Arm Pain, Lipitor, Love Handles

[bob6831]

Hi.
Have started dieting and exercising (seriously, not just talk), since Nov, 2007 and have lost about 35 lbs. I do weights as part of this exercise, 3 days a week. Couple of questions........
1) I have been diagnosed with Bursitis many years ago, sometimes it acts up more than others. I have been having arm pain.. sometimes so much that need to take Motrin, Aleve or put some Bengay type cream on my arms. Have a problem with my left arm at night, since I normally have it over my head, and under my pillow. The weight of my head/pillow on it hurts!
2) I take Lovastatin, the generic of Lipitor for my chloresterol - about 10 years now.
Questions:
Is my arm pain most likely still the bursitis? Does exercise cause it to worsen?
It does seem to be more in my biceps area now.......
Or could it be due to the weights I am doing now? Not sure, but it may have gotten worse since I started the weights approx start of mid Dec 2007.
Or ............ can it be due to the Lipitor, since I have heard/read that muscle pain is one of the things to watch for long term users of this drug.
.......... I know I need to check with the doctor, maybe my better eating and weight loss means I no longer need to take Lipitor. Also, have had some ED (am 63 now)...............
Thx.
Bob
P.S. I also take BP medicine.
Oh.......... any special exercises to get rid of 'love handles'?

[GBug]

Bob--I began a weight training program (4 days per week, an hour per day) in August. At that point I had been on Lipitor (20 mg) for about 10 months. Before I started weight training, I had a couple of minor cases of muscle strain but dismissed it. After I began weight training (only 5-15 lb free weights, maximum 50 pound bench press) I began experiencing more problems with my muscles and soreness. I kept pulling muscles in both hips while doing lunges, pulling shoulder muscles, and arm muscles. Also, within a couple of hours of exercise I would be so sore that I could hardly stand without assistance from a sitting position. When I really got concerned was over the holidays when I was bending over and all of a sudden if felt like I had dislocated my hip. I went to Ortho Surgeon where MRI was done. He said it was a serious case of hip strain. I had to go to physical therapy and be on steroids for 5 weeks. I'm getting better but it's just taking some time. I asked my doc if Lipitor could be causing me to get these injuries. He said it was possible. I talked to my GP and he told me to get off the Lipitor for one month. My doctor also told me about a friend of his that was almost crippled by the time they realized that a statin was causing his muscles to weaken. (continued)

[GBug]

His friend was a full-time fitness teacher--needless to say, he was very active. The doctor told me that the liklihood of developing muscle problems is much greater when one is very active (running, weights, etc) than when one has a sedentary lifestyle. He said this is not very well advertised. I did have a bloodtest (CPK) done that will determine if the muscle is breaking down but my results were inconclusive because I was on mobic and dexamethasone. I am off all of the drugs now and will have my blood tested again next week. A couple of weeks ago, I started weight training again and have not had any problems thus far. BTW, I am using a licensed professional trainer so it's not like I've been using the wrong form, etc. I'm mid-40's and I've never had a pulled muscle in my entire life before this. Hope this helps...didn't mean to go on for so long but I just wanted to include as much information as possible. Next week, my doctor and I will discuss alternatives to statin therapy. In the end, I believe we will find that the lipitor caused my problems. There is no other explanation.....I'm feeling like myself again since I've been off the statin.