Lipitor/Memory Loss.... other problems?

[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.

[Pam]

My doctor had been considering putting me on Lipitor as my cholesterol was 216. He suggested that I try to lower it myself by healthy eating, fish oil and also suggested a baby aspirin a day. He told me to come back in six months and, depending on the results of my efforts, I may or may not have to go on Lipitor. Well, I am happy to report that I just brought it down myself. It is 194! One thing that I did begin taking early on (in addition to my morning oatmeal ) was Red Yeast Rice. My daughter's husband's grandmother lowered her cholesterol by using this so I thought I had nothing to lose. When I told my doctor he said it was the best thing next to a statin to get the cholesterol down and it is completely natural. I would encourage anyone to give this a try. You do need to run it past your doctor, though, as you wouldn't want to be taking this and Lipitor at the same time. In fact, in the case of any medication, over-the-counter or not, it all needs to be run by the doctor for possible interactions with other meds that you may be taking.

[jazzcat]

My mother-in-law went on Lipitor and after a few months of taking it she got to the point she almost couldn't get up or walk. It made her entire legs hurt and her back ache. She went off it and started feeling better quickly. Any cholesterol drug that is a Statin does this to her. She says she'll just take her chances with the cholesterol instead of becoming invalid.

As for memory loss with her - who could tell!

[Laura's Babies]

I just found my paperwork and my Lipitor was upped to 40mg in September or October.. The memory problems started in November..

Lady Human, I only take Lipitor and Aleve, nothing else and I take the Aleve for the pain in my knees that I now know was cause by the Lipitor.

I skipped taking it for 2 days and am now cutting them in half to get off of them.. I don't know if it is wishful thinking but I feel like I am coming out of a fog... I sure hope it is not wishful thinking.

[Vela]

You really need to discuss this with your doctor though, as it's not safe to self-medicate or self-wean medications. Also you can discuss the red yeast rice with him, as I often see it prescribed for the patients I deal with on a regular basis and it's quite effective with no side effects. Please do be careful and discuss this with your doctor.