I tool the Lipitor and don't even get me started on the problems I had on it.. Those of you that think you are not having problems, I will tell you, I didn't think I did either until I got off of it and by that time I was in such bad shape I was not far from being on disability. It happens so gradually that you don't notice but once it HITS, it brings you down fast. (I was on it 5 to 6 years)

moosmom- A statin is a stain, no matter what it's name, it is still a statin and you will have the same problems on any of them. I think Crestor is the worst of the lot from what I have read on it.

I STRONGLY urge you (and anyone) to change your diet and start eating healthy, get it down naturally before you suffer like I have and do permanent damage to your body taking those drugs.

I have the family cholesterol.... got it from my family. I have mentioned the diet I had been on and loosing that 45 pounds. I also got my cholesterol down to 228 with that diet.. Just had that checked the last time I was home. I was shocked at how low it was and I had gone to the doctor because I was feeling so bad.. when I found out how low it was, I knew what was wrong. I feel the best when my cholesterol is around 250. I increased my fat intake and am feeling 100% better!

I have spent the last 3 years on the internet reading and reading about cholesterol and statin drugs. I won't bore you with the endless mountain of information I have found that has me convienced that statin drugs should not be prescribed but only for those MEN with KNOWN heart disease between the ages of 45 to 65.

I URGE you and anyone else on statins to go watch this video by Dr. Golomb. It is a hour long and you will need to watch it at least 3 times to get everything in it. She did her own study and in the end, kind of let us down, but there is atill a lot of good information in there and explained to me why I had and am still having certian problems. Everytime I watch it I have a jaw dropping moment. Big Pharma did not pay for her study and I did participate in her study, it was pretty detailed and she did 2 follow ups to see if my information changed from the first one. Just watch it and get yourselves educated...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FG-IARKXS4Q

One man's personal experience
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7KD7omFDAKo

YOU DO THE MATH
This is a MUST read! I saw the ad they are talking about and was STUNNED when I saw it and wondered why they put that in the paper.. They think we are to stupid to understand it, that's why! I kept that ad and have it still..
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...994_page_2.htm

Part of it states
"DOING THE MATH
The second crucial point is hiding in plain sight in Pfizer's own Lipitor newspaper ad. The dramatic 36% figure has an asterisk. Read the smaller type. It says: "That means in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor."

Now do some simple math. The numbers in that sentence mean that for every 100 people in the trial, which lasted 3 1/3 years, three people on placebos and two people on Lipitor had heart attacks. The difference credited to the drug? One fewer heart attack per 100 people. So to spare one person a heart attack, 100 people had to take Lipitor for more than three years. The other 99 got no measurable benefit. Or to put it in terms of a little-known but useful statistic, the number needed to treat (or NNT) for one person to benefit is 100.

Go read the whole article.

Go here and type in your statin and read away... people who take the drug post these comments..
http://www.askapatient.com/rateyourmedicine.htm
(I NEVER take any drug anymore without checking here first!)

Search the internet, learn all you can about cholesterol, what we need it for, what role it has in your body. Lean what you can do to lower it naturally, how to eat healthy. Learn about fats, good ones and bad ones.. What foods to avoid.. Why the needs of older people are diffent that the 45-65 age group, how do we compare to other countries with cholesterol/heart attacks, then put that together with what you saw your grandparents eat and make your own choices.