A Tale of Atorvastatin

When I first started taking Lipitor a decade ago for high cholesterol, I was put on 20mg pills. Within a couple weeks I began developing crippling joint pain -- my knees, elbows, wrists, ankles, hips, neck, back, even my jaw hurt so bad I was loathe to move. After about a month of this I decided to ask my doctor if this was normal, and the dipshit told me that sometimes Lipitor had these side effects. Thanks a lot doc!

So he took me off Lipitor for six months, then started me in again at a lower 10mg dose. No pain this time.

But a year later a blood test showed my cholesterol numbers were back up to my pre-med range.

He suggested I take two of the 10mg pills per day. I was reluctant, but we tried it out and a year later my numbers were back down, with no pain.

About this time Lipitor came off patent and generic atorvastatin was 1/10 the cost. My pharmacy switched me back to 20mg pills and the pain came back. Talking it over with the pharmacist, he made the startling suggestion that maybe the formulation was different between the 20mg pills -- which were one manufacturer -- and the 10mg, which were another. How can this be? Different formulations for a prescription drug?

Anyway he recommended trying the 20s from the manufacturer that made my 10s. A year later my numbers were good, and no (or minimal) pain.

Then last month when refilling my pharmacist warned me that this was yet a third manufacturer, because my normal brand (Sandoz) was temporarily unavailable. This was also the timeframe during which I quit my job, started exercising more, started swimming again, and did some very heavy construction (honey-dos). So I didn't immediately make the connection when I started feeling fatigue, my shoulders felt out of joint, and most prominently the bottoms of my feet ached like I'd hiked 20 miles. I was severely hobbled when I first got up, walking like a 90 year old.

It didn't dawn on me until today that this could be the atorvastatin. Different symptoms than the other bad manufacturer, but believably in the same ballpark.

So I had my prescription redone today (Sandoz was back in stock) and we;ll see if I feel better by July. I sure hope so.

Jesus, I wonder how many people are crippled by the pharmaceutical industry every year and never know it?

A friend of mine recently went through a bout with Lipitor. It was nearly debilitating, so he got off of it.

Some years ago, I got a call from my doctor's office that my last physical showed a high cholesterol level and that they had called in a prescription for me for Lipitor. I never filled the prescription; I just changed my diet a bit. When I went back to the doc six months later, my cholesterol had fallen sixty points into the good range. I also lost twenty pounds.

What bothered me was that the doctor never suggested changing my diet. I would think that's the first thing to try. A hell of a lot better that pills if it works. Now, nearly twenty years later, my cholesterol is still low.

Doctors don't get a kickback from diet change.

May I ask what changes you made to drop sixty points?  I have tried several diet changes but none made any difference.  I have given up:
* real eggs
* beef
* dairy
* pizza and other cheese-based foodstuffs
* processed meats like sausage, bacon, jerky, etc.
* I get at least 60% of my protein from plants now
* I gave up real milk for soy milk
* my alcohol consumption is down to about one glass of wine per week
* I am exercising more
* I had to give up tea -- my tummy was upset every time (didn't used to happen)

Unfortunately I have not been able to lose a fucking ounce.  I know I need to drop 40 pounds and that'll affect my HDL.  But I've always had trouble losing weight -- the only time in my life I ever got lighter (20 Lbs!) was right after my divorce when I basically stopped eating.  I spent all my time indoors feeling sorry for myself.

My diet change wasn't directed at anything specifically - except ice cream; I gave up ice cream. Other than that, I just started eating half as much. Surprisingly, it didn't take me long to get used to it.

Yeah, I still miss ice cream. I gave it up about 30 years ago.

Portion control is the key. My problem is, I have some undiagnosed stomach disorder -- lactose intolerance, gluten allergy, cellulose intolerance, or some combination -- that gives me nearly constant discomfort in my GI tract that feels EXACTLY like hunger. It gets worse when I eat, but it's intolerable on an empty stomach.

Well I guess it's only been two days I've been on the Sandoz atorvastatin but I'm going to have to give it up for a few weeks, get that shit out of my system. My joint pain has been excruciating, to where I cannot sleep at night or walk when first getting out of bed or up from a chair. Once I get moving the symptoms gradually recede, but wowsa this is unacceptable.

Listen to me, an old man talking about his aches and pains. So this is what I've become.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Listen to me, an old man talking about his aches and pains.  So this is what I've become.

Oy! Don't get me started.

Been off Liptor for, what, a few days now and have noticed little improvement in my heel pain. Doing some of that famous "internet self-diagnosis" I think I have plantar fasciitis.

Symptoms:
*foot pain in the morning
*sore heels and arches

Causes:
*overweight
*increased exercise
*unusually high arches

Yup, yup and yup.

Treatment:
*rest
*OTC pain pills
*footwear with improved support

So, basically, it all comes down to "ISGO" again (it sucks getting old).

Oy!

I had a bout with that a few years ago. No lipitor; just got up one morning and my foot hurt, and got worse over the following days. Went to see a podiatrist and he said I needed more arch support, so I bought a pair of shoes that had removable insoles and found some arch supports that relieved much of the pain. After about a year, I went back to standard insoles and have no problems with it since.

When I quit work I stopped wearing my good shoes, which had a rocker walking sole and extra high arch supports. Been wearing sneaks or barefoot mostly since then.

Guess it's time to move those supports.

Sigh. ISGO.

Started Atorvastatin again last night.  Been off it since June 11 or 12 and have noticed slight improvement -- still have plantar fasciitis and still get awakened multiple times every night by excruciating knee pain, but at least I'm able to exercise and get around during the day.

So it's time to try the Sandoz drug again.  According to my pharmacist, I've been taking Sandoz all along, up until the previous prescription when they couldn't get it and had to go with "Dr. Reddy's Laboratory" which, despite the friendly name, comes from India.  That shit caused me all sorts of grief.  God knows what they cut it with -- botulin?  Anthrax?  Ground rhino horn?  I should have it analyzed and file a lawsuit.

Pharmacist explained that I don't really have a choice of manufacturers. Insurance will cover only the lowest price generic -- if I decided I needed a particular manufacturer I would pay the whole cost ($300/mo.) and insurance wouldn't pay anything. So I guess I can experiment with taking two 10mg pills or one 20mg per day, but that's about it.

Or somehow lose 40 lbs and go off it altogether. Let's see, which leg do I use the least?