The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

My 74 yr mother has been taking Lipitor for approx. 8 yrs, and has complained of muscle weakness,general malaise,as noted by others. Her Dr. said which is worse, possible death from heart attack or just being in a wheelchair? She is now in an assisted living facility, unable to walk. I finally convinced her to change Dr. and stop taking the Lipitor. I believe it is irreversible.

I was on Lipitor for a short while only but woke one morning with rather large welts all over my body. If that is what Liptor did to the outside of my body, what was it doing to the inside of my body?

I have been on all the Statin Medication and had the same problems, Muscle weakness, extreme pain and nerve damage caused by these Medications.

I tried 3 of the cholesterol lowering drugs, lipitor, zocor, and zetia--and had ill effects from all--from muscle pain, & weakness, to fatigue and just general malaise. Finally gave up trying to lower cholesterol by feeling rotten. The one success is with Niacin, which I continue to take. The "hot flashes" aren't that bothersome, and infrequent anymore.

I had a similar reaction to Lisinopril, a blood pressure medication. After 21 days I stopped it but the pain and weakness did not go away.

Acupuncture helped immediately to get rid of the pain but the weakness has taken longer. First thing in the morning my legs are still a bit weak but I'm almost back to normal.

I have been on Lipitor for many years and it has done a tremendous job for my ldl. My dad has had two heart attacks and also by-pass sugery. My mom is type II diabetic. I take Lipitor not just to lower my ldl but do ultimately lower my risk of heart disease. I have had absolutely no muscle pains or weakness and no adverse side effects. I know Lipitor may not be perfect for everyone, but my doctor says it is still the best medicine to prevent heart disease.

I had the same problem with Lopid after taking it for about 3 months. Muscle weakness and tiredness were so bad I couldn't life a package of toilet paper off the shelf in the grocery store. Fortunately, I had an appointment scheduled with my doctor in a few days, and she said to stop taking the Lopid immediately as the benefit from the Lopid did not match the resultant muscle damage that could occur. Within about 2 weeks, I was pretty much back to normal. I refuse to take any statins after that experience.

I have been on Lipitor for about four years. I've noticed increased problems with balance and "brain fog". I stopped taking Liptor about 10 days ago and started taking slow-release Niacin instead. I take a baby aspirin a half hour before taking the Niacin to reduce the flush. I have not found the flush to be worth mentioning.

I was told by a Mayo Clinic physician to start with 500 mg for a month and then increase to 1000 mg, taken at bedtime. I plan to get my blood tested in three months to see the effects. I am very happy to be off the Lipitor and feel that my imbalance has improved but it is not completely gone.

I had switched to taking the generic statin, Simvastatin, because I didn't like paying the high price of Lipitor. After a few months of that, I had gained weight and had to quit running, not able to move beyond a shuffle. I had horrible muscle pains in my back and chest pains, that led to tests for heart problems. I quit taking statins, and feel healthy and young again and can run well.

If you are taking any one of the statin drugs, please do yourself a favor and read Sherry Roger's "The Cholesterol Hoax." Statins are the number 1 selling drug in the world. They represent huge profits for the Big Pharma's. Cholesterol is an insignificant marker for heart disease. Inflammation is the key not your cholesterol reading. Statins lower the LDL but do NOT raise the HDL. If you are going to pay attention to your cholesterol then you need to be looking at raising your HDL and this cannot be done with statins drugs.

I have not experienced muscle weakness while taking 10 mg. Lipitor but have become very depressed. I do not know if Lipitor is the culprit or not but will quit taking it for a few weeks and see if that was the problem.

I took zocor for years, then took Crestor for a few months. During the Crestor time I took Lisenpril. My muscles became weak. I could/can not walk over 500 steps; have to stop & rest. I stopped taking everything 8/11/08. My muscle weakness has not improved. Any ideas to try?

In August of 2001, I had about 4 points above "normal" cholesterol. My doctor thought I should try Lipitor. I had high BP the year before and was on meds. I also have had fibromyalgia since childhood. I took 2 pills and the pain began. On the 4th day, I woke up and the pain was unbelievable and I could not stand without help.

I called my doctor and stopped the pills. For the first 2 years I lived in constant pain and was in a wheel chair a lot. I could not go anywhere if I had to walk more than a few steps. I could not step up a curb and had to lift my legs to get into a car. I sat in a dining table chair with arms because I had to use all of my upper body strength to lift myself up.

My legs barely worked and wouldn't bend. My arms were also weak and in pain and sometimes I couldn't dress myself. I cried with pain every night. I was sent to 3 different specialists, had 2 muscle biopsies and MANY tests, but nothing was discovered. Not one doctor would say it was Lipitor. I constantly brought it up, but they would not write that down. They kept telling me that it must be the fibromyalgia.

Why should a medication be allowed to do that to people? I was 55 at the time and I am still struggling with muscle weakness and pain, although nothing like in the beginning. It's just been the past couple of years that I have been able to walk up several stairs, however, I am still in pain. Sorry to rant but I've not had a forum to do this before. I haven't lived a normal life for 7 years.