Lipitor. Zolcor. Crestor. My SIL was moved off of Zolcor and onto Lipitor. She’s experiencing muscle pain that nearly prevents her from moving at all. Her doctors can’t seem to find anything wrong with her. Then the pharmacist said she thought it was the Lipitor (she’s been on it under 6 months). Does this sound like it could be the culprit? Is one statin less likely to produce side-effects than another?
I’m not asking for medical advice. I’m asking for opinions. I promise I will not perform a surgical procedure on anyone…blah, blah, blah.
Thanks doctors and others for your anecdotal or professional input.
If you scroll down to the last couple of pages you’ll see adverse events reported. I mean, they’ll report just about anything, but at least it gives you a feel for what side effects are known or have been reported.
When I was first put on Lipitor, I remember being tested (blood) within a couple weeks, and then a month or so after for some kidney related side effects. I also remember reading that there are some very few cases of people having muscle related problems (serious, too). And in particular an interaction with grapefruit juice causing the muscle problems. Do you know if she drinks grapefruit juice regularly ?
Certainly her doctor should be aware of these side-effects, and would know whether the Lipitor was a possible factor.
The thing to check if a person is complaining of muscle pain is to see whether or not the patient’s CPK (a muscle enzyme) levels are elevated. If so, by how much. This is done by a simple blood test. Too much elevation can damage the kidneys, but it usually doesn’t go that high from your typical case of statin-induced muscle pains.
All statins run the risk of muscle pains and elevated CPK levels. There is raging debate as to which ones are best/worst in this regard.
Muscle pains from statins are generally found in all muscles. Any muscle palpated will be tender. If the person is complaining of a localized neck or backache, it’s less likely to be statin related.
The risk of myalgias (muscle pain) and rhabdomyolysis (muscle destruction) is higher if the person is also taking some other cholesterol-lowering agents, like fenofibrate, gemfibrizol, or niacin. Also, dehydration (especially during vigorous exercise) raises the risk.
This might be related. There are a lot of commercials on about cortisol. Apparently there is a cortisol inhibitor that fights ‘that stubborn belly fat’. A friend of mine told me once that inhibiting cortisol can cause heart failure. (I don’t remember what she said the mechanism was.) Is that true?
Thanks, Doc. She has pain all over. She’s extremely overweight and was drinking heavily until the last couple months. Her pain is such that it hurts to bend over to scoop the kitty boxes or walk farther than from one room to another.
FYI…she’s without income at the moment and is using a doctor that is provided through some agency (not Medicare). She doesn’t have much choice in who she sees. The doctor is on vacation and she decided to go off this medication without his OK to see if she improves. Doc won’t be back for a few weeks. Her cholesterol is in the 220 zone. I thought this was somewhat ill-advised…
Actually, the pharmacist is the one who told SIL that her pain was probably due to the Lipitor. I still don’t understand why the doctor doesn’t have a stand-in for his 3-week vacation, but SIL is notorious for sitting like a lump and being as un-proactive as she can be regarding her health. She’s the kind of patient who would need to be told to put her head in the sink if her hair burst into flames.
