Hi all. I'm a 41 yr old male in reasonably healthy shape. The only medical condition I was ever diagnosed with was high cholesterol after many years of eating nothing but fast food and fatty fried foods at home. When my total cholesterol level hit 263, I was put on 20mg of Lipitor a day. After the first day or so I began feeling ill and just attributed it to my body needing a chance to 'get used' to the medication. I felt lethargic, had mild headaches and aching in my major joints. Looking back now I dont think that its so much that my body got used to the medication as I got used to feeling that way when taking it.

Within a year, my levels dropped to 125 and my dosage was cut back to 10mg a day. I've now been on it for roughly two years total now and it is the only medication that I take on a daily basis. Because of changes that I have noticed in myself, I was doing some research on possible Lipitor side effects and that led me here where I have been surprised to say the least about much of what I have read. I will admit that most of my possible side effects are not to the severe degree of other posters here. I know that it wouldnt be right to say that everything that I have noticed is because of the Lipitor, but at the same time that is the only thing that has really changed in my daily routine with consistency.

Prior to being on Lipitor I had a grand total of one migraine headache in my life. I am almost positive as well that particular headache was a result of caffine withdrawal, so it is explainable. Since being on Lipitor I have had pretty much a steady ache centered from behind my left eye up to my lower left temple. I have had my eyes examined and tested and there is nothing in my vision that can explain the pain. This will often times escalate into a headache that over the counter medication can not put in a dent into and I end up having to take flexeril (a Rx I have because of occasional back spasms I suffer from) and place a bag of frozen vegetables over the area to get the pain to subside. Recently, my dr put me on Relpax and that seems to work, although in a month's time I have gone through 2 refills already.

I've also noticed a slight difference in my mental abilities. I was always someone that loved puzzles and learning new ideas and concepts in depth and enjoyed the detail oriented work that would go along with it. Now, I have difficulty staying focused on a task or problem for more then 5-10 minutes. It's almost as if all of the information that I take in when trying to learn something gets put into a buffer but never really passes from there into a place of understanding and knowledge if that makes any sense. At my job, things that are supposed to second nature to me I find myself having to very slowly and deliberately in my mind having to go through step by step by step to make sure that I am not missing anything. That can really be frustrating when compared to my abilities just 3 years ago.

I would never be confused with an athlete, but I used to enjoy moderate exercise and the feeling of well being that it gave me. Now, I have a general lethargy that is very hard to get through at times. I have to really push myself to do simple things like the dishes or run the vacuum around the house. Forget the brisk walks around the neighborhood or using the exercise equipment in the basement. When I try to do anything like that, I get exhausted very quickly and usually spend the rest of the day like a lump on a chair somewhere.

I've occasionally had heart palpatations that felt as if my heart was going to burst out of my chest. Very arhythmic and was enough of a concern that I was given a stress test, full EKG and sonogram of my heart and abdomen area. All checked out fine, with no explanation offered as to what causes them.

Right now, I'm noticing a huge decrease in my libido. My wife and I have always had a rich and enjoyable sex life, but recently I have been experiencing ED quite a bit and find that my overall desire for sex has diminished greatly. This is something that naturally is causing some problems because my wife feels that she is the problem.

Each of these items seperately might be easy to overlook, especially since (aside from the migraines) they aren't really completely debilitating. But taken together, I am not the person that I was 3 years ago. My physical stamina has dropped to almost nothing, my mental reasoning ability has been diminished, I often times suffer from painful, localized headaches and my libido has dropped to about nil.

Again, I dont know how much of these traits can be directly associated to use of Lipitor, but since it seemed to drop the overall cholesterol level so well initially, I'm going to stop taking it for a while now and try to control it via diet and exercise and see what my next blood test in June reveals. I'd be happy if the level went up 15 points if it meant that I can be the person I was before.

Sorry for the long rambling narrative, but I want to ask if anyone has any advice or tips how to manage without taking Lipitor everyday? I have always taken a multi vitamin everyday and I see here that its stressed to take Q10, B-6, B-12 and Omega 3 as daily supplements as well.

Thanks in advance.

Yup welcome to the big pharm guinea pigs club . The bad side effects are a lot more than any pharm company will ever admit because that way they can sell you all the drugs for the side effects that these cause and the doctors tell you you its all in your head or it can't be the statins !!! They gave me a permanet case of peripheral neuropathy in both feet starting at age 41 , I'm 49 now and have little to no feeling left in either foot , if I had only known when I started lipitor . And that was only one of the side effects that it gave me though it is by far the worse because it is there 24 hours a day . Go out and google statin study and read all the information on this site . There are millions that this is affecting .

Hi Zaphod & Welcome to the Forum,

I can tell you first hand that Lipitor does cause ED. My husband stopped Lipitor 20mg over 2 years ago... ED is much better, but not 100%. Supplements that help to increase NO (nitric oxide) levels... L-Arginine and L-Glutamine and are safer than Viagra. Zinc deficiency (causing low testosterone levels) can also be an underlying reason for ED.

Pantethine helps "brain fogginess".

If you are taking any BP meds, they also cause ED. CoQ10 can lower BP. My husband used to take 2 BP meds... now takes only 300 mg of CoQ10 daily. His BP is around 111 over 78.

Feel free to have your wife email me if she needs to discuss ED with a wife that understands... that it's not her fault.

Fran

Thank you both for your replies. Viper, I've been going crazy on google recently checking side effects associated with Lipitor. As I said initially, I know that my problems are relatively minor compared to others that I have seen discussed out there, but I also know that this is the only medication that I take on a daily basis and the only thing that has changes in my routine in the last two plus years, so the link between Lipitor and any physiological changes I have had within that time frame would seem to be more then just casual at this point.

Fran, thanks for the advice and kind words as well. To say that this has been frustrating recently would be an understatement of 'Dewey Beats Truman' proportions. No, I do not have BP issues. My pressure has always been in the range that is considered safe to almost being on the low side. Lipitor is the only medication including over the counter meds that I took regularly aside from a daily multi vitamin. I will certainly pass on your kind offer to my wife. She's a great gal and I hate the thought of her not thinking well of herself in any way.

The brain fogginess is the one effect that has been bothering me the most as I am in training to move into a new position at work and its so difficult to try and focus on new information for any real period of time.

Thanks again for the replies and the suggestions. I do appreciate it greatly.

-Joe

Zaphod, you need to dump the Lipitor and all statins and get back with your life. I have been reading a book recently that I would recommend you get. It's simply called "Natural Cures" and it's subsequent book - "Natural Cures Revealed". While some of the things the author mentions are pretty dramatic and overstated in my estimation, most of what he has to say is pretty 'spot on'. If you follow the directions in both of these books your return to a level of viality and health that you never thought possible. I'm 49. I am currently in a lawsuit with Pfizer and confident in the outcome. We can, and should, fight these drug companies that are slowing poisoning us and creating more problems than curing. I'm not going to continue on anymore but tell you that my life is turning around and I'm amazed. You will be too. Write back in a few months and let me know how you're doing.

- Gerry -

Hi Gerry,

Thanks for the words of advice. Since I stopped taking the Lipitor back in early December, I have been taking daily doses of a Multi-vitamin (which I was taking prior to stopping the Lipitor as well), Omega 3, CoQ10 and a B complex supplement. The mental fog that I mentioned I was experiencing has all but disappeared now and I am able to get back to doing more in depth work and studying that was all but impossible to accomplish before.

I have also found that I feel much more alert and upbeat. Physically, I feel better now then I have in the few years previous. I know that many people on here have had worse reactions and side effects then I did and for me to be able to notice such a marked difference in the way that I feel I can only imagine how it could be like night and day for many other people.

Good luck with your lawsuit.

-Joe

Glad to hear it Joe... but go find this book on the web somewhere and get it anyway. I will change your life...it did mine. What you are doing is good and the chol. rave is just that. Everyone needs differing amounts depending on their body makeup. It's unfortunate that the drug companies are making so much $ over this hype. Shame.

Hi

Before running out and wasting your money, do the research. I no longer TRUST anyone(My Doctors made me what I am today) and found a few interesting things about Kevin Trudeau.
Have a look at
[url]http://skepdic.com/trudeau.html[/url]

or Go To
[url]http://www.quackwatch.org/[/url]
and search for Trudeau

or my personal favorite where he talks about conspiracies (shades of the X-Files)
[url=http://[/url]www.infomercialwatch.org/tran/trudeau.shtml[/url]

This guy has paid more money in lawsuits than I would make in 50 lifetimes. Stick with the Spacedoc and friends, the advice is free and safe, once you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Anne W

Hi Anne,

To be honest, when I saw what books were being referred, I recognized Mr. Trudeau's name from various stories about his products/books being controversial at best.

To date, the changes that I have outlined have me feeling better then I have in a long time, so that is what I am going to stick with. Every year in early June I get a complete blood work up so I'll be curious to see how my numbers compare this year to last year.

If Gerry found something in those books that work for him more power to him, though from what I remember regarding Mr. Trudeau's books, I'll stick to the regimen I am currently doing as it seems to be working for me.

Thanks for the words Anne and I do agree with you about always doing your homework about anything that is presented. It's our bodies and health and ultimately we're the ones in control of it.

Regards,
Joe