Q. My husband was on Lipitor for three years. One day, out of the blue, he lost his memory.
He knew his name but not the date or where he had been the day before. He was able to tell me something was going on and he felt funny. This was extremely scary.
The amnesia lasted about six hours. During that time I took him to the hospital, where he had several expensive tests. Finally they ruled out a stroke and sent him home.
We figured it might be the Lipitor and he has stopped taking it. Instead, he takes niacin and I plan our meals carefully to contain lots of vegetables and fruits and very little meat.
A. Lipitor and other statins such as simvastatin or rosuvastatin may sometimes trigger a reaction called transient global amnesia (TGA). This is a sudden loss of memory that may last a few hours or occasionally as long as a day.
Many readers of this column have reported similar reactions. One man was put on Crestor in an effort to get his LDL cholesterol below 80:
“I started taking the drug on Friday and on Sunday I awoke with what was diagnosed as transient global amnesia. I played golf that morning and kept asking the same questions over and over. My golfing partners and my wife decided after nine holes that I should go to the hospital. This all started at 7 AM and I did not get any short-term memory back until 3 PM.”
Anyone who would like to learn more about the impact of statins on memory may be interested in our one-hour radio interview # 523, “The Dark Side of Statins.”
If you would like to learn about alternative ways to lower cholesterol, check out our Guide to Cholesterol Control and Heart Health.
Doctors must rule out more common causes of sudden memory loss, such as a stroke or a seizure. Although there is controversy about whether statins can cause TGA, we have received so many reports that we think there is a connection.
