Longfemur

I've been on Lipitor for about 6 years. I've had many effects from many different prescription drugs, but as far as the Lipitor goes, the only thing I notice consistently is that it's almost like a sleeping pill for me during the first couple of hours after taking it. In hospitals, they usually give this pill at bedtime for just that reason. I fear the side effects of high cholesterol a lot more than I do the side effects of this drug.

John E

Your doctor and the big pharma companies will probably not admit this, but one of the most effective ways to reduce serum cholesterol is to increase the amount of fiber in your diet, whilst reducing the amount of fat. Aerobic exercise tends to improve your HDL/LDL balance, so keep bicycling!

BlazingPedals

When I took Lipitor several years back, I started getting all kinds of symptoms. I'd be sore for 3-4 days after even a moderate ride. Hard rides were out of the question. Both arms would 'go to sleep' at night, and I'd wake up unable to move them. My skin, normally a bit on the oily side, became dry and scaly. And it felt as though I couldn't think well - words started coming harder and I'd lose my train of thought. I finally told the doc I refused to kill myself now on the chance I'd prevent problems later.

I figure I lost 25% of my leg strength during that time. The scary part about that is, my heart is a muscle too - what did I do to it??? This is the third year since stopping Lipitor, and I still have dry skin problems, my arms still go numb at night (but less often) and I'm still not up to the performance level I was. Now I'm just on a blotter-type drug, that basically works like a fiber pill. It doesn't drop my cholesterol as much as the Lipitor did, but it'll have to be enough. No more statins for me!

bikerbob1

I'm well into my 60's and a few years ago my doctor recommended Lipitor for a Chloresterol problem. While on my bike rides I noticed my leg power had disappeared. It was really frustrating when I could do only one pedal stroke and then a slight rest. I thought I was getting old. I read about the effects of Liptor in some patients on a cycling web site. I stopped taking it and within three days I was back pedalling with renewed energy. The doctor put me on another Statin and same effects. I told the doctor I would take my chances with the high Chloresterol.
It appears the Statins have different effects on people.

maddmaxx 

As with all medications, a good talk with your doctor is in order. A discussion involving your lifestyle, the advantages and disadvantages of a particular class of medication, and an examination of the alternatives available will be to your benefit.

For much of my life I took orders from my doctor. Then I discovered that the doctor patient relationship is double ended and I began to shop around for a style of doctor that would accept some informed input from me, the patient. My current doctor agrees, that this type of relationship is best for both of us....

Just for comparison purposes you might read here:
https://www.healthy-heart-guide.com/s...f-lipitor.html

Remember, everyone who has a web site, has some reason for what they say. Balancing all you read and hear is important.

JPMacG

I suspect that doctors are under pressure to put patients with even slightly high cholesterol on a statin to avoid liability. I have slightly high cholesterol, but no other risk factors (except age) and a solid family history of high cholesterol but zero heart disease with parents and grandparents living into their 90s without heart disease.

I argued this all to my doctor and he told me that he still recommended that I go on a statin but would respect my choice not to.

DnvrFox

And the good doc can enter into his office notes that he advised you to take the drug, and you refused, covering his liability.

deraltekluge

I've been taking a statin for several years, and have noticed no side effects. I've switched types, but that was based only on cost.

MTBLover

I started on Lipitor last fall, and within about 6 weeks noticed a weird burning sensation in my major muscle groups (quads, especially)- this was accompanied by increasing weakness. I went off it tout de suite, and the sensation and weakness went away. I'm pretty much back to normal, and am sticking to plant sterols, diet, and exercise to control my borderline cholesterol levels (without any intervention, total chol ~215 but with low LDL and good HDL).

I know most people can tolerate statins well, but more than a few of us can't. If you're one of those who has side effects, TELL YOUR DOCTOR NOW!!!! The ads aren't kidding here- muscle weakness and discomfort (not always pain, BTW) can be signs of very, very serious side effects- most horribly rhabdomyolysis, which is where muscle breaks down and basically liquifies- the end result of that can be kidney failure, liver failure, and death). Fortunately, rhabdo is rare, but some other side effects aren't.

waldowales

I tried Zocor for a couple of weeks about four years ago. My muscles got sore, and I quit. When I saw the doc two weeks later, my blood showed that it was damaging my liver.
I reluctantly started the generic for Pravachol a month ago, so far no side noticeable effects.
A friend of mine went on a statin drug, I'm not sure what one, and within a few months had lost noticeable amounts of muscle mass. He's now on a different one, but his muscles are still puny.
I suspect that these drugs may not be as benign as they are made out to be by their makers. If my next blood test shows my cholesterol where the doc wants it to be, I'll drop the statin and go for diet and health food supplements. I didn't feel that I was on them long enough to say whether they helped or not before the doc browbeat me into the drugs.

MTBLover

Given the current state of the FDA and the deferential treatment given to pharma by virtually every regulatory body, I certainly think your circumspection is warranted. Although there's a lot more heat than light on both sides of the argument, you might check out this guy's website- he was one of the first to report transient global amnesia as a side effect of statins. He's a doc with personal experience, so he does have some cred. Just read his material and decide for yourself- I don't think he's a crazy, though- not by any means.

Torque1st

There have been reports for years that Lipitor causes memory loss. There appear to be some studies on the subject now. Memory loss is not easy to quantify and it is not easily detected in FDA medical trials.

One article on the subject:
https://www.newsinferno.com/archives/2653

I have been taking Lipitor for about 20 years and my short term memory loss is severe and verified. The loss appeared about the time I started taking Lipitor. When some testing was done at that time nobody suspected Lipitor.

On the other hand Lipitor has controlled my cholesterol well and it has not caused any weakness or liver damage. Leg weakness came later after diabetes was diagnosed.

Wildwood 

I have a general bias against medications unless absolutely necessary, and believe that a healthy diet and cardio exercise should be good enough. I have a familial tendency to higher cholesterol. When measured at 240, a doc recommended Crestor. I halved the recommended dosage, increased my cycling mileage a bit and dropped to 160 without side effects.

I have subsequently stopped the med. Will check my levels and resume if necessary.

Camilo

That may be true for liver failure, but certainly not true for elevated liver enzymes. I took a trial course of Lipitor and my liver function tests immediately went very high. No, I wasn't drinking.

The LFT's went down right away when the med was discontinued. I then went on Simvastatin with excellent cholesterol results and no liver problems.

bobkat

JohnE - we tell everyone that, in fact, literally beg them to eat a better diet and less of it and most importantly EXERCISE in some form or another! But just walk down the ailes of Wal Mart some time and you can see how much progress we are making! Pretty dismal if you ask me, but most doctors do ernestly try, or at least they should! A terrible health problem, especially looking 20 years down the pike! I often wonder if there will be enough money in the entire country to even start to cover approaching health costs......
But you and I are preaching to the choir with the bike forums group.
A great thing nowadays is all the information available to anyone who chooses to go on any medication. But over the years I've sen it backfire many times. Tell some people of a possible side effect or compliction and you can be they will "have" it and you will be unable to persuade them otherwise. Then what can be even worse, they often go on the internet with their tale of woe and scare others from taking it who would benefit greatly from it.
Whenever any medication is proposed for any condition, I urge people to look at it from a risk/benefit ration. Ask yourself "does the potential benefit to me outweigh any small but real risk?" Or think of it as "is this medication more likely to kill me or save me?" Because even the most common lowly over the counter medication will absolutely, definitely, ultimately, certainly kill someone someplace somewhere! Are you the one? You are probably as likely to win the powerball with most meds, but it's always a calculated risk. People can and do die from every medication out there, and probably a lot of dietary supplements as well, although it is tougher to determine this with absolute certainty.
Do I take Lipitor! you bet! And I don't sell it or have shares in the company either, yunless some mutual fund includes whatever company that makes it!
Having had a stroke at a fairly young age (56) and uncontrollable 'bad' cholesterol with lesser "meds' diet supplements and diet and exercise I went to a low dose of Lipitor and now hopefully keep peddling my bike (not peddling lipitor! Hah!) for more years because of it! :>) I'm fully aware that I could be the unlucky one someday and it could kill me, too. But I feel the benefit to me outweights the small risk so open the mouth and down the hatch!
Keep peddling though! That's the most important thing of every method to control cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity, and many other maladies. how can something so much fun be so good for you? Usually it's the other way around!?!

Torque1st

My liver functions improved when I started Lipitor.

shmulb

I have been taking Lipitor and Zetia for many years now at maximum dose (80mg Lipitor) and have never felt any muscle weakness.
Over the last year since I started riding (spinning in winter, 5 days a week) and seriously watching what I eat I have dropped 20lbs .
I did drop my Lipitor dose to 40mg. Last week I had my blood test and although my total Cholestrol is below 190 my "good cholestrol" (HDL ?) is still too low and my Triglicerides are still a bit high. So basically, even a heavy excercise regimen and good eating only had a minimal effect. I will need to continue with both medications still.

rsd212

I was put on Lipitor (eventually quite once my cholesterol dropped on its own from exercising), and the one side effect I noticed was I became impervious to the effects of alcohol. I could NOT get drunk. Shots in the double digits in just a couple hours and I could still hold a paceline (ok, thats a lie, I cant ride a decent paceline sober).

Of course, not sure if it was still going to my liver, plus the occasional side effect of liver damage....

smoore

Wow, never heard of that before. Does this mean they won't let you ride the Tour D'France?

Longfemur

When it comes to medical problems like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, total reliance and belief in lifestyle changes (diet, exercise) is just as bad as total reliance and belief in medications. Most people who have high cholesterol will need both approaches at the same time. Me, I take the Lipitor and I exercise. I don't diet actively, but then I don't eat much of anything that has a lot of animal fat anyway. If I did, I would cut back on that.

realway

I was prescribed Lipex 40 mg tablets after having heart surgery about 15 years ago. I put up with very sore leg muscles especially in the afternoons for many years when, having heard of the likelihood of this being a side effect of lipitors, I asked my doctor to change the tablets. He put me on Crestor which is a rosuvastatin. Initially on a 20 mg dose, my LDL's improved considerably, the leg pain was a little better and he then reduced the dose to 10 mg. Leg pain was again lessened. I am now taking one tablet every other day and the leg pain has pretty well disappeared. I will remain on this dose for the next few weeks, keep up my cycling, and then have a blood test. The results will be interesting.

EastOfMidnight

I've been off the drug for about 2 weeks now and feel a lot better. Blood work shows not elevated enzymes or other indications of liver damage. My doc and I decided to stay off another couple of weeks and then look at other alternatives, if necessary. I did stay off the bike for a week or so - am doing a metric century this weekend, so I'll take it easy. Enjoy the ride!

Garfield Cat

Has anyone with cholesterol issues, ever tried a non meat diet or just occasional meat diet? Lots of fruits and vegetables and such?

I heard that just before your 6 month blood work test, if you stayed off all meat and dairly products, and shell fish, and stuck with fruits and veggies, for even one week, the total cholesterol readings go way down.

MTBLover

Yes, for many, if not most people, this is true, although one week isn't likely to result in a dramatic change. And, I think there's a danger to the the subtext here, which is "if I can just stay off meat and dairy for a week, I'll have better lips results, and then after the tests come back and the doctor praises me, I can go back to Big Macs and Whoppers." My apologies if I'm reading too much into this, but that's how many people think- it's gaming the system, and the only loser is the patient.

BTW, skim milk and low- and non-fat cheeses are fine, so it's not all dairy products. And unless you've determined that any egg intake is a no-no (some people are genetically pre-disposed to this), up to four eggs a week can actually be beneficial. Egg yolks contain lecithin, which are good for your lipids. Alas, they also contain cholesterol, so if your genes dictate that you're sensitive to dietary cholesterol, best to lay back on the hen fruit. That said, the worst dairy is also the most spectacularly delicious, I'm afraid- those triple creme cheeses from France are sooooo good, but moderation is definitely the key here. They (and others) should be treated more like condiments than food groups.

Check out this link to the DASH diet. It was originally designed to reduce hypertension, but it has since been found to have a very beneficial effect on lipids as well. Download the guide (upper right-hand corner of the web page)- it's in pdf format and very easy to follow. For some, the diet itself will require an adjustment, but it's certainly do-able.

Garfield Cat

So it seems that many people who have high cholesterol use drugs to fix the problem when the problem is one's dietary intake.