User Reviews for Lipitor

For High Cholesterol "I’ve been on Pravastatins 20 mg. For 5 yrs. Cholesterol was 225. It never went down. I do enjoy my cocktails, wine in the evening..nothing changed. My liver enzymes for 18 years always stayed at 20-21 ( range is 4-43) in August 2018, went in for my quarterly bloodwork..no change. Doctor put me on Lipitor 20 mg with next bloodwork to be done in January. Well, I also started the Keto diet in January..high fat, protein diet..low carbs, sugar. Surprise!! My cholesterol went from 226 to 165! Glucose was down and very good! However..it compromised my liver.. my enzymes skyrocketed to 99 and 110 (again range 4-43) he immediately took me off Lipitor...now, he doesn’t want me to drink any alcohol for 2 months..test will be in March..so, what’s the culprit?? Diet or Lipitor? He said to continue with diet, just cut the fat down.."

Lilwsky (taken for 6 months to 1 year) February 4, 2019

For High Cholesterol "Severe muscle pain, and skin pain couldn’t stand my bra touching my skin, my Dr. took me off of it, she said I should have let her know sooner she would have changed it."

Leisa (taken for 5 to 10 years) January 31, 2019

For High Cholesterol "I am an otherwise healthy 23 year old female. My new doctor ran a battery of blood tests and discovered my total cholesterol was 272! Started me on 20mg lipitor which brought it down to 202 after 2 months. Dosage was increased to 80mg since I have experienced no side effects. It is now at 142 after 4 months in total. Doctor is considering adding something else to get it down a bit more in 2 more months."

Beth233 (taken for 1 to 6 months) August 7, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I'm 81 years old and have been on 40mg to 80 mg of lipitor for at least 10 years. It works wonders. No side effects."

whitehead (taken for 10 years or more) July 24, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I did not have a clue that Lipitor could give me so many severe side effects! Lower back, back of my legs, headaches, running nose, memory lost. I go blank for a few seconds, & lastly, speech impediment!!!! I have a medical appointment w/ my prime doctor next week & I will discuss w/him...."

Tainbow (taken for 1 to 6 months) July 15, 2018

For High Cholesterol "Been taking 20mg for 3 months. Zero side effects. Triglycerides were 311. Most recent blood test showed 125, which is in normal range. Good cholesterol was 23. Now is 50. Very effective drug. Sorry to all those people who are having negative side effects. Try something else and good luck. All medications work for some and not others. Telling people not to try this drug because it didn't work for you is just plain ignorant. The world doesn't revolve around you."

DUKSTER (taken for 1 to 6 months) July 1, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I too am taking lipitor. But my problem is how they change the shape and color. Now they are giving me peach and oval shape ones. I would like to know if anybody has these kind before."

Meanmawmaw (taken for 1 to 2 years) May 10, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I have been on Lipitor for 6 months. My cholesterol went down from 220 to 156, I was tested 2 months ago, therefore I hope it is going down. Fortunately, I don't have any side effect, Thank goodness."

Rlanguasco (taken for 1 to 6 months) March 18, 2018

For High Cholesterol "My cholesterol level was 322 and my doctor prescribed Lipitor. I started to feel very weak. I was in pain constantly and I felt very tired and sore. I could not even do my daily chores. I thought I had some kind of flu. I continued to take Lipitor for about a year, and the symptoms just got worse. After the second year of taking Lipitor and my constant pain, soreness, and tiredness, and I lost my appetite. The doctor ordered a liver enzyme test. Lipitor was damaging my liver and I also was experiencing trouble with my kidneys. Though I didn't realized it then, Lipitor was the culprit of my aches and weakness, and was not effective in lowering my cholesterol much (only to 308 after taking Lipitor for more than two years.) I am not taking Lipitor anymore and I don't feel tired and exhausted. My doctor continues to ordered a liver enzyme test every year. It has never come back normal anymore. Please be careful!"

Be aware! (taken for 2 to 5 years) February 6, 2018

For High Cholesterol "Have been taking low dosage of this drug for 10 years. It's very effective. Has lowered my cholesterol dramatically, combined with exercise and low fat diet."

S.R. January 11, 2018

For High Cholesterol "I had tried about 3 statins and could not take them due to the aches and energy loss. I them was given lipitor. I took it for 3 months with no problem, then I start having memory loss. I stopped the drug and that had now been about 2 years. The loss is better but still comes and goes. Being a pharmacist I am keenly aware of side effects and that is major!!"

MsAnniee (taken for 1 to 6 months) January 10, 2018

For High Cholesterol "About 2 weeks ago my Dr put me on Lipitor for my cholesterol. I've been having all kinds of side effects from it but I didn't realize it until today, I've been beside myself with itching, I keep getting these stinging sensations, like I'm being attacked by a colony of fire ants, I'm prone to insomnia (very severe) and it made it so much worse, despite the fact that I have been feeling I was coming down with something serious (constantly exhausted). I've even developed blisters in my NOSE! and I have the red spots it's insane. No joke I seriously have about 80% of the listed side effects even the unreported and rare. I hope no one ever has to deal with this craziness."

breezyzmoon (taken for less than 1 month) October 3, 2017

For High Cholesterol "I have been on Lipitor for two weeks and will stop tomorrow. My legs are hurting and cannot sleep. For the first few days I was fine but now I ache from my hips down to my calfs. I also have stomach cramps. This is not for me, will tell Dr. this week and hopefully can try something else."

Beach Tower September 8, 2017

For High Cholesterol "I started taking generic lipitor in February/March 2017. My lab work came back and total cholesterol was 311. At first I started taking 20mg a day. By the 9th day I was an emotional mess. Anxiety, anger, confusion, leg pain, stomach pain and heartburn. I decided to take the 20mg every other day. All the side effects disappeared. Works great. I heard back from my Dr who says to continue the every other day dosage because its working and its tolerable for me."

Sensitive to all meds (taken for 1 to 6 months) May 31, 2017

For High Cholesterol "My Dr prescribed Lipitor (40mg) four months ago for high cholesterol of 342. I started feeling like my lower legs weighed a ton. Then it also went into my knees and behind the knees. The pain was unbearable, especially in the muscles circling the knee with more severe pain above and towards the outer side of both knees. My doctor thinks it's from an injury I suffered 11 years ago and sent me for X-rays. I tried telling him it felt more like muscle than joint pain, but at this point, the pain was so bad that I wasn't even sure anymore. Confusion started a few weeks ago, where I was struggling to think of words. 3 days ago, I quit taking it, and I slowly am feeling better. Thankfully I found these reviews today. Things are making more sense"

56 year old female May 30, 2017

For High Cholesterol "When I was originally put on this statin it was on a low dose of 10 mg a day to reduce cholesterol. I had or recall very few side effects. I combined the drug with exercise and diet. My cholesterol was lowered and remained low. Doctors have kept me on the drug and now at the age of 71 I now experience headaches a bloated rumbling and very uncomfortable digestive system, hives, muscle aches and other adverse effects that now interfere with my diet and exercise. Doctors seem to be reluctant to lower doses but these adverse effects now materially are affecting my quality of life."

Eric1234 March 17, 2017

For High Cholesterol "I had extremely high hopes for this cholesterol buster and had the best attitude and hopes for this medication but definitely did not work out. My cholesterol level was 225 and my left carotid artery via a Doppler was 50-70 percent narrowed. Changed my diet immediately, started exercising, put plans in play to stop smoking and in thinking with Lipitor I'd give myself the best possible chance to reverse the plaque. Doctor prescribed 10mg, was only able to tolerate it a week. The first 4 days, no side effects, excited as heck, the 5th day off and on I started experiencing a twighlight zone brain fog that would last 10-15 minutes. Felt like a couldn't clinch a thought, felt foggy, happened 2x the 5th day, 4x the 6th day, no more......"

Cindy707 March 15, 2017

For High Cholesterol "Started with 10mg daily. After 3 months my cholesterol level just in borderline, so the dosage was increased to 40mg daily. This dose gave me muscle tissue pain on my right knee so I self discontinued."

cholblood December 30, 2016

For High Cholesterol "Atorvastatin did lower my cholesterol quite a bit, but within the first couple of weeks I developed muscle pain in the back of one knee. After another week, I developed muscle pain in the calf of the other leg. My doctor doesn't think this was caused by Atorvastatin. He believes it is arthritis. He ordered an xray of knee and blood test for liver function. Waiting for results. If pain is from arthritis. I will continue taking medicine. If Atorvastatin is affecting muscles or liver, I may discontinue or ask to switch to another statin."

Senor Citizen (taken for 1 to 6 months) November 1, 2016

For Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease "This drug is the absolute worst in the world for me. I have been on it for five years or more and being in excruciating pain for three of those years. I have been on Tylenol three, Codiene contin and hydromorphone and the doctor argued every time when I went in to get more pain meds. My legs have been in unbelievable pain for so long I can't honestly think of the time when I was not in pain. I just started reading about this and stopped taking Lipitor and told the doctor that I would never go back on it again. In about a month I have started to feel better but I am left with weak legs and a huge bill from the chiropractor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, exercise therapist and naturopathic doctor. I have had three trips to the hospital emergency department with no help in the long run. I am very very angry. I hope my lingering pain goes away soon."

Lollipop 2 September 14, 2016

For High Cholesterol "Here is the trouble with these sites - the skew towards horror stories. There is also a handful who claim that statins are "poison" and "should be taken off the market". This is, clearly, an overreaction by those who have the adverse reaction, which - despite what you would think from reading these reviews - are very low frequency events. Statins are probably as close to a wonder drug as modern pharmacology has ever gotten. Yes, there are those who are intolerant, allergic, or simply confused as to the genesis of their symptoms. The truth is, statins work for the vast majority of people taking them, and they work well. Having said this, I am also perplexed as to why some folks in their later 70s or even 80s are taking them?"

98zeitgeist78 (taken for 5 to 10 years) August 14, 2016

For High Cholesterol "I am 65 and active, to include hiking, walking in the gym yard work, etc.. Been on 10 mg of Lipitor or generic for 20 years. Within the past 2 years I have experienced increased lower leg discomfort and within the past year what appears to be lower leg muscle loss, chronic plantar fascia, leg muscle tingling, and a feeling of weakness in my lower legs. My primary care doc, who is Lipitor intolerant, attributed it all to age, cervicle stenosis, etc. Have quit Lipitor and Prylosec (been on this for 10 years) and will readdress with my doctor (who's an internal medicine doctor) when I can get in to see him again in 3 weeks. Some remediation of mental fogginess which has plagued me recently, but to date no releaf on leg issues."

Skip69 April 28, 2016

For High Cholesterol "This medicine did a number on my legs. Had numbness, the legs felt like led, wobbly. I had been a mail carrier and walked 10-11 miles and day, retired but continued to walk 4-5 miles a day besides being very active with DIY projects and part time job. Took Lipitor earlier this year. It got the numbers down, but I had 3 ER visits in one week and spent the night in the hospital because my legs were acting up and it scared me and my heart did weird things. Lot of stress for me and my family. We have good insurance, but this will still probably be around $2000. I would not recommend Lipitor to anyone-there are other cholesterol meds out there."

former mail man April 17, 2016

For High Cholesterol, Familial Homozygous "This caused me severe muscle pain and cramps ."

Andyman January 10, 2016

For High Cholesterol "I took 40mgs. Lipitor daily for 2 weeks & experienced complete muscle paralysis in my legs & arms. Had to stop taking Lipitor. Next Dr prescribed Crestor. Crestor worked alright for 1 month. Then again I had paralysis in my arms & legs. The paralysis disappeared in several days after stopping the cholesterol lowering meds. Dr. Then prescribed Niaspan (prescription strength Niacin) that also produced the paralysis in my thighs and arms , within 2 weeks . Paralysis disappeared in 2 to 3 days after stopping each med. Dr. Decided I need to take 500 mgs. Niacin with food 4 times per day & that has helped me greatly, w/o any paralysis. I also decreased foods that are high in cholesterol & exercise more often. I am 72 yrs of age."

MartinelliHazabelli December 23, 2015