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Lipitor question

Scorp

Scorp

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I've got a question about Lipitor if you're on it... When I was taking the dose my doc put me on, I noticed that it was causing my knees to ache. I hadn't had knee pain before so reduced the dosage and the knee pain went away. I talked to my doc about this. I'm on it because of a heart issue.

Now my wrists and elbows are aching but I'm not sure if it's the Lipitor or just the fact I'm 50. I'm going to talk about this with my doc the next time I see him next month.

Have any of you had the same issue? If you switched from Lipitor, did you go to something else that didn't cause joint aches?
 
I can’t speak the ache issue but there are a lot of statins out there and they are known to have different side effect profiles (it’s a common “me too” drug class but I won’t bore you). Some can be pretty crappy but it’s very individual specific. It might be time for a switch to another and give it a shot.
 
I had joint soreness and stiffness after being on Lipitor for a few months. Even my neck was really stiff, I had to turn my whole body rather than just turn my head. My left elbow was sore and I had pretty severe loss of strength. I haven't used a statin for about 18 years, but to this day, I get flare-ups of tendonitis in that elbow. Don't know if it's related or not. But I didn't have it before. But recurring after. Turns out, it's a common side effect for some people. I tried another statin, but pretty much the same scenario. I had to use a drug with a different mode of action. Feno-Fibrate is what I use now. Not nearly as effective as Lipitor was, but it keeps the numbers below 190-200, and no side effects.
 
I was on it (fortunately I am not any longer) and didn't have any side effects. My doctor did say that there are lots of options and if I had side effects we could try others and find one that worked for me. Definitely talk with your doctor about other options.
 
I found that I had a statin allergy. I also would get joint aches. I also found that taking any statin turned me into a zombie. Some really made me just lethargic but others made me
have joint pain and various degrees of lethargic. One, I don't remember which, made me not want to do anything and turned me into a grumpy mess. I couldn't go up 5-10 stair steps without gasping for breath. I have some of that any how because of a heart condition but it was much worse taking this statin. I told my Dr. tat I refused to take them anymore. My cardiologist got me interested in a drug by the name of Repatha. It an injection that you give yourself in the thigh. It's done every other week. I told him I like to try it but quickly backed off when I found out how much it costs. At that time, It was about $14,000 per year. He told me he would check to see if anyone had an assistance program for it and later came up with one that provided it free of charge. I started using it and my numbers went down rapidly. Unfortunately I no longer qualify for that program because their earnings requirements were reduced until I didn't fit any longer. My primary Dr. has just prescribed another medicine that he says should reduce my numbers some but that it "Doesn't have the horsepower" of statins. I haven't even gone to the pharmacy yet to pick it up so I don't know the cost or effectiveness.
 
Ill toss out my pharmacy knowledge, two years of pharmacy school & years working as a pharmacy tech, as someone mentioned above statins can be known to cause achy joints and such. Definitely talk to your doctor or give the local pharmacy a call.
 
I had statins for a time and they caused a lot of muscle cramps. Don't like them at all...
 
I have been on it for a month or so and if I do not drink my usual amount of water (80 oz+), I get cramps in my shoulders.
 
from what i understand, It's not unusual to have to try a few different statins until they find one that doesn't cause any symptoms like you are finding....
 
I’ve been on it for years with no side effects:.........so far
 
Thanks for the responses. I've got plans to talk to my cardiologist about it next month when I see him... my cholesterol is fine on the Lipitor just a bit high off of it... but I'm not liking the aches and pains.

I've been on it since 2016 when I got my stent. Maybe it's time to change.
 
Been on it for 5+ years and it definitely can cause muscle aches and fatigue .The statin prevents proper absorption of CO-Q10 enzyme by your muscles which they use .My doctor advised me to take CO-Q10 enzyme supplement and it really seems to help with this.
 
My doc didn't mention COQ10... but regardless, I'm going to ask him about something else. Several other statins have been released with promising fewer side effects.
 
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