Lipitor/Memory Loss.... other problems?

[Lady's Human]

One big item with lipitor. I was reading a page about it, and it has drug interactions with a lot of other common drugs, herbal supplements and vitamins. From the looks of it, lipitor by itself is fine, but it starts to interact with many other meds, OTC, scrip, and herbal.

You might want to check anything else you are taking with either a pharmacist of a doc.

[RedHedd]

Whatever you do, please do not just quit taking a prescription drug without talking to your doctor first. Many drugs can have serious effects on your body if they're quit very suddenly. Also, talk to your doctor about alternative medications that treat the same problem. If your doctor has you on a prescription drug to treat a medical condition, please do not just stop taking the drugs. You're not a medical professional and you could give yourself more problems. Please be careful!

[Vela]

THe body aches and pains is a side effect of the Lipitor, most likely. That is a very common occurance with this medication. You need to talk to your doctor and let him know you don't want to take the Lipitor anymore and need help weaning off of the medication. Your cholesterol won't go through the roof and kill you in a few short months and you can see if the side effects go away. If they do then you can perhaps try a different medication for your cholesterol instead. This should all be done under the supervision of your doctor, but if he refuses to help you get off the medication and change it, then find one who will. Good luck.

[zoey]

I don't want to uduly alarm, but you might want to get checked for strokes. My stepdad had some mental problems that started suddenly too. He is 67. When Altzheimer's was ruled out, we found out that he'd had some small strokes and is being treated now and is much better.
I didn't realize that strokes could result this way; I'd always thought it only caused physical probs., but no physical probs for him.
You might want to get an MRI.

[sasvermont]

I know that there is some memory loss as one ages. It's normal. But I think the stress factor is one major problem. I think half of us are asleep at the wheel 9/10ths of the time and do not think about what we are doing. I have found that making lists helps a bit. Then I can leave the worry part on a piece of paper to refer to later.

But we all need to slow down....stop and smell the roses....however you want to say it. We take life for granted most days and forget to enjoy the bunny in the park or the delightful little children playing outside or the wonderful flowers growing.....or the pretty sky.....

I think I will move in with Glacier in the spring. She doesn't know it yet, but I suspect, with the surroundings she has, it would be a wonderful place to appreciate mother nature and try not to think about problems.

So let us all stop today, relax for a few moments....sorta a zen time...... and appreciate what we have, be grateful, and enjoy the littlest of pleasures.....

or not.

Love to all,
SAS and the campers

[Rachel]

I've been on Lipitor (40 mg) and couldn't handle the joint and muscle pain either. Plus it lowered my good cholesterol. Now I am taking 20 mg. of Pravochol with which I still have some joint pain, but not the degree I had when I was on 40 mg. of that.

The scary part is none of the several doctors I saw for the knee pain I was experiencing ever considered the possibility of it being a side effect of the statin. They just wanted to prescribe the strong pain relievers which we all know aren't good for the heart. When I insisted there might be a possible connection, my doctor suggested that I do a trial of not taking the statin. He said 10 days and I should know. Ten days didn't make a difference but when I tried again and was off of them for 3 weeks, all the pain disappeared. Of course my cholesterol went up and I went back on the lower dose of Pravochol.

As for memory, I do have some problems, but they came on gradually.

[G535]

How to do it without drugs: http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/

Personally I would not take a drug if some illness or other health issue could be controlled without it.