Lipitor and meds

Not a new, but seemingly common side effect, i just recently noted could be from Lipitor.......all over achey dead weight feeling, difficult to motivate and move without great fatigue an achiness....totally out of character & even herbal energy, once helpful was completely non effective. Also have arthritis and a knee replacement...knee ok but rest of body next to completely seized up, including hands, hip, sacro iliac, foot, and extreme neck stiffness and pain. Being a retired nurse i should have noted side effects, but attributed to another BP pill which was stopped... Of course absolutely no change and now tripping to chiropractor and acupuncture hoping to get this body going again, especially with much needed walking, post knee replacement. Also i had gained wt, maybe 10-15lbs in 6 months, but when lipitor ws recently doubled, i gained even more in a 3 wk period, and my midrift is cellulite lumpy looking, unlike ever b4, with my normally preferred very active lifestyle, that is now difficult with probs occurring. The chiropractor alerted me to the potential Lipitor side effects, but i know my cardiologist would not agree with this theory.....so afraid to mention, unless there is some conclusive test to be done. Otherwise they say everybody always wants to complain or blame probs on meds, if nothing else suits the situation. I have discontinued the Lipitor, just for 2 days so far and pray i will feel back to myself asap. Now of course i am torn with the lack of prevention of atherochlorosis and future bypass surgery as in father's family.... Feel like damned if i do and damned if i don't.....so definitely empathize with most. Thanks for commoradery and hoping i am not just becoming a cuckoo hypochondriac.

Now it makes sense why doctors were so eager to prescribe Lipitor. Pfizer has been hit with a 2.3 billion penalty for illegal marketing promotions of 13 drugs that includes LIPITOR. They were awarding doctors free golf, massages, and resort junkets for "pushing" Lipitor, Viagra, Zoloft and 9 other drugs.

I started feeling much better very quickly after being off Lipitor now 7 months. However, the symptoms I had using the RX has cause significant problems. I fell so many times with my weak joints and muscles, that I had severe problems. I now need to have knee replacement surgery after falling so many times injuring my knees and weakened muscles to support myself. I am getting cortisone shots in that knee, as well as physical therapy. My MRI shows a torn meniscus, stretch PCL very thin, cartlidge loss and debris, still swollen with csyt after all these months. With no meds, and lack of being able to exercise, I now have hig-chol back. On and on it goes.... a real catch 22. Take care of yourself, watch out for symptoms. I ignored sx's thinking it was stress but after reading adverse reactions, it fit me to the T.
My original posting re: Lipitor is Forestseaski on Jan. 2, 2009

C.

Three and a half years ago i suffered a heart attack, i had three stents put in and was put on Aspirin 75mg, Cardicor, 1.25mg, Tritace 5mg and Lipitor 80mg. I was fairly fit at the time, didn't drink or smoke and ate properly.

But now i'm suffering, i've been to the hospital and my GP, but are told there is nothing wrong, my hear tis good. So why am i suffering with light headedness, pains through my body, back, neck, chest, stomach. So much so i thought i had gall stones or kidney stones. My right knee can't be touched, it is so sore. Chest heaviness, eyesight getting worse, slurred speech, depression i could go on.

I've said this to my doctor, he just brushes it off and says i'm on them for life, ....apparently standard treatment for anyone who's had a heart attack. I walk 5 miles a day, eat 5 or more fruit and veg, don't smoke or drink, do all what i'm meant to. My cholesterol is really low, but so is the HDL too. I was never recommended CoQ10 or a vitamin B complex.

It was my mother who told me to research the side effects of all the meds i'm on. I agree, we all want to live a long and healthy life, but at what cost. I am now of the opinion that doctor's are so use to thinking they are near god like, they have forgotten that we are individuals, that we know our own bodies. I'm sick of the fact that the large pharmaceutical companies send out there sales reps to doctor's surgeries and that is what is deciding what the patients end up taking and not the patient's problem.

DOCTOR'S WAKE UP TREAT THE CAUSE NOT THE SYMPTOMS!!!!!!!

I've been on lipitor and other generic forms of it for the last 8 years since the age of 26. I started on 10mg then 20mg and later 40mg. About 4 years ago I started with severe stomach cramps. The pain is so bad that I have to go home in the middle of the day, I can't walk or sit straight the pain is that bad and NOTHING helps. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would probably put this at a 7 or 8. I would also be nauseous and be really tired. I have had countless opinions and tests done and doctors keep telling me it is an "enigma" and there's nothing wrong with me. We've treated it through coeliac diet, exercise, lots of water, but it never helped. About a week ago I stopped drinking my meds by pure chance. I have not had one incidence of stomach ache. My doctor tells me that it's not possible for the lipitor to be the cause. I am sure he's wrong. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I to was put on Lipitor 20mg. took it about 1 month and had such pain in my leg muscles I couldn't hardly walk . I went to my doctor he said go off it and I should start Zocor in . A month the pain was worse I couldn't even walk around the mall . I couldn't sleep at night the pain was terrible. Once again I told the doctor he said stop it and we will wait 6 weeks and start Crestor. In six weeks the pain should be gone. It didn't go away I could hardly walk at my job teaching at a Pre School. The pain unreal.I have type 2 diabetes under control for years. Still is.I was told I had arthritis. But now they tell me I have spinal stenosis. I'm on paxil for the depression they said I had and. I feel as bad now as I did 4 years ago when I was on statins. I can hardly walk, my life is pain in my muscles that never leaves and now my back. I was active and watched my weight and walked 3 miles a day. Since taking these meds. I can no longer work, go shopping or go anyplace I have to walk . I have gained a lot of weight . I have something wrong with my knee .I have tried to explain this to 3 doctors and no one listens to me. My health turned for the worse when I started taking Lipitor in 2005. I don't think I'll ever get my life back I am only 58 years old and can't work to support myself.I can't even hold my 1 month old grandson and walk or lift him from his bed. Reading all your messages . I know my health going down like this is from the statin drugs I took . When I sit , I can't walk when I stand Then .I gotta sit in 5 to 10 minutes.And the pain in my knee has progressed. No doctor wants to hear my story and believe me. Thank God I found this web site and read this for my self now I know I'm not crazy. How can I get myself better ? Will I live the rest of my life in pain, and not able to function.Every time I see a doctor they give me another pill to take. I want to just throw them all away .There must to be an answer to this.

I read with interest several of the posts here. I have been on Lipitor for about 5 years. I have been experiencing leg pain, back pain, neck, and hand pain for likely 4 of the last 5 years. I have arthritis, I thought. Two weeks ago I ran out of Lipitor. I read several other forums where Vitamin C and Omega 3 were suggested as a possibles to replacing the Lipitor along with generous amounts of water. I said, What the hell, I will give that a try. Within days of stopping the Lipitor, most all the pain has subsided to the extent that I have not had to take any other Pain management medications at all. I was prescribed Perocet for the pain I have been experiencing. Two weeks ago, I had a tough time opening a bottle of soda, or even a relish or pickle jar. Today I can! Coincidence, I think not!!

I started taking Lipitor in 2004 and by 2008 was taking 40mg daily. I'm not sure exactly when certain symptoms manifested themselves, as looking back they now seem insidious, but I do know they became bad enough in 2008 I went off the drug myself, especially after reading postings like those at this website. After being off the drug for a month, it was clear to me the most of the symptoms dissipated, but it did have a residual affect. I realized I had suffered a loss of range of motion (ROM) in my left arm (frozen shoulder) and have been in physical therapy for over a month to restored 80% of it. I could not have done this while staying on Lipitor as I was experiencing “deep” muscle pain and weakness. I still have some weakness and pain in my left arm and shoulder and don’t know if it is permanent.

I am Hypothyroid and take Synthroid and am currently going through menopause and am on partial HRT. I took no other meds other than the Lipitor. At one point, I thought my symptoms were stress related, but realized my symptoms were causing the stress. Aside from the muscle pain, spasms, tingling and numbness experienced in my left extremities, I experienced gastro intestinal disturbances, occasional vertigo, some lower back problems and other aching in other extremities (like that of flu symptoms). I also suffered recurrent mental fogs, which I initially attributed to some lack of regular exercise (although I lead a relatively an active life), but that was not the case, as even after aerobic activity the tingling and pain would resume.

When I told my physician I had stopped taking the Lipitor (at that time for nearly a month), he didn't blink an eye. I agree with previous blog; the idea of statins are to lengthen your life, but what kind of life is it when you are in misery and nothing short of ceasing the medication brings relief?

I'm not advocating everyone "doctor themselves. Listen to your physician, but most importantly listen to your body and trust your instincts when it comes to these types of medications. Symptoms listed about scripts described as "rare" are usually not that rare at all. You are not crazy.

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.

Seems like I'm in the same boat as a lot of people here. My dr. started me on Lipitor 40mg last year then raised it to 80mg. I started getting slight buring type chest pains with some sharp pains on the upper right side on my chest. The sharp pains increased when he raised me to 80mg. In Feb. 2008, I started to complain. He blew me off at first and then I ended up in the hospital for 2 days taking tests in March 2008. All the tests came back fine and my dr. explained the pains as "spasms" caused by "low flow" and told me to ignore then because it wasn't my heart...WHAT?? He gave me 2 other meds for the spasms. In Nov 2008, the sharp pains were daily and throughout the whole day. I started to research chest pains with lipitor and could believe the stories I read. It was as if I wrote them myself. I stopped taking lipitor on Dec 2, 2008 and within 2 weeks the sharp pains are almost by gone. I'm still having the slight burning feeling sometimes and was wondering how long this will last take to completely go away.

I am a 39 year old female in relatively good health. In the past year since taking Lipitor, I have had SEVERE thinning of my thick hair. I have lost nearly 2/3 of it, and luckily I had a lot, but I am thinning more quickly on the top of my head and you can now see my scalp. After reading this, I am stopping my Lipitor, tonight. I hope that my hair returns ... I have also had chest pain, leg pain, trouble sleeping, trouble with eyesight, trouble focusing, unexplained weight gain and extreme fatigue. I think I would rather take my chances with high cholesterol than be bald at 40. Nice eh? I complained to my doctor when my hairdresser called this to my attention, and she poo-pooed it and referred me to a dermatologist- who after months of waiting rescheduled. I will be BALD!

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.

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

My doctor started me on Lipitor over a year ago. I started having muscle pain in my shoulders but didn't equate it to the meds until I was watching television one day and a Lipitor commercial came on. It said that some people experience muscle pain.....I thought HALLELUEH THAT'S WHAT IT IS.....I stopped talking the meds and went to see my doctor who immediately changed my meds to Zocor.....guess what? The same thing happened. Went to see her again and she switched to Crestor.....same thing happened....so I started doing my own research and was amazed at what I learned and bewildered as to why my doctor was acting like I was some whining baby.

No problem, I say to myself and stopped the meds. That was last November, in January I had my yearly physical and blood tests were ordered for me in December......guess what.....my triglycerides were still high so my doctor orders Antara. It didn't say "cor" anything so I'm thinking it's not the same stuff. No, it wasn't the same stuff it was WORSE!! Within three weeks I was crying I was in so much pain. I called her and got her nurse practitioner who says that my doctor said to stop taking the pills and the pain will go away. I call back and say, "you don't understand, I can't sleep, I can't move, I can't function the pain is so bad." After several calls back and forth, and let me tell you I NEVER call my doctor unless something is incredibly wrong and that is less than rarely. Well, my doctors partner tells the nurse practioner that they will not prescribe narcotics for me. WHAT? Who asked for narcotics? I needed relief from this pain.....I would have gone for amputation!!!

So I change docs...more blood work.....high triglycerides, I refuse to take any statins. She says she has something for me that will not cause muscle pain and hands me samples of Welchol.....this one took less than a week for increased muscle pain...again I wanted to trust, but guess what i learned when I went to the Welchol site? The first side effect listed? Muscle pain.

Called the new doctors office to let them know that I was experiencing pain again and was told to stop the Welchol (which I had already done) and take Red Yeast Rice and have bloodwork done in 3 to 6 months and come back to see her. Oh no! Not without research and guess what? A side effect of Red Yeast Rice? Muscle pain.

It has been 4 months since I stopped taking the Antara and took Welchol for a week in that 4 months. Sometimes my shoulders/neck and arms don't hurt too much. Unfortunately most times they do. Both doctors insist that the pain cannot be from the drugs because the drugs have left my body. The new doctor said I probably have myolgia just because I'm 52 and that it's just a coincidence that it happened while taken the drugs but then goes on to agree that I must be "sensitive" to statins. Both doctors treat me like I'm stupid and nuts all balled up in one. I am frustrated and in pain most of the time. I have been trying to find out how long to expect this pain and am dismayed to learn that it can be years or never go away.

Yes I have high triglycerides (so does my mother and she experiences the same kind of pain so refused to take statins) and I've been warned that not taking statins could cause pancreatitis and/or heart problems. My question to that is - "then my choice is chance the heart stuff or live an incredibly painful life?"

I'll take my chances and pray for the best because right now my quality of life stinks!!