It was only after I started to put a timeline to my health issues that I realized that it all started with my taking Lipitor. But the damage was already done and established in my body. The effects are devastating and include:

1. Muscle wastage over the body particularly in my hands.
2. Weakness and pain in my legs and hips and ache particularly when I attempt to walk
3. Heaviness in my legs
4. Extreme fatigue; muscles tend to tire easily; they tend to feel very stiff and sore much as if I had over done my exercise routine or yard chores.
5. Weakness in my neck and shoulders particularly at the end of the day and its painful and difficult to try to keep my head up.
6. Nasal congestion seems to flare up first thing on awakening and periodically during the day making eating, drinking or talking difficult.
7. Loss of interest in much of what I used to enjoy and excel at both at work and home.
8. Shortness of breath especially when I lay down or recline in a chair
9. Pronounced muscle twitching, fasciculation, of my legs and arms.
10. Cramping of calf, thigh, forearm, hand and neck muscles..
11. Walking is now slow and tedious, the statin shuffle, as a result of the stiff, sore thigh muscles and hip joints.
12. Loss of Speech - the deterioration of the ability to speak, voice is lacking energy, clarity and enunciation.

My doctor stumped by these changes refused to believe that Lipitor was at the root of the problem. He arranged for a series of visits to neurologists for their assistance in determining the nature of the problem.

In April of this year examinations by two different neurologists along with numerous blood tests, neurological evaluations MRI's, CAT scans, EMG and Nerve Conductivity Testing were all done to determine the nature of the disease affecting my body. The results confirmed a diagnosis of ALS.

Although my neurologist feels Lipitor was not the cause of the disease, he believes from all the research he's done that the drug acts like a trigger releasing the mechanisms for the low lying disease already present in my body to blossom into the full fledged disease.

My life is now focused on coping with the realities of what this disease means for my family and I; dealing with the ongoing deterioration of my quality of life.

Submitted by B.H. May 2008.