[b]Hi folks, I have been taking one lipitor 20 mg at night for about 8 yrs. I got 5 pills left and I am not going to refill the lipitor. Should I wean the few remaining pills to 1/2, then 1/4 or so? Then what is a good replacement for the lipitor.

My understanding is that statins have many bad side effects. The good in statins is that they reduce the inflamation in the artery walls, thus allowing blood to flow easier.....and not that the cholesterol level has dropped below 200. So, if one stops taking lipitor....one should continue to have something else reduce the inflamation in the artery walls, right. So whats the replacement?

I also take (doctors idea) one 81mg baby aspirin at night. Should I also stop taking the baby aspirin?

Thanks,
Paul[/b]

Hi there Paul,

there are two way to stop taking the medication, one is as you described by weaning yourself off them to try to limit any "shock" effect or the other method is to stop cold turkey.

Most folk opt for the cold turkey approach and if they have any undue sensations (feeling odd) when stopped, they tend to disappear after a couple of weeks although everyone is different in general this works fine. If you are a sensitive type then the weaning method is probably a better option, with both methods if you have suffered any statin side effects, simply stopping will not always make those problems go away but could help a lot.

Your understanding about the anti inflammatory effects is correct and the baby aspirin is to stop platelets in you blood from becoming sticky and causing clots etc. I usually take my aspirin in the morning though and here in the UK the size is 75mg and it is prescribed for those who have had a heart attack and probably a lot of other health problems as a precaution.

The main thing is, whichever method you use works fine. You will not get withdrawal symptoms but may feel a bit odd for a while till your body gets used to not being literally poisoned and starved of vital materials for life.


Some people have developed serious bleeding problems with aspirin or become very sensitive to them and developed other problems, do a google on aspirin side effects and see the problems and what to look out for, in general though if you are not having any of the problems or sensations, you are more than likely getting the benefit from them but as with all drugs there are the possibility of side effects so just know what to look for and stop if you think there may be a problem.

The last bit sounds very scary, but a little research could save problems in the future if you are one of the few who can't tolerate aspirins OK.

All the best,

Allen

I quit cold turkey....already the next day I was feeling better..no side effects from quiting zocor either...just steady improvement.....so....throw the lot in the garbage...