Lipitor and muscular pain

extreme muscular and joint pain in mid back and entire rib cage area. Been on the drug three years and the doctors never said it could be from the drug been off the drug four days and already starting to feel better....

I am 52. I have had elevated choles. levels for the last 10 years. I have been on numerous statin drug during that time. The most recent has been lipitor. 2001 I had a heart attack and quintuple bypass surgery. My doctor put me on lipitor. I recovered quickly from the heart attack. The nightmare following the surgery was chronic muscular pain in the abdominal area. I have spent the last five years have been spent in medical testing, surgeries, and pain management. Most of that time the doctors assumed it was gastointestinal. But it was not consistent with gastrointestinal symptoms. Recently we determined it was neuromuscular. Symptoms have been:
Severe abdominal muscle pain, extreme fatigue, foggy thinking, euphoria and extreme mental depression, neck pain, back pain. I have watched my life fall apart after 25 years of successful financial planning. Timing can be tied very closely to the use and increased dosages of the statin family of drugs. The only warning I received from any of my doctors was possible liver problems. I am wanting to know if there are any definitive tests for muscular or neuromuscular effects of statin drugs.

memory loss, horrible back pain, joints pain, muscular pain, neck pain. I have had surgeries to no avail, I just had 2 Epidurals to my Lumbar and Cervical region, numerous MRI's, x-rays, and it all came down to Lipitor...I went to a spinal surgeon 8 days ago, begging him to do spinal surgery as I have some collapsed discs, he could not figure out why I had so much pain in my right side when the pain should have been on my left side. He stated that he wouldn't do surgery as it could make the pain worse. He could not understand what was going on..as I was leaving in tears because the pain was so bad, and I couldn't find help, his nurse caught me at the elevator and told me the doctor wanted me to try going off Lipitor for 3 weeks to see if the pain got better. I have been off of Lipitor for 8 days and the pain has already subside so much that it is unbelievable. for the first time last night, I slept without my Vicodin and muscle spasm relaxers. I have gone through memory losses, balance problems. I have been to nuerosurgeons, Orthopedic specialists, Neurologists, I have had 8 surgeries for joint pain. I really believe that Pfizer ought to reimburse us for all of our pain and suffering, our testings done, our Epidurals, our medicines that we have been living on. for the last 8 months the pain was pure hell. I hope the food and drug administration and Pfizer is happy with themselves for not releasing the true story and the symptoms of Lipitor that can and are happening to people all over our country.

I went on Lipitor several years ago. After awhile I had a lot of muscular pain so I told my doctor I was going to cut the medication to every other night. That seemed to help for awhile, but I also started taking 500 mg Niacin (to raise good cholesterol level) about 8 months ago. In the last few months, I have gotten to the point where I can hardly get up from a sitting position and my legs ache and hurt all the time. In addition to this, my skin has discolored and has what looks like a rash under the outer skin. It looks horrible and has come on so fast. This is on my legs. My doctor said last week that my pulse was weak in my feet and legs so he told me to stop taking the Niacin and Lipitor for now. I hope this will help. I have always been a very active person, and I feel like Lipitor is surely to blame when you start having all kinds of muscle problems where there have been none before taking it.

I have been on 10mg daily dose of Lipitor for over 2 years now. When I was first prescribed the drug my doctor stated that because my cholesterol was so high I would not be able to control the levels through diet alone and would therefore need to take Lipitor indefinately.
Initially my blood cholesterol dropped dramatically & I & the doctor were pleased with the result.
I continued eating a similar diet to before which was balanced, with no excess fats or salt although I was eating red meat on a routine basis.
About six months ago I started experiencing severe muscular pain in my neck & shoulders. My neck muscles became so inflamed & immobile that I had days when work was impossible (I am a chauffeur/butler). These pains did not respond to antiinflamatory or pain killers. I made two visits to an oestiopath & received manipulation & massage. The relief was temporary but not complete.
Just one month ago I cut out red meat, most animal fats & changed my diet, replacing the red meat content with grilled fish or chicken. I eat lots of fruit, vegetables & salads.I also take a multivitamin dose. At the same time as my diet change I increased my excercise regime.
WITHIN ONE WEEK of the new regime I experienced severe muscle cramps & my joints 'dried' to the point where they clicked & cracked whenever I moved them. I suspected the LIPITOR so I stopped immediately.
In just a few days the joints stopped clicking & grinding & my six month old muscle pains disappeared. This I think is not a coincidence.
I am male, 43 years old & very active with no other medical conditions of any kind.