I have been prescribed Lipitor as well. Bought it and now it is sitting on cupboard for several months. I was diagnosed in January and started Janumet in April. I am also afraid to take Lipitor. I am on a low fat diet but am thinking about trying the LCHF (low carb/high fat) diet which many people on Facebook (Type 2 Diabetes Weight Loss Support Group) says controls diabetes and cholesterol. I am going to gradually change my way of eating and see how it affects me.

My Doc would not put me on Lipitor he wanted me to try Zetia. I have taken several different Statins and all of them give me cramps in my legs and feet so I quit taken any of them.

I watch my diet and my Cholesterol has come down on it's own.

I agree with Veronica a low-fat diet and watch your carbs is the way to go.

I took Lipitor for several months and i had terrible leg pains. The pain would start in my upper thigh near my buttocks and shoot down my leg to my calf. When i told my dr about it she told me i had sciatica. She wanted to put me on more meds for that. Well i ran out of the Lipitor and stopped taking it. When i went for my next round of blood work i told the dr i hadn't taken it for over a month and she said she would see what my cholesterol level was before having me continue to take it. Turns out with taking the meds for a couple of months and the diet changes i made my cholesterol level was within the normal range and she didn't put me back on it. Since about 2 weeks after i stopped taking it in December i haven't had leg pains. So i will say that there are some side effect of it. If you can make changes to your eating habits and exercise you may be able to lower your cholesterol with out using it.
Good luck.

I love Glimperide too...it's my favorite and really works. My husband has been on Lipitor for many, many years....but they took him off of it, because his liver enzymes were too high. But what else is new.
It's not for everybody, but perhaps a short jaunt on it, to see if it's right for you, may help you figure out if you'd like to continue. Who knows, you may not get any side effects at all.
My husband now takes 12 different pills....

Thanks, everyone. I agree that changing my diet might be the answer. I never eat fast food and rarely eat meat. But I eat too much since I retired.

I do pravastatin, only issue I had with this is muscle cramps in legs which tend to be a common side effect but when my doctor lowered the dose, I didn't have the problem

This is not meant to scare you but I am going to be honest with you.

I tried to take statins and my muscles hurt so bad I thought I was dying...I drove quickly to my doc and he said go off this and never take it again. You cannot take these meds. This happens a lot. now

All of the statins work the same, just different names..don't let the doc tell you different. Also, they can cause 'muscle wasting disease'....they don't tell you that either and your heart is a muscle.

Once I was in a big book store and talking to a lady studying. She told me she had just quit her job with the federal gov because she could not stand to see what drugs they were approving. She was going into research. She told me her brother in law took statins and died from that disease. She begged him to stop and he would not, ended up in a wheel chair and died.

That being said....Fish Oil has dropped my husbands cholesterol down a lot. He takes 1,200 mg capsule every day. The doc encouraged him to take it and said it does work.

Everyone can either do their research or continue to believe the commercials....but in the end we all only have one body and chance to take care of it. Best wishes...hope this helps someone !

I have been on Lipitor since last October when I had a heart attack and have not had any problems with it. My total cholesterol at the time was only 182 and as of 3 months ago was 127, following strict diet, exercise, and a 40 lb weight loss.I have labs scheduled for next week and anticipate it being even lower. I see my primary 2 days after labwork, but he won't touch my cardiac meds. I see my cardioligist in Oct and really hope to come off the statin!! Am really hoping my primary will let me stop taking Januvia(am also on Metformin).

Bella479,
What kind of fish oil is the best to buy? Thank you.

Veronica.....he has always used Naturemade Brand of Fish Oil. Read up on it. It is considered to thin the blood so always tell the dr for your file that you are on it. If you need surgery they would want you off it a few weeks before having it.

He also takes 2,000 mg of Garlic (odor free) which is good for vascular and circulatory system.

He is 65 yrs old ... takes no meds dr said he is very healthy. Has always went to the YMCA 3X a week never smoked and does not drink alcohol.

sorry forgot this .... he takes 1200 mg Fish Oil.

I started out with Lipitor, but now I am on a generic, down to 1 pill a night. I also take Metformin. I find that sugar is what makes me miserable. When I overdue sugar (which I know we shouldn't be eating), that is when I get leg cramps. The Lipitor really helped me, and the generic is doing the job. My cholesterol is normal.

Thank you Bella479!! ((Hug))

Don't just not take the medication. Call your dr and talk to him/her about it. Numbers that are even just a little high can be deadly over time. If you don't want to take Lipitor ask for a different option. But you must know what ALL medications have some possible side effects. I don't know how old you are or how long you've been diabetic, but yes your meds are going to change over time. Yes you'll likely be prescribed more meds over time. Best way to lengthen the time between adding meds is taking them as prescribed. Doing any less has your pancreas working overtime and will wear it out faster.

Trust your doctor or get a new one. Trust him/her enough to talk to him about your concerns.

Actually what I have found is that drs do not know everything and doing your own research can and does save lives. Read up on your condition, be knowledgeable and always write down questions you have AND expect answers.

Every med can of course have side effects for sure....so be sure that dr goes into detail with you regarding the meds he advises. Some meds can be fatal if given to the wrong person. Prime example is statin drugs there are many goingoff them and many who are crippled staying on them....no brainer for me.

Remember: it is your body and you make the final decision what to put in it based on how it could affect you negatively. People put WAY too much trust in drs they are human and they get burnt out.