Lipitor and new doctor

Besides hair loss, vision problems, pain all the time, dry mouth, diarrhea, sleeplessness, pounding heart, I also had a problem with mucus filling my stomach and my food would get stuck. So I had to vomit to get the mucus up so I can continue eating. The first time I quite taking this poison pill, I got to feeling much better and my stomach got much better too. But never connected Lipitor with my problems. When I started taking this poison pill again, all my problems returned. But only worse, because I was in so much pain that it was hard for me to climb stairs and I had to hold on to everything just to go to the bathroom at night. Than I quit taking this poison pill again and haven't taken anymore since. All my problems disappeared again. I told my new doctor what this poison pill was doing and he told me to stop taking it, which I had already done.

So how many more people is this poison pill going to hurt and kill before Lipitor is taken off the market? I'm once again seeing Lipitor advertised on TV claiming this poison pill is FDA approved. Wasn't Baycol approved by the FDA as well and was taken off the market because it was too dangerous?Scary!

I'm 62

I have had all the side effects on 10 mg of lipitor for 13 years. My new doctor told me to get off "TOPROL" and take Bystolic (a new blood pressure reducer).

My doctor believes its the blood pressure medication and not the Lipitor.

Anybody has thoughts on this?

I am a 54 year old male who started taking Lipitor about 4 years ago. It seemed OK at first, but over the next several years I began to have increasing amounts of joint pain after exercise. Nor muscle pain, joint pain. And it seemed to be a result of exercise. By the time I stopped it, I was hurting after everything, not just exercise. I felt better within the first two weeks, but it took about 4 months for me to be able to exercise vigorously again. Over the years I seemed to have forgotten how much vitality I used to have. I am a physician, and because of the long lag time until I felt better, I wondered whether improvement might have related to other factors, so after about 5 months I decided to restart Lipitor. It surprised me that after just one dose, I got back all of the joint pain and fatigue when I was at my worst on Lipitor. I was really hurting. Needless to say, I didn't take any more.

Coincidentally, a physician friend of mine who had statin induced polyneuropathy had a similar experience. After his symptoms went away he found that after only one dose the entire polyneuropathy came back.

Stopping and restarting the drug is a way to test the correlation between the drug and the side effect. For such a large spectrum of side effects to recur after only a single dose, it argues that the problems that my friend and I had was due to some sort of immune memory response. I have not seen this in the medical literature.

I am off it now for about 8 months and am able to comfortably play singles tennis and jog - much more energy (and I took 200 mg of CoQ10 a day with the Lipitor).

Thank you all for making me feel as if I'm not alone. I thought this was the way I was supposed to feel. 6 years ago I experienced a sudden heart attack with no symptoms at 42. A new doctor put me on Lipitor about 2 1/2 years ago as a precaution. The heart attack was genetic as I was about an 80% vegetarian and walked about 8 miles a day. My mother had her first heart attack at the same age. I always had weight problems as a kid, but slimmed down as an adult. After the Lipitor, I have gone from a 32 waist to a 42, joint pain, sleep problems, lack of concentration and the constant feeling as if I have been run over by a Mack truck. You all are giving me the confidence to go with my instincts and stop taking this med. along with switching to a doctor who will listen to me and not tell me to get a personal trainer of which I cannot afford. By the way, I still walk my 4-6 miles a day even in the snow and rain. For me, it's always been my best form of exercise. Again, thank you all for not making me feel alone.

I have been taking Lipitor 20MG for about 21/2 years. I am a 62 year old female. I have a problem with thinning hair and my new doctor says he believes it is Lipitor. He just took me off it. My last doctor didn't think there was a connection. After reading these postings I am wondering about my knees. I am going to have bilateral total knee replacements in 2 months. Also, I do not have much energy..I hope that was a side effect and that we get better.