Lipitor and lupus

I am 53 years old and was almost 4 years on Lipitor and started experiencing periphial neuropathology that was horrible! I had a keen neurologist who took me off after doing several tests for Lyme, Lupus, MS, etc. She said she sees more and more of my symptoms 3 to 8 years plus on Lipitor. I went off Lipitor on June 1st (my birthday), so have been off for more than a month. All of the zapping and tingling has subsided in my hands, feet, face, arms, and head. I still have neuropathology in my hands, some muscle weakness in my arms, and numbness in my toes which are all slowly diminishing. My neurologist says she expects full recovery in 4-6 months. Take B complex vitamins. I take Shaklee's twice a day.This greatly helps in the repair of the nerve damage from Lipitor. My neurologist also recommended me taking FBCx, ******(1-2 with every meal containing fat, the website explains dosage), and 1 tablespoon of omega 3 fish oils in the form of flax or fish to reduce cholesterol. There are other things I take like garlic, cinnamon extract, green tea extract. If you type in "lower cholesterol with supplements" online you will find other things like red rice yeast as well. Good luck!

I can't believe it's taken me so long to find this site. I have been on Lipitor for the past 5, going on 6 years. My doctor thought it would be a good preventative measure as 22 year old sister had recently had a massive heart attack.My cholesterol levels were all great but a CRP test indicated that I was on the high end of normal. Nearly three years ago, the muscles in my right arm became very achy and I could not rely on it to lift many heavy objects or even my 2.5 year old son at the time. The doctor recommended i see an OT, who, in turn, was not able to figure out why I always felt like I slept on my arm funny. After months of getting nowhere and chalking up to pulling a tendon while throwing a baseball, I decided to live it all. That summer, I also started having a hard time focusing. So, I saw an eye doctor, who said that I was slightly near sighted and that glasses would help strengthen my vision. I had never had any vision problems prior to that and it seemed like it came on suddenly. But, I figured that I was getting older and people need to have glasses sometimes as they age. Then, last summer, I began to get these crazy rashes, which I now know where hives that bacme irritated by touch. The rash would pop up any time, any where and never in a way that i could relate to anything I ingested. Then, all of my joints began to ache unbelievably. I looked up some symptoms, wondering if I contracted something through my son's preschool, which was dealing with a little fifth's disease breakout. My symptoms seemd in line with what an adult can experience if he/she had fifth's disease. The doctor was stumped and had me have blood drawn, which indicated my liver levels were a little high, but they could tell me "What you don't have"... lyme disease, any viruses or lupus. Okay. I was to have more bloodwork done in a week or two, but decided to see how this rash, etc. would play out. The pain went away (except of the arm on that started a year and half or so earlier) and the rash was something I thought would dissipate soon enough. After three months it did subside. We bought a house and my son started kindergarten and it finally seemed like I was on the upswing. Now, six months later, the rash resurfaced. I was completed disappointed. At first I thought the Fifth's was making a comeback. I looked online and found a site that showed different types of rashes. That is when I came across a picture labeled "Drug Allergy" and began looking into the two drug I was on. By the weekend however the pain started in, especially in my legs, the calves, and my ankles hurt so bad. I was having spasms in my arms and legs and noticed within the week, two bruises on my thighs that I am certain appeared on their own. I did not bump my leg at all. I became very nervous and thought that I was going to experience a blood clot as my mother had one at 34 years of age. I am 32. But, after researching and reading forums like this, I am convinced that I, too, am experiencing serious Lipitor side effects. On Saturday,I did not take my usual 10mg and saw the doctor. She recommended that i go off the Lipitor for now and have blood work done. I have been off it since then (not very long) but by Monday I was feeling almost normal. Today, I feel some cramping in the legs, but I think it will take a long time for this drug to rid my system. I have to go back on Friday for a follow up, but I haven't heard anything alarming about my bloodwork yet.
Again, I can't believe it has taken this long to find this wonderful site. Best of luck to the rest of you in your recoveries and a Lipitor-free life.

Hi
I started taking 10 mg. daily ofLipitor 8 yrs. ago and about a year later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. There's no test for Fibro, just blood tests to elimate everything else ex: Lupus, RA etc. I've been suffering so much from muscle pain, all the tender points as in Fibro and also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three doctors diagnosed me with Fibro. and chronic fatigue. I had most of the symptoms everyone else is complaining about also. The pain in my stomach muscles are just about gone too.

It reached a point three weeks ago when I was having sharp pains all over my body and muscle cramps and charlie horses at night and I could just about walk up the stairs my hips hurt so much that decided to stop Lipitor. I was so tired all the time and in constant pain.

My doctors said it couldn't be the Lipitor. The pain in most of the tender points are just about gone but I know it will take a while to get out of my system. I lost muscle strength over the years and hope to get that back. I'm 64 years old and know it will take awhile .

I went to my doctor Tuesday and told him I took myself off the Lipitor and that I now remember being diagnosed with Fibro shortly after going on Lipitor. He got so mad at me and said that Lipitor doesn't cause a disease. As I said there's no test for Fibro and it's not a disease it's a syndrome or condition where the brain sends pain signals to the tender point muscles but there's nothing actually wrong with the muscles. I told him that 6 years ago when I tried going off Lipitor for 3 months and joined a gym, Curves, I felt fine and thought I was in remission. Then when I started taking Lipitor again I couldn't do the exercise in Curves and had to stop going. It never dawned on me it was the Lipitor.

I now have a problem with my heart, one condition I might have been born with but the Arrthymia I don't know about. My heart beats too many beats and it beats 4 beats and the 5th beat is backwards. Now I'm on 25mg of Topricin (the generic) beta blocker to slow down the heart beats. I don't know if this is caused by the Lipitor or not. My cardiologist said that Lipitor can affect every muscle in your body and she suggested that I get a RX for a blood test to tell whether I have muscle damage. I went for the test Tuesday but haven't received the results yet.

I'm going to change doctors, I don't like my doctor's attitude with me over the Lipitor. These doctors think they're God. When I told him on Tuesday about the 3 months that I felt fine 6 years ago he said that there are other drugs besides statins to lower cholesterol. I don't want to go on any drugs and the non statin drugs can cause intestinal blockage, he got upset when I told him that too. I'm going to try to lower it with flaxseed and fiber and see if that works. I go to Weight Watchers and kept 17 lbs. off for 6 years now, I do try and eat healthy.

I can't believe it cost me almost 8 years of my life in pain. It's even hard for me to get down on the floor with my granchildren, I have to crawl to the couch or chair to lift myself up and I get tired so easily. I just hope I get back to normal.

I'm so glad I found this website and figured out what was wrong with me. I hope my writing helps someone else dignosed with Fibromyalgia and taking a statin.

Thanks for listening.
Marie

I took lipitor for almost two years (42). Started having a pain in my upper thigh as if someone was turning a screw driver into my leg. The pain progressed into my right hip that felt like someone was trying to "unscrew" my hip out of the socket. The pain progressed down my leg - i.e. sciatica pain. The pain got so bad that I could not sleep at night and if I did fall asleep the pain would be so bad I would wake up crying.
I went to my regular doctor and an orthopedic doctor. Had xrays, ct, and mri's. Blood work for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, etc. No bad results. I asked my physician if the Lipitor could cause it - "no" was the answer. My prescription for lipitor ran out and I was off of it for three months. I noticed significant relief in the above mentioned symptoms but still did not relate it back to the lipitor until I had a new prescription refilled and within a week I was "crying" in pain again. I immediately stopped the lipitor and within a few more months all the pains were gone. It still took me a while to get "comfortable" in bed to sleep - the pain had obviously affected me psychologically as well and I was still afraid that I would wake up in pain.
I do sometimes feel the pain in my right hip if I sit for extended periods of time but nothing like the above. I am an RN. I have told the above story to several physicians at the hospital and they always react like they don't believe it.