Lipitor and numbness

I am a 70 year old woman, I have been on 20mg Lipitor for high cholesterol, 200 total and 25mg of Spironolactone for a not so high blood pressure, for 3 1/2 yrs. Oh, my God, the Spironolactone is a potassium sparing diueretic that is very dangerous and has many uses I didn't know about or the terrible side effects, it causes breast cancer. It's also used to treat women who have an over growth of hairiness, or on a higher dose to treat hair loss and I've gone bald on the top of my head! Plus all of the good foods we're supposed to eat for high cholesterol, fruit & veggies one isn't to eat on this drug, because of lot's of potassium, what a huge contradiction. And muscle pains, and rashes, (eczema, atopic dermititis) that I've suffered from both.
Anyway, Lipitor, had know idea about the side effects until I looked it up on the internet and read these posts on here.
I stopped taking Lipitor last week and Spironolactone 2 days ago.
I had cholesteral test last week too and saw my dr. Wednesday. He said it was okay that I stopped the Lipitor, but not the other one, why not the other one worse then Lipitor and why am I on this strong drug, geez.
The pain and burning started in my hip for no reason, then my ankles with eczema which started soon after Liptior, then my fingers, numbness, can't pick things up, tingling, burning. Then my feet, yes, just like all of you I have these same problems. This is not just coincidental, this is from the drug Lipitor. I get severe joint cramps in my legs, feet and fingers.
For now on before I take any drug I've prescribed I will thoroughly check for side effects and not take it if they're seriously impairing like Lipitor. I feel like a cripple and older then I should feel, I almost just felt like why live anymore if this is how it's going to be.
Since I've stopped Lipitor I feel a little better, I read that it causes permanent muscle and nerve damage though, oh I hope not, I can barely walk anymore or get up out of my chair. This is all drug induced toxicity of my system. Thanks so much everyone who posted for sharing and enlightening all of us who are suffering from this drug and others.
It should be banned along with Baycol, (a statin) which was banned a few months ago because of these same side effects. With the studies that it only helps maybe to prevent heart attack, well I'd rather be able to walk again and hopefully all this will go away, the rash, etc.

About a month ago I noticed my left thigh was going numb. I had been a little less active due to tennis elbow, so I stepped up my exercise a bit. The whole side of my thigh hip to knee became completely numb. A few days later I began to tingle in my hands and face and by big toe and foot. I went to my Chiropractor 3 times a week and he really felt I was in good alignment and should not be having these extreme problems. He scheduled me for an MRI and x-rays. He kept asking about ANY other changes in life. I lost my brother to polymyositis 5 years ago and was starting to have scary thoughts. I woke up at 2am on a Friday 2 weeks ago and remembered my Dr. had started me on Lipitor 6 weeks earlier !
I got up and googled "Lipitor numbness" and found this page and a host of others. I stopped taking Lipitor. It has been 2 weeks since I quit and numbness has turned to shooting pains and burning so bad I can hardly stand my pant legs or my bed sheets touching me. I continue to have tingling in my hands and feet and I am a professional musician. (guitar player) Will somebody please tell me that over time all of these symptoms will wear off and pass ?

777
I've been noticing that you as well as bobby are continuously replying to many of the posting. I stopped taking lipitor in December after having chest pains for 10 months which included being hospitalized for 2 days of testing. I'm still having the chest pain although I believe it's getting better. There was a week in the beginning of this month that I had no pain at all but now it's back. My question to you and bobby is you keep saying you still have some side affects for months but fail to list them. What are they and with your experience, why does Lipitor cause chest pain? What have you found out in your research? Is this drug causing damage to the interior lining of the arteries? Is this why many people are getting the pains from?

January 26, 2009
I stopped taking 20mg of Lipitor for the following reasons: arm and muscle pain, wrist pain, neck and shoulder pain, knee pain, foot pain, arm weakness when raising my arms, mental fuzziness. I
Withdrawal symptoms : headache, eye ache, increased neck pain.
My goal is to see if the dosage symptoms decrease within two weeks and maybe I will try 10mg of Lipitor and see if that amount produces the same symptoms. My doctor directed me to a Rheumatologist as recent blood work showed inflammation in the arthritis panel. I am waiting to see if being off Lipitor for two weeks might reduce my arthritis symptoms .
I had a stint put in March 2008 and I am on Plavix (75mg), Lisinopril (10mg) and Lipitor (20mg).

I had tingling and numbing in my hands and feet. After few weeks without Lipitor all that tingling stopped. My doctor said that it could not be Lipitor's side effect but after doing research online I really wished they listed tingling and numbing as side effect of that drug. It would have saved me a lot of money I spent on all kinds of tests my neurologist did.

Hi I started taking Lipitor when I was about 41 and gradually noticed a big toe becoming numb. Then later another toe became numb. I had just started swimming about this time with fins and thought at first it may have been caused by them. But then I stopped swimming and the numbness continued. I visited a Neurologist a couple of years ago who tested for everything and found some peripheral nerve damage to the feet. I said the only thing I could think of was Lipitor. He said here was no conclusive evidence it causes this but explained how nerves are made of Lipids and lipitor limits the production of lipids. I stopped taking it but later my GP said I need to go on something for my cholesterol. He put me on Crestor. I took a Lipitor the other week and my toes tingled that night. So I am convinced it is Lipitor. I am not sure how to reverse the damage though.

first of all i want to thanks from this side .it is very very helpful ,which is information from this side is truly life saving.no doctors are really believing that cholesterol medication has such horrible side effect,and if this side not exist ,so we would not know that cholesterol medication having this side effect.this side saved my father's life ,he had very severe reaction with lipitor and zetia in Australia called ezetrol .he quit lipitor 2 yrs ago and zetia 4 months ago he is doing very well since 2 days i hope this continue.he recovered from many side effect like(he was almost lost all his hair the front part after stopping the medication 70%restore so this was the first side effect that doctor relates to his age not medication ,severe shoulder pain subside,numbness in his legs subside,tremer in his left leg subside,blurry vision and poor vision subside,poor memory subside) within 2 days he feels more energy improvement in his walking some times it goes up and down and i hope this time his walking improve permanently he is now feeling 60to 70%good and not 100%but this % is quit lot for him after being disable for long time.i pray for all of you to recover fully and so my father .i found 3 thing that is really helping to bring the cholesterol down if interested plz research (turmeric,ginger,garlic)free of side effect .this is natures wonderful drugs for cholesterol plus vitamin c and lecithin.
thanks again and god bless

I have been on Lipitor since 2002 and now I am experiencing numbness in my feet...mostly the right foot. I was thinking I had an autoimmune disease until I read everyone's comments. I am stopping Lipitor today.
Also, I have a lot of wrist pain, leg pain and I bruise easily.

I worry how I will control my cholesterol.

Joyce
8/6/08

I ran across this site today and THANK GOD that I found it!! My mother wasn't initially given Lipitor because the first statin that her doctor prescribed made her very nauseous. He switched to 40mg of Lipitor about 2 weeks ago and she still gets extremely nauseous and have begun coughing and experiencing cold like symptoms. Her vision is EXTREMELY blurred; so much that she can't perform her job, and her previously prescribed eyeglasses are useless. She had been experiencing pain in her legs during walks that never seemed to get better. We NEVER associated it with Lipitor or the other statin until I decided to dig a little deeper.

I asked her if her doctor had told her to take CoQ10 whilst taking these statins and he's NEVER mentioned it!! As of today, my mother will no longer be taking these "medications". Reading these posts has been eye opening, to say the least. Thanks!!

I started taking Lipitor 12 years ( 1997 ) ago as my Cholesterol was at 315. I was always athletic but had a crappy diet. My Cholesterol dropped to 200 within a year. However, in 2001 I ruptured my left Achilles playing tennis. Thought nothing much and that I hadn't stretched enough. Recovered from that and started playing tennis again in 2002. Within three weeks of playing again, I ruptured my RIGHT achilles! At that point I started to question the effect of Lipitor on muscles/tendons with various medical "professionals". ALL said it was nothing to do with medication. I quickly developed a tingling/numbness in both feet that doctors said could not be happening but it WAS!

I've had MRI's, nerve conduction tests, wondered if it was diabetic, alcohol, etc. Finally found sites such as this where real life experiences validated my concerns over this statin. I told my Dr. I was quitting Lipitor last Monday, she had no problem with that. This is Saturday night and I'm sitting here with a NOTICEABLE decrease in my numbness/tingling in both feet that I've had for the past TWELVE YEARS!!

I hope that the statin did cause my "mild sensory polyneuropathy" as was diagnosed in 2002. As of right now, it seems to be getting better in less than one week! I can flex my toes with NO pain and my feet don't feel like dead weights.

I WILL NEVER USE A STATIN AGAIN!

I am 53 years old and was almost 4 years on Lipitor and started experiencing periphial neuropathology that was horrible! I had a keen neurologist who took me off after doing several tests for Lyme, Lupus, MS, etc. She said she sees more and more of my symptoms 3 to 8 years plus on Lipitor. I went off Lipitor on June 1st (my birthday), so have been off for more than a month. All of the zapping and tingling has subsided in my hands, feet, face, arms, and head. I still have neuropathology in my hands, some muscle weakness in my arms, and numbness in my toes which are all slowly diminishing. My neurologist says she expects full recovery in 4-6 months. Take B complex vitamins. I take Shaklee's twice a day.This greatly helps in the repair of the nerve damage from Lipitor. My neurologist also recommended me taking FBCx, ******(1-2 with every meal containing fat, the website explains dosage), and 1 tablespoon of omega 3 fish oils in the form of flax or fish to reduce cholesterol. There are other things I take like garlic, cinnamon extract, green tea extract. If you type in "lower cholesterol with supplements" online you will find other things like red rice yeast as well. Good luck!

I am a 42 male, I have always been healthy and felt healthy as long I can remember, I never went to the doctor. So this year, 3 months ago to be exact, I decided to do “the right thing”, start taking a physical at least once every years, who know something might be wrong with me and I don’t know it.

Anyway, after I took the physical and some blood tests, my doctors office calls me and they told me that the sugar was a little high (124) and that I am at risk for Diabetes, so they started me on a diabetes medication. Although my Cholesterol wasn’t high, they suggested starting Lipitor (20 ML) just in case because I am at risk and I don’t want to take chances.

A month into it, I started having some back pain, but never suspected medication. I was exercising at least 4 times a week, some cardio and free weights, so I thought, I might have made the wrong move while exercising or maybe sleeping without knowing it ( although I never recall such a thing). Usually it takes a few days for the pain to go away when I did the wrong move, but this pain wouldn’t go away. A month after that (last month), a sharp pain started on my right wrist (shooting pain), that goes up my right arm until my shoulder blade and upper right back. The pain was so sharp and wouldn’t let go, all day, all night and every minute in between. Also, I experienced some numbness on some of my right fingers (especially the thumb and index). I never suspected the medication. Of course the doctors wanted me to take all sorts of tests and MRIs etc..you name it. They also wanted me to go on pain pills (strong ones), I never did, and I used Advil instead, which did not help much. This pain ruined my two week vacations to France (I didn’t not want to forgo the airplane ticket and the hotel, they were already paid for).
I started “googling” the web for “sharp back pain”, just to get some clues, which led me to side effect sites, which led me to this site. I decided to stop all medications immediately 3 days ago, the pain went away, I still have s slight numbness on my thumb, although it is much better, I will keep you posted. Thanks to all the people who shared their story with us, I know that everyone of us could be a different case, what worked for me doesn’t necessarily work for someone else, I know that many here are frustrated about these side effects and whether they are permanent or not, I wish I have the answers. One thing is sure, Lipitor could be poison for some people, I felt going down fast for the last 3 months with no way to stop it, glad I found this site.

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 was prescribed lipitor, took ONE pill before I went to bed and woke up in the morning with severe pain in my right shoulder. I searched for lipitor and found so many side effects I have not taken another lipitor and will not. The pain moved to my left shoulder quite soon. Now it doesn't really hurt but there is a lump above my left shoulder blade, I was pushing on it and lifting my arm up and down hoping it might losen it up but the lump grew bigger. I quite often feel numb and week on my left side, kinda scary like I'm having a stroke. This has been going on for awhile so I don't think I'm stroking out or I would be gone by now. I do have high blood pressure, I think this ONE little lipitor pill made it worse as it's higher than it used to be. Maybe from stress as this shoulder problem and numbness upsets me from time to time. I also developed arthritis in two of my fingers, I have been taking FLAMMAGEN 1500 from the health food store and it has helped my fingers considerably, thank goodness. I'm not mentioning it to my M.D. as he was so excited about putting me on this stuff, poor guy is brainwashed. It really is a sin that our M.D.s are used in this way by big money pharmaceutical companies.

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.

It`s very disturbing to read all these stories. I really feel for you.

My experience comes from seeing what happened to people close to me. They all took statins.

I started to look for information on statins, and other medications, in 2004 and it continues to this day although two of my relatives are dead.

I have nothing to do with the health or pharmaceutical industry.

I saw the suffering and it made me very angry.

I am an ordinary lady in her sixties who live in Sweden.

The situation is almost the same here as in the U.S.

There is very little discussion about risks/benefits with this kind of medicatications - or others.

I think it`s a good idea to turn to the Internet and books to get other views about the cholesterol issue.

Is it really true that it`s the cholesterol that is causing heart disease? Are you sure?

Please visit:

www.thincs.org, www.ravnskov.nu, www.spacedoc.net, www.statinalert.org

Also search articles etc on "Stopped our statins" and on the names of the different authors below.

Also read:

The Cholesterol Myths (Uffe Ravnskov)

The Great Cholesterol Con (Antony Colpo)

Book with the same title (Malcolm Kendrick)

Overdosed America (John Abramson)

The Truth about the Drug Companies (Marcia Agnell)

There are many more.

It´s good to have some other information than the one given by doctors because most of them have been "educated" by the pharmaceutical companies themselves - and why should they talk about risks, side effects etc,.

They are interested in profits.

Finally - here are some side effects that I have seen:

pains in legs, hands, elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, cracking noise in ribs, muscle weakness, loss of hair, head ache, burning, tingling sensations in hands and feet, numbness, difficulties to swallow, loss of taste, ringing noise in ears, cramps, insomnia, irritation, depression, difficulty with short-term memory and then advancing into more serious problems.

These side effects - for 3 different people - all over 65 - did not come at once. All of them had taken statins for years (Zocor)

It doesn´t matter which product -all statins have similar side effects.

There is a very interesting article on "Stopped our statins" under print articles.

It´s from the Weston Price Foundation and explains the different statin studies and side effects. .

My relatives also had some other medications which makes it even easier for doctors (and patients) to say that it`s just old age.

I am happy for those who get problems right away because then there maybe a chance for the patient and the doctor to see that there is a connection.

You really have to look out for yourself and the people around you!

Good Luck.

Apparently, I don't have any new. I will tell you that I have been taking Lipitor for about 2 years (40 Mg). At first, I had no problems. Later (about 6 months) I started experiencing "tingling" at the tpsof my fingers in one hand almost constantly (now constantly) and occasionally in the other. A month or so later, I started having pain in my left shoulder which kept me awake at night, because it was worse when I was horizontal than vertical, therefore hard to explain. It didn't feel muscular, it felt as if the bone itself was giving pain. I finally went to an Orthepedic Doctor who diagnosed me with arthritis and prescribed therapy, which is essentially exercises to built the muscles of the shoulder. Since I understood if you build on side of your body, you should build the other, I did the same exercises for the right shoulder, which I had NO problem with. Well, after about 3 weeks of this "therapy" my situation got worse in the left and showed up in the right to the same extent as in the left. So, of course, I quit the therapy. Did quitting the therapy help .... no!, not at all.
I now have an appointment with my family doctor and am going to demand that I be taken off Lipitor and prescribed a non statin solution. You see, I have 2 small blockages and since I now cannot exercise without pain, I need something. I also have had hip pain for years, and this too was diagnosed as arthritis. I was on20 mg of Zocor for about 5 years prior to my Lipitor. I wonder if this hip pain will dissipate if I change eds. I will keep this site informed.

Have been taking Lipitor for about 11 years. Fairly recently increased dosage from 10mg to 20mg. For about the past week have begun to experience tingling, numbness and general ache in legs, arms, sometimes cheeks and fingers. Spoke to doctor who seems stumped by these symptoms. Will be doing blood tests to test thyroid, anemia, B-12 levels etc.etc.etc. Given what I have read here I can't help but think I know what the problem is. I should mention I had quadruple bypass 12 years ago so the doctor doesn't want any spike in cholesterol levels.

I was on Lipitor 6 yrs. ago for approximately 6 months. The pain and weakness in my arms and shoulders was unbearable. Deep pain that felt like it went right to the bone. On occasion since then I seem to have flair ups. This past week I have been in pain. The strength in my arms is diminished. Has anyone else had this experience?

What a wonderful site.. thanks for all of you and your stories. I too was a Lipitor user ... 20mgs/day for at least 6 years. I didn't notice any problems until last summer. I couldn't grip a golf club so I didn't play all summer. My doc told me it was arthritis. Strange, no history and never had any problems til then. As the months went on, things got worse. Burning in my upper left arm muscle, so intense it would cause me to have to sit down. Heart racing, pain in back, shoulder and jaw, I thought I was having a heart attack. Started reading about Lipitor and told doctor I wanted off. Of course he said no way and he did an MRI thinking it was skeletal. He sent me to a neurologist, who immediately told me I have statin myopathy. Cause...Lipitor!!! Amazing he admits this, also told me his own doc prescribed it for him and he will not take it because he sees too many patients with these side effects. I am liking him and his honesty. I have been off Lipitor for 2 weeks now. Hands are much better but muscle weakness and burning and sometimes tremors persist but I am optimistic that this may take time but I will recover.

I have been on Lipitor for several years after experiencing a mild heart attack at age 54. Considering I roller blade and bike and use weight training to stay in shape it was quite a surprise. From the onset of taking Lipitor I complained of nausea every day but became more depressed as the months went by. Every thing seemed to be going wrong with my body. The weakness and numbness in my legs and knees to hardly being able to get out of bed in the morning with back pain. I am tired of doctors appointments and getting no where. I was finally directed to this site and every thing fell into place. As of today I am off Lipitor. I will keep you up to date in two weeks from now and let every one know.
Mike

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 am a 47 year old female and started using Lipitor (10 mg) about 4 weeks ago. In the last two weeks, I have been experiencing numbness, pain and weakness in my extremities. The numbness and pain is excruciating from my neck to the tips of my fingers on my left side. I am also weak and my muscles ache throughout my entire body. My joints hurt and are extremely stiff from my feet to my shoulders and I was so tired yesterday (November 26, 2007) that I could not go to work. I was about ready to go to the emergency room today thinking I have some undiagnosed illness, but since reading the side effects of others, I am calling my Doctor to inform him of my problems and I have am refraining from taking anymore Lipitor. I just want to know if the symptoms will go away after the medication is completely out of my system.

I have read and heard, first hand, dozens of stories about Lipitor. It is clear why, too. When you cut off lipoproteins (commonly called "cholesterol"), you cut off the supply of essential fatty acids (EFAs) to the cell membranes of nerve cells, which use these EFAs for neurotransmission. Eventually the nerve cells degenerate and die, causing pain, stiffness, and loss of muscle control.

Typical: muscle pain, muscle weakness, swallowing problems, muscle cramps, numbness, spasms, muscle atrophy.

53 y old male,took lipitor in april 2007 20mg i have had problem in past with disc in neck and tendinitis in elbow but nothing for 10 years by aug i had very bad wrist and thunp pain even holding a pizza box so off to Dr said tendinitis use a thumb brace and phy therapy nothing after 2 months so i am going to different orthopaedic dr.Than 4 weeks ago woke op oct 3 pain in lower back i said ok use some ice went to work and it would be gone in 3 days by oct20 could not take pain in back and siatic nerve server pain down to foot gave pain pills and nothing went to spine specialist said hernaited disk L-4 L-5 and spinal stenosis from disc touching nerves in channel so he wants to operate i ask can lipitor cause this he said nojust look at the MRI but what causes the iflamantion to cause problems in wrist and servere pain in lower back and leg was it lipitor.The pain was so servere the best pain meds could not take the pain awayseep fir 2 hrs than walk around house for 1hrs at o330 in morning caused it hurt so much.@ weeks wastes so i went to chiro dr and after 2weeks i am more liveable and can sleep better .I will go to pain mangerment ti get a shot or operate,its called Discectomy,hope all theres dr know they might be fighting affects of lipitor.We all must get educated and give this info out to ithers

1. Sciatic pain
2. Left leg is numb; tingling, burning, shooting pains
3. Foot pain/numbness
4. Constance shortness of breath/palpitations
5. Incident of high blood pressure
6. Weight Gain: Belly! Bloated appearance
7. Constipation
8. Fatigue
9. Periods of depression
10. Anxiety
11. Neck pain.
12. Coughing like choking

I only took Lipitor for 20 days but those were the worest twenty days of my life. And well be with me for ever. All the above started 3 days into taking the pill. One night after another one I was in so much pain. But worst of all I couldn't breathe. My back and neck hurt so bad. I couldn't lay down on my back and breathe. I felt like in one week I was finally going to die. after 20 days I threw the Lipitor away and went to the internet. Scared me to death, I called my Doctor. I went in for more test, he said I was just having a heart attack and put me into the ER. They said NO heart attack here and sent me home. $3000.00 for hospital and $900.00 for doctor's. And no one knew what was going on.
After four days I started feeling better but the breathing didn't get better. so went back to the doctor after two weeks. He said he read up on Lititor and it was a good thing "I" stopped. Lipitor will effect your muscles and the heart is a muscle. What the Lipitor did to me was trigger off COPD. He said I might of gotten COPD 10 to 15 (maybe) years down the road becuase I'am a X smoker but the Lipitor changed all that. Lipitor did nothing for me except to make my life harder on Oxygen. I'm only 59. Constance shortness of breath/palpitations for the rest of my life. Let me stress this I was totally in good health. Always had low Low Chocholesterol 120. But something else was a little high and Lipitor could lower it. GOOD Health. 20 pills trashed my life forever.

hi, my father was on lipitor since 6 years and he quit the medication last october 06 with not big change he still has dificulty walking very weak muscle cant stand stright and hard to get up or sit in the car,but he has some improvement that before all his body was numb which is he never felt pain now the numbness is gone but he is crumbling form severe pain,he dreamed all night and scared and maked noise while he was aslept but now he doesnt his upper leg was very hard like stone and numb and stiff but now it is abit like normal but very painful his memory improved his dry eyes subside but cant walkhe is starting coq10 50mg fish oil and also taking zetia10 mg and will see his improvement even my doctor refuse that lipitor is not doing this damage and i am a doctor study for 7 years and you means me just read few post from net and chalanging a doctor even he wants my father to put him bach to lipitor and write a prescription for him and i said to my father dont take it i copy some of these post and gave it to my doctor he didnt even look at it and siat it is all lies and none of them are rightand told me dont trust to these topic but i do coz all the symptom that i see here my father has and i dont believe to doctors any more about this what ever he say i wish full recovery for all the people who suffering from this medication and please if any one recoverd plz send me a private email on ******
i think pfizer should be sued by people who are suffering and this medication should be withdrawnfrom the market before it harm others.

Lipitor reduced my Cholesterol from 280 to 140. But... after only 4 months on the drug I developed pain in my legs. After several visits to the doctor I was told to get off the drug. One month later my health had deteriorated to the point that I could hardly walk. After another doctors visit and many tests I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy with the symptoms of leg pain, muscle loss and nerve damage in both legs, feet and hands. Also numbness in both hands and feet. Inability to move any of my toes. Liver damage. Of course with the problems with my feet I have poor balance. Additionally I have memory loss. Because of the neuropathy I can not get health insurance without paying a much higher preminum than normal. I am taking Gabapentin 1200 ml 3x day.

My condition has improved gradually but I still have the P. Neuropathy and there is no cure for it. My balance remains poor and the numbness, pain, nerve and muscle damage remain.

This diagnois is from a family doctor as well as a neourologist.

My recommendation is stay away from the statins.

Over the past five years my doctors have steadily upped my Lipitor from 20-40-80mg and I am having a lot of symptoms. The worst symptom is a burning, numbness from my right armpit and over to my shoulderblade. I can't even stand for clothes to touch the area. I also get severe headaches and abdominal pains, diarhea, muscle spasms with shooting pains, RLS in the evenings. I've quit taking it but have found no relief from the symptoms. My doctor will not be happy with me, but he is not the one experiencing this misery!

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,

Ten months ago I was persuaded by my MD to start taking Lipitor . In less than two months, my numbers went from 349 to 189. However, this initial positive outcome never prepared me for a host of adverse conditions!

In the past three months, I have experienced some Red Flag physical problems but the Light Bulb Moment came with a weight increase of 15 lbs, concentrated on my belly. I have not increased my food intake and my diet continues to include fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, milk/cheese, and some sweets. When I started taking Lipitor, I weighed 122 lbs; now I'm at 134!!!!
My level of physical activity has remained the same as has my food intake.

It was this weight increase that prompted me to search the internet for a possible connection between Lipitor and weight gain. Three days ago, my fears were confirmed as I read similar postings.

But my problems go beyond the weight gain. Here's is my "laundry list" of symptoms and I believe that Lipitor is the ugly culprit:

1. Sciatic pain
2. Left leg is numb; tingling, burning, shooting pains
3. Foot pain/numbness
4. Periodic shortness of breath/palpitations
5. Incident of high blood pressure
6. Weight Gain: Belly! Bloated appearance
7. Constipation
8. Fatigue
9. Periods of depression
10.Anxiety

I have stopped taking this dangerous drug. I am due for lab work and MD visit.

Hope to hear from you.
Jessica

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

My father was on lipitor since 2000 which is he had bypass surgery and at first he did not any problem but pain which is he tought may be it is his muscle and he was not aware of any side effect lipitor nor the doctor did not give him any clue about the side effect of lipitor and during the last 3 years his muscle become very weak and now he is barely walk cant turn over in his bed can't take shower by his own or shavehe has severe pain in his leg, back,shoulder,very stiff and painful necknumbness and tingleling in his toes and fingersvery difficult for him to sit in car and get out and much more i wish to find out this site two three years ago so my father wouldn't suffer this much i have research about his medication which is he is taking he is also have high blood pressure he is taking karvea,asprine,losec,aropax which is he got depression 2 year's ago and now i know it is also due to lipitor,he has stopped lipitor when i found out this site and it is being four months which is he stopped lipitor just significant change which is his numbness alittle improved 2out of10 but he is still very weak i have told him to take COQ10 which is his blood pressure was rasied and now he is not taking that and instead of lipitor he is taking ezetrol 10 mg but he is very very weak and now he feels very hot and burning sensation in his feet and sweat alot but some of his tremers in his finger and leg has been diminished significantly i know now alot of people sufferd alot coz of lipitor is there anyone who recovered from side effect of thia medication and if yes how long it tooks to recover?could you email me ****** wish all of you recover and in good health.

I am not sure my symptoms are related to Lipitor, but it is the only med i was taking and when i finally suspected the connection 3 wk ago, i stopped taking it.

It occured to me that i was complaining of muscle and joint weakness in conversations with others, but related it to my age (53) and lack of exercise. Then i had a few episodes of sudden brief cramping in my back muscles -- totally unexplained by anything else -- and a couple episodes of dizziness, or true vertigo, while sitting and typing at my computer (i am a medical transcriptionist). Those got my attention. Come to find out my mother and brother also had identical muscle problems and switched their cholesterol medications away from Lipitor.

There are numerous other little things, running into walls and furniture, numbness in my feet or hands, yes, the cognitive things i've read here too, etc. Again, don't know if it is the medication, but after doing some reading of other's experiences, i do plan to do my best to improve my health withOUT the use of medication.

I began taking Lipitor in early 2006 - I'm a 54 yo woman. During the summer I wasn't working & noticed weakness in my limbs to the point of sometimes having to struggle to stand up from lying down. After getting down on the floor, I had to push myself up on a piece of furniture. While visiting family out of town last week, I couldn't keep up with my 80 yo aunt. I knew something was wrong. I've also experienced dizziness, aching joints & tingling and numbness in the balls of my feet. I called my Dr. when I got home & left a message that I wanted to stop taking Lipitor. The nurse said the Dr. wasn't convinced the problems were caused by the drug but that I could try going off it for 6 weeks. A week later I'm pretty much back to normal. I'll NEVER take statins again. I'm eating lots of oatmeal & looking for other alternatives.

Has anyone experienced a burning sensation on the balls of the feel and sometimes the toes? Also accompanied by numbness at times. My dose of Lipitor was increased to 20 mg. 3 weeks ago, and my symptoms started 2 weeks ago.

i been having leg pain and numbness in my thigh and it hurts alfull at times what should i do?

Started taking Lipitor in Sept. 05, six months later I am dizzy &/or disoriented, severe thigh & leg pain, numbness in my hands & legs, shoulder pain... nausea at times... drinking alcohol makes it much worse... thought I was having a heart attack one day... was taken to the emergency room... blood tests all night... then a stress test the next day... on my release papers the cardiologist who was assigned to me wrote on them in big capital letters "DO NOT TAKE ANY MORE LIPITOR"! I am off it two weeks now & am only slightly improved.... I still get all the symptoms... the doc said it could take months to clear up! & my regular doc tried to defend herself on prescribing it to me until she saw the hospital lab reports... I told her I will never take a statin again... I am pursuing natural healthy things now... we'll see how the labs are in two months.... it's been a very scary experience & still is... BTW... I am a 49 year old male.

I have been taking Lipitor for 3 years; I started having problems with my finger and thumb on my left hand. I passed it off as arthritis. Not being aware of the side effects of Lipitor. Then I started having numbness in my finger tips. My Dr said it could be a pinched nerve in my neck. However, tests are expensive with no insurance, so I bypassed the MRI. In the last 6 months I have been getting weaker in my legs, I can hardly walk a block without my legs starting to shake. Yesterday I was at work and went to walk down a flight of stairs and almost fell. I had to do a lot of walking and my knees started giving out on me. I was so embarrassed. I had to stop and rest, and let the rest go on. My husband saw a Lipitor commercial and heard the side effects one being Muscle weakness. I have stopped Lipitor affective today. I will be sending my Dr an e-mail immediately after this to let her know I am discontinuing Lipitor. I am afraid of what I have done to meself. I just hope I can get my health back.

I have been suffering numbness in my finger tips and intermittent short memory loss. I have a lack of energy, as well. I plan to discontinue my Lipitor use immediately. I am on 20mg daily. I take aspirin also.

Someone suggested I halt the Lipitor and begin taking Niacin.

I will keep you posted.

After taking Lipitor for about a year I nticed that the soles of both feet were slightly numb. Have now been taking Lipitor for about ten years and the numbness has increased including the whole foot. Could this be due to the Lipitor? It makes walking with assurance very difficult. Have also noticed that my legs ache and I have increased ringing in my ears.
Would appreciate your observations.
Peg ***, Shoal Bay, N.S.W.

I have been taking 10 mg of Lipitor for about a month. The side effects I have noticed are pain in my knees, especially when walking down steps and numbness in my right hand for an entire day. My blood test is today. Regardless of the results, I believe I'm not going to continue this drug and try harder to lower the LDL cholesterol naturally as stated by the John Hopkins article on this site.

I would like to worn anybody who is about to start to use Lipitor to please read the side effects first. I have been using Lipitor 40 mg for the past four years, and durning that time landed 3 times in hospital (taken by ambulace) with misterious chest pains, plus several visit do the doctor with the same complain. After the check-up , they told me I had muscle inflammation and was given strong pain-killers. The pain in my chest muscles was so severe, that I couldn't move, or take a breath... I also experienced progressing lack of concentration, hair-loss, numbness in my both feet, memory loss, and bad itching on my legs. Just recently I had a severe pain in my chest again and started to ask myself what is causing it. I read the information leaflet (for the first time...!!!) from my Lipitor tablet box and decided to stop taking it. It's been mow 4 days, and no pain. However, I still wonder if there is some permament damage done to my system, as it is too early to tell.

Please tell me where I can go for help. My mother is having terrible side effects from taking Lipitor a couple years ago. She will need a wheelchair soon. I can't believe so many of her problems are linked to this drug! Her doctors won't even consider the problem being Lipitor. Even though she is off it now, her problems seem to be progressing. Her feet are numb with the numbness moving up her legs. Muscle tone is gone and her left foot hangs. She was diagnosed with dropped foot last year. She also had a pace maker put in after she recovered from pneumonia. She has been told she has spinal stenosis and needs back surgery she probably is too weak to survive. Now she is being treated for neuropathy with no success. Her doctor has done a spinal tap and a nerve biopsy. She has seen a neurologist who sent her to a doctor in Houston. She has had gamma globulin IV's and an IV treatment in the hospital. I don't remember what it was called. Next step is a blood cleansing treatment done in Houston for 2 weeks to remove antibodies attacking the myelin sheath. Her eyes have occasionally hemorrhaged and she faints due to low blood pressure. My mother was very healthy except for slightly elevated cholesterol 3 years ago. What can we do? She is dying.

I am a 47 year old man. A year and a few months ago I was put on 10 mg a day of Lipitor. After about a month my feet began to hurt and burn, then my legs felt week. Now my hands feel strange, (week, and kind of crampy). I drop things, my hand writing is terrible, I have a hard time typing etc. My ankles, knees, hips, back, elbows, wrists, and knuckles ache. The pain and burn, tingling, and numbness in my feet is constant. I have had problems with memory loss and loss of concentration. I have days that I am so week it is hard to go up stairs, roll over in bed or just get out of a chair. I feel like I am over 100 years old at times. I feel like I have been poisoned! About 2 months ago I asked my DR. if it could be the Lipitor and he said " no, I doubt it, quit taking it for a week and see if you feel better" and ordered a blood test, which came back normal. I quit for 2 weeks with no change and started taking it again. I dont think he understood how bad I was feeling & was not much help! I am feeling much worse and changed my Dr. I have had an MRI to check for MS, which came back normal and now have an appt with a neurologist. I have just found this website and I am on my 3rd day of no Lipitor. The last 2 months I have been afraid that I am dying of some horrible disease! I hope this is my problem and I start feeling better soon!!!! If Lipitor is the cause of my problems, it has taken a year of my life away from me!!

I have been taking Lipitor for about 18 months. Recently, I started having a numbness in my lower buttocks and genitals. I went to see a Urologist iand he could not find anything wrong. I went to see a Cardiologist and he is going to order different tests. I started removing meds that I was taking and Lipitor is the last one I honestly perceive that this is the cause of my problems. I will know shortly if the feelings comes back and numbness leaves me. I also started taking CQ-10 and fish oils to lower my blood pressure and create cleaner arteries and etc. My BP is becoming normal and I am feeling better. I am afraid of Lipitor.

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 have been taking Lipitor 40mg for over 10years after a triple bypass. I experienced no noticeable side effects until about 5 years ago my feet were burning, stabbing nerve pains sharp enough to draw a sharp breath, unable to sleep properly. My doctor did not suspect Lipitor so I had to find the source of the problem by a process of elimination. This deteriorated further in the past year, with numbness and severe muscle cramps in feet and hands. I stopped taking the Lipitor recently and the pains and discomfort have all but disappeared.

To dkc (8083)
I have problems with my feet. I do not know if the problem is due to Lipitor or Fosamax or both.First I had numbness at the end of my big toe. Over a couple of years the strange feet sensations moved up my feet to above the ankle on both legs till I did not have any flexibility in the ankle. I cannot walk down stairs without holding on to a rail. My feet feel flat on the ground and do not grip the ground. I have stopped Lipitor and I think the sensation is slowly coming back to normal. I have heard that improvments have been noticed in people even two years after stopping Lipitor.

have been on lipitor and coversyl plus for 7 months - just recently have had tingling in finger tips ,tongue swelling (it feels swollen) and tingling in tongue, head feels kind of foggy some muscle cramping and kind of a numbness on left side of arm and leg - I had a mild stroke 7 months ago at that time my cholestrol and blood pressure were on the high end of normal not out of control. I have gone for blood tests just waiting for results. I am getting a little stressed over these side effects which do not help the whole situation. Can side effects take this long to manefest themselves.
Thanx - Sharon