The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

Last year my doctor prescribed Lipitor for me because of our family history. I'm a 56-year-old female with a father who died of a heart attack at 56, and a brother who had a heart attack at 45 and a triple bypass at 56. My cholesterol level was nearing 300.

I took the drug for one month. As the month wore on, I experienced pain in my leg joints and could barely stand on my feet by 3 p.m. each day. My heels were so tender. Each week the symptoms got worse. I thought it was part of aging. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I stopped taking the drug.

It took months for me to feel better, but with each passing month, I began to improve. I feel I would have been very sick at this point, one year later, if I had stayed on that drug.

I talked with one of my six brothers, who has successfully dealt with lowering his cholesterol levels without drugs. He recommended taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar each day, exercising, and watching the diet. He lowered his levels to below 200.

I followed his advice, and my good cholesterol levels have gone way up, and I've lowered the overall cholesterol levels significantly.

My other brother takes Lipitor and says his feet swell during the day. He tolerates the side effect. I needed a healthier alternative than drugs. Personally, I'll be taking what my doctor says with a grain of salt and will do tons of research myself before ever taking another drug. I feel Lipitor was killing me and I still think my body is dealing with a residual effect with balance issues even at this late date.... only after one month of taking the drug a year ago.

I've been taking Lipitor 40 mg for more than a decade. Two months ago, I began taking 80 mg, and I also have been taking Zocor 50 mg.

Since taking these meds, my blood pressure has been significantly reduced (yesterday at the doctor's office 110/70, down from 140/92 15 years ago). My cholesterol has dropped from nearly 400 to 128. HDL 61 mg/dl, VLDL 35 mg/dl, LDL 32 mg/dl.

These results are positive proof that these drugs have worked well for me. I have no debilitating side effects.
Denis Szelc

I was on Pravachol for 2 years. My very arthritic knees got so bad, I was having trouble getting out of my car. Memory loss had me taking mental tests and having neuropathy. I assumed the trouble with balance was due to that. My legs got so bad, I went off the statin, and I'm slowly getting back to where I used to be. I'm 70 and I'll take the side effects of growing old--whatever the cholesterol #'s are!

I have been taking Lipitor 10 mg for 3 years. I exercise actively 5 days/week, and have no side effects from this prevention drug. I am 75 years old.

I took 20 mg Lipitor for about 7-8 years and then began having severe leg cramps. The doctor suggested stopping it for a month and substituted Pravacol and Zetia. The second night without Lipitor, I had no leg cramps, nor have I had any since in 5 months.

After reading your column on statins I had to write in. Three years ago I was prescribed Lipitor, and within six weeks I started experiencing muscle pain and severe cramping. I reported this to my doctor and she told me it would lessen. But after six months the cramps were so severe I couldn't tolerate the pain any longer. I would wake up with cramps in my throat. I returned to my doctor and told her that it wasn't normal to wake up feeling as though someone had their hands around my throat choking me. She decided to run an enzyme test. The doctor called my home two days later and told me I should stop taking the Lipitor immediately and I should not take statins ever again!

I'm worried about Niaspan. If I have a reaction, my skin gets red and I'm hot all over for hours. This is inflammation, isn't it? And if so, isn't that inflammation bad for my heart? In which case, my question is this: is taking the Niaspan, which causes occasional inflammation, as bad as the cholesterol situation it is supposed to fix?

My husband (age 79)was on Lipitor (10 mg)for several years after a mild heart attack when he had a stent put in 1999. In late 2003 he began having weakness in his legs (had fallen 6 or 7 times) and some mental confusion. He went off it for several months but was put back on it because of high LDL (120) and high triglicerides. Because he has essential tremor, 2 doctors diagnosed him with Parkinson's because of his gait, but 2 other doctors said he doesn't have it. A neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic could not give a definitive diagnosis and feels he should be seen by a movement disorder specialist. But I believe his symptoms could be caused by the statin. It is so frustrating to watch my husband deteriorate with the weakness and muscle wasting. Is it possible his problems stem from the statins?

In my 40s with high lipids. Mevorcor just arrived, put on 20 mg tablets. My whole life changed: muscle pain, fatiuge, depression, forgetfulness; 6 months later vertigo, loss of hearing, ringing in left ear. So sick, but doc scared me into staying on the drug. Have not been well since. They still encourage me to keep taking zocor40 mg. daily.

My husband started taking Zocor 5 years ago. The first time he started to notice tingling in his left arm and muscle weakness, we told his doctor, and he said it was not what we saw in the list of side effects in commercials on T.V., which said if you notice these symptoms, you should tell doctor--AS we did, but he still denied it.

What we don't understand is why his doctor started him on such a high dose: 80mg. Most people I have talked to were started on 10mg or 20mg. He then totally lost the use of his arm. We then had other medical problems that needed to be taken care after we started to see a nerologist who thought it may be a pinched nerve.

To make this short because there is so much more, 4 years later my husband had a biospy done, in May of this year and has been told he has ALS.

He stopped taking Zocor for 6 mo., but I think if we had known about these statins and if his doctor would have been more honest about the side effects and listened more to us about the symptoms, my husband would have stopped taking the drug immediately and would not at 58 yrs. old be fighting for his life.

Also I wonder since my husband is a Vietnam veteran how many in your testimonials also are and if the pharmaceutical companies are using them as human guinea pigs!

I think anyone who is on any of these statins should make sure that there are no other safe options, unlike my husband who trusted his doctor. I hope this helps even one person to have a choice and to know all the true side effects.

Thank you and I hope that the F.D.A will take a closer look into these statins that I believe are causing motoneuron diseases!

On Sept. 4, Charlotte wrote she is having trouble with Niaspan. I was using it for years with great results. Just recently the manufacturer changed something which is causing me negative side effects, including flushing. The manufacturer refuses to say what changed that could do this. The FDA should be concerned.

I am with the VA and the doctor put me on Simvastatin (Zocor) .80 MG. I was on Mevacor and my cholesterol was just under 200. Since I have been taking Simvistatin I have sharp pain in my hands. I told my doctor and she said that it is not Simvasatin. My cholesterol is about 160 but it seems Mevacor was doing a good job without the pain. My kidneys are starting to fail and I think it is the simvaststin because my kidneys were well before I took it.

My cousin developed Parkinson's disease. She has been taking Lipitor for many years. I wonder if there is any connection.

I also take Lipitor, and I suffer more pain in my knees while taking a 20 mg dosage. When I go off of it for a week, my knees do not hurt as badly.

I have been on zocor for about 2 years. I started having joint pain in legs, then developed plantar fastiatis, also heel spurs, about 7 months ago developed pain and tingling in feet, now I can hardly stand or walk any distance. Finally put it all together after reading these sites. How long before I feel better?

Recently,Lipitor began including a disclaimer that the drug has not been proven to prevent heart disease or heart attacks. The Jarvik commercial has also been removed from TV. There was a recent article in the Lancet which stated that elevated cholesterol is not harmful in seniors 70-90 years old.

In fact, it was postulated that seniors with elevated cholesterol lived longer than those with low cholesterol. Based on the conflicting evidence regarding statins and cholesterol,isn't it about time that some truly independent research be done to evaluate the true benfits or harm being done by statins and cholesterol.

Because statins have been shown to cause cognitive problems, is it possible that the increased use of the drugs can be correlated to the explosion in Alzheimer's disease.

Here it is October 2008 and I am just now hearing about the awful side effects like memory loss and muscle loss that can happen to a person taking statin drugs. I am taking this info to my Physician to let her know that not all FDA approved drugs are worth the risks of their side-effects when some of those side effects can turn into a permanent disability. I thank everyone, who contributed to this web page, with their honest experiences. It has opened my eyes. I myself have been much more exhausted than usual and find my memory scary at times and do not sleep well. I have been taking Crestor since March of 2008.