I've been on Lipitor for two months now, during the first month my chlorestoral levels dropped from 283 to 178 which was wonderful on only 10 mg. per day. My doc was not satisfied with these results and has increased the prescription to 20 mg. per day. My short term memory is horrible, I'm forgetful and also have sweats - and my weight was down by 11 pounds. I'm also pre diabetic and am on now 1000 mg. of glucophage xr. Since doubling these med's my weight is UP 5 lbs., and I'm hungry all the time. I simply don't understand what is happening. I have a call into the endrochronologist that I consulted with to see what else can be done. It's rather discouraging at this point. I've also tried to go online to find the smart money magazine article on the Lipitor and could not locate it.....anyone have a copy? Thanks, Deb

Just split the 20's in half (far cheaper that way)...DON'T tell your doctor and when he says..."AHA the 20 mg is doing the trick," PLEASE resist the urge to show him up as a fool....but you can giggle internally and belly-laugh when you leave his office.
Only we'll the truth know and I won't spill the beans!

Debbie,

You've already dropped your total cholesterol 105 points, all the way down to 178 on just 10mg Lipitor. Now your doctor goes ahead and doubles the dose because he thinks it's not good enough? What's he trying to do, totally eradicate it from your body? He's dealing with cholesterol, not cancer.

Had same experience...was on 10mg with good results, doctor wanted great so put me on 20mg....then came all the muscle pains...stopped back on 10mg and I feel ok. Trying diet and fish oil to get that extra bit down. The extra 10mg did very little for my numbers and was not worth the pain.

Truly, all the studies (and there have been many) show almost the same blood lipid regulation from 10 mg. Lipitor as with 20 or more.
Add fish oil, CoQ10, and folic acid and you have safe POTENT cholesterol control.

Deb, what were the levels of your other lipid parameters (HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) initially and after the Lipitor? Do you have any other heart disease risk factors besides diabetes (family history, high bloodpressure, smoking, etc.)? How well are you controlling your bloodsugar levels? What was your blood glucose level when diagnosed with pre-diabetes and what was the level on your last fasting blood test? Are you doing anything diet/exercise wise to control your bloodsugar levels?

Many thanks to everyone who has posted a reply. I decided on my own to cut back to the 10 mg. again and will purchase the fish oils that you've mentioned. The hunger has decreased and I'm already feeling much better. I think that with diet and exercise the numbers will come down, it's going to take a while but the results already that I've had (success I suppose!) is quite remarkable! Thanks again, Deb

Deb, what were the levels of your other lipid parameters (HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) initially and after the Lipitor? Do you have any other heart disease risk factors besides diabetes (family history, high bloodpressure, smoking, etc.)? How well are you controlling your bloodsugar levels? What was your blood glucose level when diagnosed with pre-diabetes and what was the level on your last fasting blood test? Are you doing anything diet/exercise wise to control your bloodsugar levels?

Here they are: total chlorestoral went from (in one month) 282 to 173, tri 351 to 182, hdl 48 to 44 and ldl from 190 to 92.6. Glucose was 86, insulin went from 44 (pre glucophage) to 11 then back up to 16. I decided last night to only take one per day vs. doubling on the meds - fight this with continued exercise and diet. the immediate weight gain is horrible, I feel puffy and am upset about this. While I'm very happy about the numbers being down, how much lower do they have to be. I go for retesting on the 23rd. It's just frustrating. Any suggestions? Thanks, Deb

Deb,

There's no need to go any lower....just hold what you've got and the fish oil should raise the HDL enough to give you a stellar picture.

Hi Deb

I had been looking for that article too. I did another search and found it. It is very interesting, especially the fact that 2.5mg of Lipitor will reduce LDL 25% and 10mg will give you a 39% reducton. Sounds like nearly everyone should be getting only 2.5mg. My husband is getting a pill splitter and cutting his 10mg pills in half---and then maybe quarters.

http://www.n3inc.com/SmartMoney%20Reprint_103003Web.pdf

All of this information is extremely helpful and thanks for the article! The fish oil I will purchase and will get that into me so that it can be there on the 23rd (and after). Gosh, I really dislike taking pills, you know?!? Thanks for the guidance! Deb

Hi All,
I am also on lipitor. My total cholesterol was 247. My doc immediately put me on liptor, without even having me try exersize and diet change first. He also waited 8 weeks before he had my first blood test. My total went down in the 150's. I have developed a rash that will not go away and my hips and legs hurt so bad I feel like cutting them off. I was told it is not the lipitor making my pain so bad(ck blood test never done)! I have also gained over 5 pounds in the last 2 months when I have always maintained a steady weight. I have changed my diet alot-so why am I gaining weight :confused:
Would love any replies!
Thanks, B-Jean

B-Jean,

My guess is that it is most likely the Lipitor, and I'm surprised that you are not being checked for any evidence of muscle damage, although it has also been reported (Smart Money Magazine) that muscle damage can begin to occur in patients with normal CK levels. You said that your total cholesterol was 247, but what were your other numbers, such as HDL, LDL, and triglycerides? These are very important factors to take into consideration. In my opinion, a cholesterol level of 150 is low, maybe even too low. But I would like to know what your other numbers were before the Lipitor. Also, please DO NOT disregard those muscle pains.

B-Jean,

In addition to what ARIZONA asked for, what dosage of Lipitor are you on. ORDER your doctor to do a CPK (sometimes called CK) on you. Anything less is malpractice.

Often people taking 20mg, 40mg or more Lipitor get the same results with 10mg. Less dosage=Less side effects.
I found that Co-Q10 supplementation (100 mg./day) eliminated my knee pain so now Lipitor is a completely unmixed blessing for me.

Debbie, first question: Have you ever had a coronary incident or is the doctor's purpose of this drug only to lower your cholesterol?

Next, let me state an interesting couple of facts:
Statin medications have been shown to reduce the risk of re-occurence of heart attacks in coronary patients, but have done NOTHING to prove reducing risk in healthy non-patients with high cholesterol. There is not one study known to mankind that has proven reducing your cholesterol will keep you alive longer or prevent a heart attack. Secondly, statins work just as well for coronary patients regardless of the degree cholesterol is lowered. Another words, they work on heart attack victims by some other mechanism other than their cholesterol lowering affect.



I've been on Lipitor for two months now, during the first month my chlorestoral levels dropped from 283 to 178 which was wonderful on only 10 mg. per day. My doc was not satisfied with these results and has increased the prescription to 20 mg. per day. My short term memory is horrible, I'm forgetful and also have sweats - and my weight was down by 11 pounds. I'm also pre diabetic and am on now 1000 mg. of glucophage xr. Since doubling these med's my weight is UP 5 lbs., and I'm hungry all the time. I simply don't understand what is happening. I have a call into the endrochronologist that I consulted with to see what else can be done. It's rather discouraging at this point. I've also tried to go online to find the smart money magazine article on the Lipitor and could not locate it.....anyone have a copy? Thanks, Deb

Statins HAVE shown excellent reduction of risk for people without previous heart attacks:
A summary of SEVERAL excellent studies is presented in Medscape literature:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/445150

Debbie, first question: Have you ever had a coronary incident or is the doctor's purpose of this drug only to lower your cholesterol?

Next, let me state an interesting couple of facts:
Statin medications have been shown to reduce the risk of re-occurence of heart attacks in coronary patients, but have done NOTHING to prove reducing risk in healthy non-patients with high cholesterol. There is not one study known to mankind that has proven reducing your cholesterol will keep you alive longer or prevent a heart attack. Secondly, statins work just as well for coronary patients regardless of the degree cholesterol is lowered. Another words, they work on heart attack victims by some other mechanism other than their cholesterol lowering affect.


My doctor placed me on the Lipitor due to high cholesterol levels that could not be reduced by diet (also diabetic type II here and on metaforin) - with a history of family heart attacks, I was a next to perfect candidate to be on this drug. Unfortunately my three weeks on the 20 mg. left me with some short term memory loss so I dropped back down to the 10 mg. per day and feel much better. My GI trac is totally upset, one way or the other and anything but normal from being on these two drugs! I went for blood work on Monday and will be getting those results by Thursday of this week. I've been exercising 5 x week 30 + minutes so hopefully things will be further improved. It's quite frustrating to say the least. Thanks for the info. Best, Deb