leg muscle pain, knee pain, tingling arms and elbows, hip pain. I blamed my neck problems on a previous injury. I did chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, massage. All helped temporarily, but it always came back. I assumed it was something I would have to live with for the rest of my life.

Then i started having the strange leg muscle pain. It felt like a Charlie horse but in weird spots like my ankles, my shin as well as my calves. Then the knee pain started. I can not sit any length of time without my knee aching. I also have a hitch in my hip...I guess that's what you'd call it. I feel pain when I walk, but can usually walk through it. I was also tired all the time, day after day. Sleeping was miserable because of the neck, knee and hip pain. In combination with the tiredness and the aches and pains, I thought I was just getting old, maybe arthritic!! And this from someone who has always been active....walking, weight lifting, always on the go.

I started getting suspicious when I started listening to the Lipitor commercials on TV that stated "...report any muscle pain or weakness to your doctor as this may be a sign of a rare, but serious side effect..." or something like that. Maybe that's a new "warning" that they didn't use to say on the commercial? Well, I went off of it on my own and I could not believe how much better I felt after only a few days!!! My chronic neck pain has basically disappeared...I still don't have full movement like normal folk but the pain is gone! I have so much more energy, and my leg cramps are gone. I still have a problem with my hip and knee.

Since being off Lipitor, my cholesterol has gone sky high....actually higher than when I first started! My total cholesterol began a little over a year ago at 247, got it down to 190, now after being off the Lipitor for 4 weeks it's a whopping 298!!! My ldl started at 162, got down to 128 and is now 206!!!!

So in addition to all the problems I had being on the Lipitor, it appears going off of it has worsened by cholesterol!!

I am now taking ground flax seed - 2 T daily. I am also going to try cholesterol Off by Nature Made. I will NEVER subject my body and spirit to statins again.

I thank all of you for posting your problems with Lipitor. I wish you all luck, and maybe we'll get to meet each other someday....in court.

I am currently taking Lipitor, I was taking another cholesterol med, don't remember what it was, but it was changed because the other wasn't effective. My cholesterol is great. Tonight while researching multiple symptoms I am having, I found this site. I have been on Lipitor for around 2 years now. For 2 years I have also been being treated for severe leg cramps, they knot up at times, this was diagnosed as Restless legs syndrome. I have numbness and tingling in my hands, my doc says most likely carpel tunnel ( I really don't do anything repeatedly with my hands) , my ears ring constantly, my hands and legs swell daily, so now I am taking a diuretic for that, I have constant headaches, blurred vision, severe upper and lower back pain, joint and muscle pain, severe dry mouth, at times I get very swollen gums (no bleeding of the gums) a metallic taste or salty taste in my mouth all the time, and unexplained pain , like bruises, all over my body. I am making another appointment in the morning about the dry mouth and gum pain, recently my teeth just started falling apart, my doc said that was from poor dental care, I brush my teeth at least 4 times a day and use mouthwash.

I began taking statins about 10 years ago because of a high cholesterol blood test, beginning with Lipex and then Lipitor about two years later. Until recently, I was taking 40 mg daily. I developed multiple migraines with auras after about two years of statins, then I had a 13 hour episode of transient global amnesia. For the next two years I had constant nausea and tinnitus, foot and leg cramps, with the migraines occurring frequently. At the beginning of this year, I had my first episode of paroxysmal hypertension. In June, July and August this year, my blood pressure was labile and it was accompanied by nausea, tinnitus, feelings of great weakness, painful tightening in left arm, shakiness, enervation. The general physician I saw in hospital thought my migraines could be triggering the paroxysmal blood pressure. (Later when I read the weight of anecdotal evidence on the internet, I asked myself whether both were triggered by Lipitor.) It was then discovered that I had acute gastritis. When I was told that the cause might be one of the drugs I was taking, I looked up Lipitor on the internet. I could see so many of my own symptoms but the standout side effect for me was transient global amnesia. After reading the many websites on Lipitor side effects, I asked myself whether both were triggered by the Lipitor. I stopped the Lipitor immediately and the doctor I was seeing at that time agreed that my decision was the right one. However, my general practitioner only accepts the peripheral neuropathies and tinnitus as Lipitor side effects because TGA is not listed in Pfizer's patient notes. When I contacted Pfizer, they said TGAs were not listed in their research material, but when I pressed the point, admitted that TGAs are a form of amnesia, which is listed but only in the material given out to doctors on request.

My husband is also on Lipitor for CAD. Although his cholesterol readings were low, his doctor doubled his dose of Lipitor. Since that time he developed appalling short term memory problems and could not think through relatively simple problems without a great effort. He cut the dose by half without reference to his doctor, and his short term memory had definitely improved. He is considering his next step.

I am a 59 yr. old woman who has HepC in 2003 and 2004 I went thru chemo treatments for my HepC during the second round of chemo, I got real sick and my auto ammune system started to shut down, was put on procrit and epogen, I then developed a severe allegric reaction to the treatments and was taken off in Oct of 2004. In Mar of 2005 I have the first of the 7 heat attacks I would go thru till May of 06, I have had triple bypass surgery as well. I was put on alot of meds, one being Lipitor 80mg, I have been on it for 2 and a half years now and have been suffering terrible pain in my legs, my arm, my chest my lower back,my upper back, severe leg cramps to the point where I have just sat and cried for God to come and take me home, I have all the systems and more that I have read about posted here and I am scared to death, I am afraid I am am being eaten alive inside my body, which has put me in the hospital twice thinking I was having another heart attack. I went to my doctor and ask him to test me and see if I had mybromyalgia, of course he said yes but I can tell you now it's the side effects of the lipitor, last blood test for chosterol showed level at 98. I see so many of you here on much lower doses than myself and my heart cries out for you. I have made a decision to go off the lipitor cold turkey as of last nite, is there going to be any problems with that, can anyone tell me, PLEASE HELP ME! I don't want to die, I have 6 beautiful grandchildren that give me reason to push thru the pain but sometimes I just want to give up.

I used lipltor for about 6 months. I started to get pain in my arms and legs. My arms and legs became weak and I could barely walk up the stairs at night to go to bed and also started getting leg cramps that were vissible under the skin. It has been about a year since I stopped taking the lipitor and most of my problems went away fairly quickly after stopping. I still have pain in my legs especially the left leg. This has not gotten any better for months. Are there others who have had a similiar experiences?

Ok, all that I've read has me really freaked out - I was put on 10mg. of Lipitor about a week ago. I was going to see if anyone had/has experienced headaches with Lipitor. I notice that each evening I start getting an awful headache.
My cholosterol has been the same for a year - good cholosterol is really good; bad cholosterol is slightly elevated. The doctor said because of my "age" and since it hadn't gone down, I should go on Lipitor for 90 days and see how it goes - and, to watch my diet. My age is 69. I really, really don't want to take this stuff after reading all the bad reviews. Has anyone else had the headaches?

I have pain in my left hip flexor when taking Lipitor. I was on 40mg/day and went on a daily walk with my wife after her back surgery. My left hip flexor would cramp. Sometimes it would cramp so bad, I had to quit walking and catch a ride home.

I had a month holiday off of Lipitor and could run after a week with no pain.

I started back on 10mg/day and the pain has returned, but not as bad.

I did an experiment- Laying flat on my back, I could lift my left leg one foot off of the floor. I stopped the Lipitor for seven days and could lift my left leg two feet off of the floor.
Can anyone help me?

I am a 54 year old male who has a chronic a-fib. My cholesterol was a wee bit high so my now retired MD put me on Zetia, which just about killed me- constant stomach pains and associated GI problems-we all can guess. So I went to see my cardiologist- he took me off Zetia and put me on Lipitor. It dropped my cholesterol levels significantly but the side effects are horrendous. My new MD was gooing to look into it because I was on 80 mg a day- but never did and never lowered the dose-229 is not all that high to warrant 80 mg a day.
I am now experiencing severe pain in my right rib-cage area, making sleep an event every night. Also have severe leg cramps the size of golf balls constanlty at night while sleeping. Pain in both elbows, and in the right foot, which when I can sleep wakes me up with a severe pounding pain. I am also experiencing severe neck and shoulder pain and am generally fatigued all the time- So I quit taking the stuff as of today on my own, I am seeing my MD in two week and I want to see what the difference is pain wise being off of the med for two weeks. I have always been a strong physical guy, played football all the way through college and am in pretty good shape for my age, but this stuff is killing me!! Hope this helps someone else also-Thanks for listening-John in Napa, CA.

This is a great site for learning more on this subject where we can get the real facts from real experiences.( Vs. the deception from drug companies who are in the business for profit.)

Lipitor is pure poison, and Dr.'s hand it out like candy. All cholesterol reducing drugs that contain statins can trigger dangerous side effects. Not many of us are informed about the real danger of statins when we are handed the perscription. Inappropriate prescribing of medications will continue to be one of the leading causes of death. And we, the patients,do not always receive enough info. from our Dr.'s about the dangers and side effects from prescription drugs.

I'm 48 yrs. young. Female, small build, (was) healthy and active, happy, and an empty nester! My husband and I had moved to another province and hence had to find a new Dr.

I was prescribed lipitor 10 mg. daily after a routine check up by my Dr. because my cholesterol was a little high.

I started taking it in the winter 2005. I stopped taking it in mid June 2007... My side effects were progressive , drug induced, and it escalated to near disabling.

I knew something was terribly wrong. Was it A.L.S., M.S., West Nile, Lupis, Alzhiemers Disease, or a new designer disease? I did not suspect that the drug lipitor was the cause until much later.

At first, my Dr. said it was menopause. I should mention; since I've quit taking the drug 3 months ago, I have no symptoms of menopause !
At least my Dr. has acknowledged and diagnosed the cause of these profound symptoms." Myopathy as a result of statins."

Signs & symptoms I experienced are as follows;

Severe stomach pain.
Muscle pain, aching , weakness, stiffness, tenderness esp.to the lower extremities. Eventually, I could only shuffle to walk.
Pain in the palms of hands.
Stiff neck, shoulders, arms and lower back.
Trouble getting up from a seated position, and climbing stairs.
Extreme fatigue.
Hot and cold sweats
Night sweats
Fevers. High and low grade fevers.
Ringing in the ears.
Difficulty swallowing, and fear of choking.
Pain in the esophagus.
Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness.
NO appetite, yet a lot of weight gained around the abdomen area.Bloated.
NO taste buds.
Speech affected, slurring words and mispronouncing. Tongue felt swollen.
Trouble breathing at night, would wake up coughing ( and I was not smoking then).
Trouble sleeping.
Loss of balance and coordination.
Blurred vision esp. in the morning.
Sharp shooting pains in the Rt. thigh.

Most of the symptoms have now subsided. I still have some foot pain and leg cramps and muscle stiffness... and poor concentration. Putting this together has been done with great difficulty, as I seem to pause a great deal and forget what I was trying to say. The recovery process is slow but at least it's progress. My Dr. has not prescribed any more medication. I've done my own research, after the fact, and started taking coQ10. and I've noticed a big difference!

Quality of life? Well, I'd rather have high cholesterol and die from that, than be poisoned again by statins. What quality is there, to live an extremely painful, useless and unfulfilling life? We were all guinea pigs, and we paid a terrible price for this! I hope we all can recover from this with no long term side effects.
If you are considering taking cholesterol lowering drugs do some careful research on statin drugs before you take them, and read the testimonies from those effected by them.
sj.

Lipitor NOT EFFECTIVE ON WOMEN!!

"Again and again, clinical studies have failed to show that the use of statins lowers cardiovascular risk in women who do not already have coronary heart disease or diabetes"

I am a 53 year old male on disability for a bad back and atributed a lot of my symptoms to my back. Leg pains, leg cramps, foot pains and extreme fatigue... Also occasional mental fogginess to depresion as I was on Prozac for depresion... When the side effects hit the hardest I was literally crippeled and barely able to get around on crutches although limited to one level of our split level home, the stairs were TOO MUCH. I had stopped the Lipitor immediately put that didn't help, the pain was overwhelming despite the Hydrocodone #10 I was taking 4-6 a day!! (I previously took 1 per day max) I found on the internet how statin drugs deplete the body of CoQ-10 and cause the muscles to atrophy.

For results of CoQ-10 see my other post...
I don't list website where I get mine because I don't want anyone to think I have anything to gain by making these posts. I am sharing what worked for me and got me out of a period of paid so intense. I only want to help others.
I had to find a cheaper place to buy because I'm on social security disabilty with kids and I don't get enough money to be able to buy it any where else so now maybe I can help them another way too. God Bless all who have been effected by this drug and may you have a complete recovery, if you refuse to quit taking it, supplement with coq-10 even drs and pharmacists agree (that know what they're talking about)

I started taking 20mg Lipitor 10 years ago,when I was 53 yrs old, as I had a heart attack from unstable agina and high cholestrol.For most of this time I have suffered aches and pains, excema on my hip and stomach areas and severe leg cramps. For the past 12 months I have felt lethargic, in a 'switched off and isoloated'' frame of mind with painful hand joints and foot swelling. My eyesight has deteriorated quickly and I feel plain OLD!! After reading other people's experiences I am going to stop taking lipitor/statins immediately and monitor any change carefuly.

Am a 56 year old female. Have been on Lipitor 10mg, for about 1 year. Was having, leg cramps, hot flashes, insomnia, bladder incontinence, anxiety attacks (which I have never had before) Thought they were all symptoms of menopause. Until I quit Lipitor for 1 week. All symptons disappeared. Went back on Lipitor for 2 days and all symptoms started to come back! Dr. said stay off and have some blood work done in one month. Have been off now for 3 weeks straight and absolutely no more symptoms. No hot flashes or anxiety!

46 year old male, moderatly active (martial arts 4 hours a week, walk dog 1-6 miles a day on average) but have been gaining weight (in mid section, despite activity and restricted diet) since on lipitor. have numbness in left side, leg cramps, muscle weakness, headaches with blurred vision. memory loss, joint pain,

HI I AM A 56 YEAR OLD WOMAN AND HAVE BEEN ON LIPITOR FOR 4 YEARS NOW,AT FIRST ALL SEEMED WELL THEN 2 YEARS AGO I WAS SENT TO HOSPITAL WITH BURNING PAIN IN MY GROIN AND STOMACH AREA,I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DIVERTICOLITAS,THEN IN JANUARY THIS YEAR I HAD TROUBLE BREATHING OUT AND AGAIN WAS SENT TO HOSPITAL, NOTHING WAS FOUND OTHER THAN AN ANGRY RED LUMP UNDER MY ARM WHICH TOOK MONTHS TO GO I SUFFER FROM SEVERE LEG CRAMPS AND PAINS IN THE LEFT SIDE OF MY RIBS,,MAKING SLEEPING DIFFICULTI WENT TO SEE MY DOCTOR ON FRIDAY AND TOLD HIM I SUSPECTED LIPITOR WAS TO BLAME AND HE DID SOME BLOOD TESTS, WELL YESTERDAY I WAS BACK WITH A SUSPECTED TRAPPED NERVE AND HIS FIRST WORDS TO ME WERE! HAVE YOU STOPPEDTHE LIPITOR THEN ,WHEN I SAID YES HE SAID !YOUR LEVELS ARE OK ANYWAY SO PLEASE THINK TWICE ABOUT STATINS I CLASS MYSELF AS GENERALLY HEALTHY DONT SMOKE HARDLY EVER DRINK ALCOHOL BUT LIPITOR HAS GIVE ME SOME BAD TIMES , BRENDA

My husband was diagnosed with MS 2 1/2 years ago. He has been on Lipitor for about 1 year. Within the past 4 months, his walking has gotten worse. Where it used to be just his right leg, now it is his left as well. Severe leg cramps, fatigue -which could be the MS - trouble keeping balance - also could be MS - lower back aches, slurred speach and memory loss. I know alot of these are associated with MS but after reading all the other letters, I am beginning to wonder if his walking has gotten worse due to the Lipitor. He used to have trouble walking but with a cane, could go for miles. Now he can't even walk 15 minutes without almost falling. A friend of ours stopped taking the Lipitor and felt better within 1 week. I am hoping the same happens to my husband. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories.

I am totally shocked at what I have learned about Lipitor. My physician prescribed 10mg for me over 4 years ago. No major problems until recently. Severe neck/shoulder pain for about 3 months. Dr said it was a pulled muscle. Gave me Skelaxin. No help. Went to Chiropractor--yanked, cracked, beat, etc--no help. In the past 2 weeks or so I have developed pain in my hips, back and legs. Blamed it on being 52 years old. As I read some of the experiences on here I could relate to each one. I also have gained about 30 pounds in the past 4 years, short term memory is terrible. NO ENERGY> 3 years ago-Dr started me on Wellbutrin for depression, then added Zoloft. I am to the point now I want to get off of all this and see how I could really feel. Not sure about withdrawals. Any comments on stopping the meds?

I started taking Lipitor a month or so ago and did not even realize it had side effects. I have been having my whole head itching like crazy day and night and I never had that in 38 years! I have been having leg cramps and charley horses in my feet so bad. I have had severe pain in my right hip/thigh area so bad that I thought I was going to have to take myself to the ER. Sharp shooting pain down my leg into my foot and in a fog mentally to where my brain and mouth do not connect. The joint and muscle pains have been so severe that to walk from the car to the store has been almost impossible. I have not taken the dose last night and already the pain and cramping is lessening. I think I'll find another way to lower the cholesterol!!!

I AM HAVING NUMBNESS IN LTFT TOES,LEFT LEG, AND I AM VERY WEAK.I AM NOT GETTING ANY BETTER.I SOMETIMES HAVE LEG CRAMPS.CAN YOU ALL HELP ME? BETTY

I am a 55 yo caucasian male caucasian. Profession: Dentist. Was placed on Lipitor 20mg/day. After 2-3 months noticed that I bruised very easily; began feeling weak, tired; would develop severe muscle & joint pains after Karate & Weight training. Because of my genetics, lab values did not improve enough. The dose was increased to 40mg/day. Leg cramps, weakness, and muscle pains became totally incapacitating. Has to go to bed. Sleeping was difficult becasue of constant pain. Discontinued Lipitor: all symptoms abated.

Was then placed on Vitorin 10/20 one per day. After 4 to 6 weeks noticed severe muscle & joint pain. But there is no bruising like I had while taking the Lipitor. I altered the dose to one every other day, i.e., 1/2 the perscribed dosage, and symptoms have lessened. However, when I perform and intense Karate & weight work out session, 48 hour later I have severe muscle & joint pains which necessitate bed & rest for 24 to 36 hours.

My Cardiologist is skeptical of these effect being related to these cholesteral statins...but as a clinician of 30 years i KNOW there is a direct relationship.

I took Lipitor 40 mg q.d. for a few years. Then I started having unbearable leg cramps upon awakening in the mornings. They were practically debilitating! I also started having another kind of leg pain, the kind which is very hard to describe. My leg or legs would feel kind of dead, not crampy, but pain inside the leg near the bone you might say. That was worse than the leg cramps, because I could usually get up and walk around and eventually the leg cramps would go away for the rest of the day. This dead but extremely painful feeling in my legs would go all the way up into the thigh area and I would just have to lie there until it went away. Thank God it did always eventually go away, but not before my vowing to have my legs amputated if the pain continued. My doctor had no idea what could be causing this, and I got the impression that he thought the symptoms were psychosomatic. As a last resort, I stopped taking Lipitor and within 24 hours the leg pain (both kinds) stopped. After one year of blessed relief and no Lipitor the doctor tested my cholesterol and it was very high again. So I tried going back on Lipitor, only I cut the dose in half. The doctor also gave me 300 mg of gabapentin and 325 mg of quinine to take at night about three hours before bedtime. To date, my cholesterol is down to below normal levels and I have not had any more of either kind of leg pain. But if I forget the quinine or gabapentin even one night, the pain comes back. I hope this helps someone else who is suffering as I did.

I have been on 10mg of lipitor for 3 years and had dramatic lowering of total and LDL cholesterol. Since taking this I have developed muscle cramps in the legs and abdomen, especially after 2 am, as another person on here reported, and noticeable short term memory loss, which until I started reading about the side effects of lipitor, I attributed to the heavy radiation I received 10 years ago in my bone marrow transplant.

Recently my doctor took my dose of lipitor up to 20mg to try to reach the new "target" level and the cramps immediatedly got worse and I have almost constant calf muscle pain. And my short term memory is alarmingly deteriorating to the point where my co-workers have commented on it.

I am off lipitor for now, exploring fish oil supplements, and other natural remedies. I read recently that LDL only causes arterial damage when oxidizied, and that exercise boost free radicals, so am going to focus on anti-oxidants alot more as I exercise alot. Thank God for sites like this. It is easy to blame your symtoms on the wrong thing or try to ignore them.

I am up at 3 am researching this as my leg cramps do not let me sleep!

See my earlier post 26651. Male, age 61. Lipitor for 6 months with some side effects but Dr. did not associate them with Lipitor -- said I had an inner ear virus. Another month past and now more side effects. Blood test showed the drug really worked and cholesterol dropped over 100 points. Dr. said he wanted to keep me on it even though levels were now excellent. My symptoms were many, including the following: dizziness; head pain especially around sinus area; ringing in ears; difficulty speaking; memory loss; leg cramps; extreme nausea; eyes sensitive to light; extreme neck pain; grinding sound in neck; heavy headedness, etc. etc.

Went back to Dr. 3 weeks ago when he re-prescribed more Lipitor even though levels "were excellent". Told him about my problems and fact I felt I was being poisoned by Lipitor. He thought some of my problems could be from the drug and immediately took me off of it but also want me to have a brain MRI as precaution. MRI was normal -- been off the drug for nearly 3 weeks now and other that some neck pain, I am feeling nearly 100%. Will never take Lipitor or any other drug in it's class.

AFTER FOUR YEARS ON LIPITOR, LEG CRAMPS STARTED
EVERY NIGHT ABOUT 2:00 A.M. NEEDLESS TO SAY I;AM OFF
OF LIPITOR, LEG CRAMPS STARTED TO EASE UP AFTER 12 DAYS
BUT I STILL HAVE AWAY TO GO.

I have only been taking Lipitor for about a month. Before I started taking this drup I was warned by a co-worker not to take it. SHe complained about the leg cramps and the pain she experienced in her hip area. WHen I mentioned this to my doctor when he prescribed the medication to me, he more or less just laughed it off. I am getting the cramping in my calves and I am not sure if this is from the Lipitor or something else. I suppose the only way to tell is to stop taking the Lipitor. Does anyone out there have any suggestions? I looked at this website, because I wanted to find out what the side effects of Lipitor were. This site has really opened up my eyes.

high CK levels, muscle wasting, extreme brusing, after nearly one year off of the drug still have muscle spasms, leg cramps, and arthritis like symptoms attacking different joints intermittenly

My 72 year old mother took a couple of different statins (Lipitor being one of them) for close to a year but couldn't tolerate the leg cramps. She's been off of all statins for a year now but she continues to have severe leg cramps. Her doctors tell her it can't be from the statins because it's been so long since she's taken them but, we can't think of anything else that it could be.

Can anyone on this board give me some ideas? Are there doctors who specialize in these issues? Please email me at ******

I have been on 10 mg of Lipitor for 2 years and on 5mg for a year. The dosage was reduced because of leg cramps. The past few months I have had bursitis in hips and thighs and am in pain all the time. It seems to be getting worse. Can such a low dose cause this. I have taken myself off. How long does it take for the pain to subside, if ever?

After reading these postings, I am somewhat comforted to see that I'm not crazy. I've been taking lipitor for more than a year - and 6 months ago I started getting unbelievably horrible leg cramps at night. It's hardly what I would call a "muscle ache" - the pain is excruciating. Then I started getting the cramps during the middle of the day - often while sitting in a meeting for an hour or more. And, until reading these postings, I hadn't made the connection of the weird skin rash (psoriasis? eczema?) I've developed.
Per my m.d., I quit taking the medication about 1 month ago....but still experiencing the bad side effects (although not quite as frequently).
Does it get better?

It seems like my energy level is way down and iI am having leg cramps.

My sister was on lipitor for six months and had leg problems and she got off it.
It was a couple of months before things she recovered.

I have been taking Lipitor for only about a month, but already I have had side effects from this drug. What led me to this site was a search for Lipitor side effects, while I was searching for what may have caused the development of a couple of blue/purple/yellowish "bruises" on one of my breasts. I have also been having leg cramps during the day. I never put these symptoms together or ever thought of them as being side effects from the Lipitor until reading all this and it has dawned on me that nothing like this has ever happened to me until the past month when I started taking Lipitor for high cholesterol. I am also diabetic. I know that my mother takes Lipitor and her skin bruises easily, which made me wonder if it was the Lipitor causing my breast to bruise, but it hasn't been hit or anything like that.. just showed up as two little bruises, except one of them is getting darker instead of fading away. I'm supposed to go back to the doctor the end of the month. My husband doesn't want me to take any more of the Lipitor. I think I will search for alternative methods in dealing with my high cholesterol!

I am so glad to have found this site....I have been justifying the effects of Lipitor with other explanations. I began taking Lipitor in December of 2003. The first symptom was ringing in my ears that my doctor said was old age. I should of realized that my ears would not both start failing at the "same time".....but, I didn't. Then, I began having leg cramps in the night...but usually after some type of different activity....again...I didn't think it was Lipitor...The next issue was tingling in my left hand and pain down that arm...I had massages and it would go away....I thought it was a result of my bad back. By yesterday, I had aching in all of my limbs and tingling and numbness in my feet and both hands. In addition, I had burning in my feet,my knees have ached, and my neck has begun to hurt...I read all of the postings and made a decision to stop Lipitor. I will review with my doctor and try to find something else. I would prefer it to be something natural. I eat properly and exercise and just now have come to the point of having to take something. I do not have any heart disease yet but, of course , do not want it. My hubby takes a large dosage of Lipitor and is fine with it...Guess I am not......................Nell

I started taking 10 mg of Lipitor in 1997 and have been taking 80 mg for about 6 years. I have not noticed any side effects attributed to Lipitor. I do have many severe leg cramps at night and muscle pain in my right leg when in static situations (sitting, standing & sleeping). I also have foot numbness & toe & finger cramps. I have also lost much of my finger and arm strength. I & my doctor have attributed these symptoms to arthritis. I can still play tennis & golf but my neck stiffness is becoming more of a problem. I am 73 and am afraid to stop taking Lipitor as it has corrected my C problem. I also experience hot periods in the middle of the night.

I'm a 78-year old man, in very good shape for my age, was given Lovastatin 3 months ago. I began to have severe foot, calf and whole-leg cramps, left wrist & back pain -I had not had these problems before.
I cut the medicine in half for a couple of weeks, then stopped it entirely a month ago. These symptoms have improved greatly but I still have some of them and I'm afraid there has been permanent damage.
Has anyone else had these symptoms?
Ray Mac.

I was on Lipitor for 3 1/2 months and went off about a month ago. I thought I was crazy, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one experince neck pain, leg cramps etc. Does anyone no how long it will take to get rid of all of this pain? I was only on it for 3 months so I hope none of this is permanent damage.

A good friend of mine (82) was recently rushed to the hospital because he woke up and could not get out of bed. After a week,he is now in rehab using a walker and going through leg exercises to build back his leg strength. The doctors are suspecting the Lipitor he has been taking (10 mg 2 times a week for about 3 years.) to be the cause of the muscle "atrophy". After reading these stories on this web site I am shocked to hear about all the problems Lipitor has seemingly caused people. I tried Lipitor for about 6 months, and had leg cramps in the tops of my legs (where they meet the body) and the Dr. promptly took me off of it and now I'm on Zocor, with no apparent side effects-but I'm reading up more on that.

Now in reading about Rhabdomyolysis (a severe side effect with muscle breakdown and kidney failure), I'm asking the doctors to check for that as my friend has had some symptoms-weight gain, weakness and now not being able to walk. You know, these men don't complain about aches and pains and many may be walking around with a time bomb going off inside them with these symptoms.

If anyone has experienced something similar, I'd love to hear from you, especially how long the recovery of muscle use can be.
Thank you.

I started Zocor then Lipitor a few months ago. I now have such BLARING headaches I can barely focus and get through a day at work! The pain in the back of my neck and head are so severe that nothing will stop it! I have not suffered the leg cramps as I have read many of you describe but have been suffering from some anxiety for no apparent reason and terrible bad dreams (neither of which I normally had prior to takign these drugs.) I also had the tingling on the left side of my face for no apparent reason. ALl MRI's and other tests come back normal and Chiropractic visits are not helping either. THIS DRUG NEEDS TO BE PULLED OFF THE SHELF BUT IT SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT PROTECTING US AS THEY ARE TAKING BIG $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FROM THESE DRUG COMPANIES!!!

Last May I began taking Lipitor at the advice of my cardiologist. He quickly had me ramp up to 40mg. By late July I was getting leg cramps, dizziness and nausea. In September, I found this web site and decided to stop the Lipitor. Two weeks later the cramps and the dizziness were 80% gone. Four weeks later I'm 100% free of the cramps and the dizziness. Some nausea remains but is minor. I told my cardiologist what I had done. He did not argue with me but suggestd that, when I'm free of all symptoms, I start again with 10mg. I don't think so. Diet, supplements and exercise are the answers from here on. If you're on Lipitor and are having problems, it might be wise to find a different remedy for your cholesterol problem.

I have been on Lipitor for a few years with great results-dose 20 mg/day. I have also been regularly involved with cycling and treadmill exercise for 30 years. I am 64. Last year having climbed Mt St Helens and then Mt Hood I tried Mt Shasta. That is 14,000 feet and it is a hard climb in parts. I experienced for the first time in my life tight upper leg cramps in both legs requiring me to stop at about 12,000ft. They cleared with rest and I descended OK. Since then I have asked a lot of questions but tried Mt St Helens again on a much lower dose of Lipitor-about 10 mg every other day and have been taking Coenzyme Q-10 ioo mg per day. I have not had anything that resembles leg cramps since that change. I now will go back on 20 mg of Lipitor per day and continue my workouts to see if cramping returns. By the way, the company that sells this drug had NO INFO about this kind of problem. It is well known that all statins can induce enzyme changes, muscle inflammation, and even in very few cases severe muscle damage with rhabdomyolysis that can cause very severe problems. Are there other exercise buffs, or mountaineers that have encountered cramping on statins?
rbw64