Lipitor and natural remedies

I am sitting hear reading these replays and crying because I am suffering the same symptoms. I have been on lipitor for over 5 years and have had repeated bouts of leg pains, head fogginess, dizziness, pain in thigh, hip, and back. I recently started having pains so bad i could not walk. The really sad part is that I am a nurse and should have known it was the lipitor. I had x-rays, ct scans, etc all negative. And today a light finally went off when I said maybe its a side effect from lipitor. And sure enough, looking at the stories here validates my late conclusion. I did not take dosage of lipitor today and will try some more natural remedies. I have scheduled to see my doctor on Wednesday to discuss this issue. Unfortunately I can barely walk without the usages of crutches. Sitting can be just horrible, i wake up in middle of night tossing and turning trying to find a position that the pain will stop in. I cry like a baby at times because of pain and maybe a little depression. This is horrible. Lipitor is an awesome drug in lowering your cholesterol but the side effects are just unbearable. I will continue to update.

I am a 54 year old female that was put on Lipitor in 2004. I started feeling like I was crippled up from arthritis in my legs and hips about a year later. It came on so gradually, I never associated it with the Lipitor. I had an MRI and CT scan and nothing could be found. This past Spring, I went back to Dr. and saw different Dr. in practice. I told him I hadn't been able to walk well in a year and it felt like my legs were rubber and they ached all the time. I walk 2 hours a day and have for 10 years because I have 2 large dogs that need exercise. This was getting almost impossible to do. The Dr. asked me if I was taking Lipitor and I said yes and he told me to get off of the drug. I noticed a huge difference within 2 weeks of stopping Lipitor. I feel like a million dollars again and even the shape of my thighs has changed. Everyone is asking me if I've lost weight. Never again!!!! I'll try natural remedies or take my chances. What good is living longer if you can't even walk normally?

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!

I have been on lipitor for about 2 yrs. Six months ago I developed tendenitis in my right elbow also bicipitel tendenitis in my right shoulder for no reason , I am not a tennis player or a golfer....... I knit. funny but not really. I can hardly lift a dish cloth . Now for the last 2 months I have developed calf pain. Last night woke in the middle of the night with upper thigh pain, thought I should check out more indepth side effects on the internet and am shocked to find all of these entries, but I also feel thankful because as of today I am stopping my lipitor and will go for natural remedies.