Lipitor/Muscle Aches

[tgager]

I have been on Lipitor for about a year now. I have on-and-off generalized muscle aches and a very painful right calf from time-to-time. Do any of you find that the aches wax-and-wane? or if they are related to the Lipitor would it be a constant ache? I also started taking Tricor a number of months ago and the first night on it I could hardly get out of our recliner due to muscle aches - very painful. The next morning I woke up fine.

The pharmacist asked me yesterday if I had any muscle aches with my Lipitor refill - I had assumed the aches would start at the beginning of taking the medication, not a year into it. Can anyone clarify this or have similar situation?

[heart44]

Originally Posted by tgager

I have been on Lipitor for about a year now. I have on-and-off generalized muscle aches and a very painful right calf from time-to-time. Do any of you find that the aches wax-and-wane? or if they are related to the Lipitor would it be a constant ache? I also started taking Tricor a number of months ago and the first night on it I could hardly get out of our recliner due to muscle aches - very painful. The next morning I woke up fine.

The pharmacist asked me yesterday if I had any muscle aches with my Lipitor refill - I had assumed the aches would start at the beginning of taking the medication, not a year into it. Can anyone clarify this or have similar situation?

Some experience side effects as soon as they start taking a statin and others take statins for years before experiencing side effects. Many report the appearance of side affects when dosage is increased or when you are switched from one statin to another.

Are you taking Lipitor and Tricor at the same time?

Are you taking CoQ10?
You should take at least 100mg of CoQ10, and CoQ10 gel [capsules] are preferred over powered CoQ10.

Statins deplete your natural stores of CoQ10, that is the reason to take a supplement. Foods that contain CoQ10: Oily fish such as salmon, spinach and whole grains.

The reason why CoQ10 is important:
What factors might contribute to a deficiency of coenzyme Q?
A wide variety of heart-related problems increase risk of coenzyme Q deficiency. These problems include arrhythmia, angina, heart attack, mitral valve prolapse, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and congestive heart failure. Problems with the gums (gingiva) and stomach ulcers can also signal deficiency of this nutrient.

What medications affect coenzyme Q?
The cholesterol-lowering statin drugs – including lovastatin (Me****r TM), pravastatin, and simvastatin – all lower levels of coenzyme Q in the blood. This reduction of coenzyme Q supplies is ironic since these cholesterol-lowering drugs are given to decrease risk of heart disease.

Source for "reason why CoQ10 is important": World's Heathiest Foods

[Lenin]

tgager,
I wouldn't associate Lipitor with the occasional sore calf a year after starting Lipitor. That condition is just too common to give it much credence...try more calcium and magnesium in your diet for the calf cramp.
On the other hand, not being able to get out of a recliner the day after starting fenofibrate would definitely raise the red flag on the a tie in with drug induced myalgia.

Co Q-10 supplementation is indeed a good idea with either drug.

[vipergg22]

Originally Posted by tgager

I have been on Lipitor for about a year now. I have on-and-off generalized muscle aches and a very painful right calf from time-to-time. Do any of you find that the aches wax-and-wane? or if they are related to the Lipitor would it be a constant ache? I also started taking Tricor a number of months ago and the first night on it I could hardly get out of our recliner due to muscle aches - very painful. The next morning I woke up fine.

The pharmacist asked me yesterday if I had any muscle aches with my Lipitor refill - I had assumed the aches would start at the beginning of taking the medication, not a year into it. Can anyone clarify this or have similar situation?

Whats the matter with these doctors , mixing statins and fenofibrates is a no no . You are just asking for trouble . They specifically warn against even in the warnings.



The combined use of TRICOR and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors should be avoided unless the benefit of further alterations in lipid levels is likely to outweigh the increased risk of this drug combination.

In a single-dose drug interaction study in 23 healthy adults the concomitant administration of TRICOR and pravastatin resulted in no clinically important difference in the pharmacokinetics of fenofibric acid, pravastatin or its active metabolite 3a-hydroxy iso-pravastatin when compared to either drug given alone.

The combined use of fibric acid derivatives and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors has been associated, in the absence of a marked pharmacokinetic interaction, in numerous case reports, with rhabdomyolysis, markedly elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels and myoglobinuria, leading in a high proportion of cases to acute renal failure.

The use of fibrates alone, including TRICOR, may occasionally be associated with myositis, myopathy, or rhabdomyolysis. Patients receiving TRICOR and complaining of muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness should have prompt medical evaluation for myopathy, including serum creatine kinase level determination. If myopathy/myositis is suspected or diagnosed, TRICOR therapy should be stopped.

[slr26]

Last Saturday we were playing dominoes with two other couples. . He developed these cramps in his back and in his legs and stopped the Lipitor. He started taking "red yeast rice" and the cramps went away and his cholesterol has stayed down , under 200. When he checked with his doctor, he was told to keep taking it since it seemed to be working. Have you ever heard of red yeast rice?? Im thinking of stopping Lipator, and trying the red yeast rice.
Shirley