I was on Lipitor for years !! you talk about achey Muscles and a weaking feeling and Pain it sucks then i was put on Vytorin for 2 yrs of late recently my Dr called 3 mnths ago and said Blunty i want you in my office ASAP to talk about your Meds ! for your cholesterol! That drug was taking my eye sight away right before me he said iam going to tell you this because i dont you to worry Lipitor & Vytorin do more harm then good .. so now he put me on Creastor ..some of the Pain and Muscle spasms have gone away but not all and pain has dis calmed after 4 mnths to this date of taking creator and? CREASTOR works better as they advertise it !! hidin secrets in Lipitor & Vytoryn are under ground!! meaning you dont know the bad side effects until its too Late !! Barry

Your doctor was right about lipitor doing more harm than good. Crestor can cause muscle aches too. Any statin can do this.

Hi to Med Lab and all...

When I had my visit with my neurologist (who is a sweetie and very caring), we talked about statins. She's the first doctor that ever ever said to me that all statin manufactuers are in for a long road of law suits. And she also said, the way we all feel, that unless a drug is tested to be proved to be needed, why take it? Hooray for MedLad and this great doctor...!

Meadow, sounds like you have a good neuro. Neurologists are the ones who have to deal everyday with people who have muscle problems from statins. They are the ones who witness the injured patients. She is right. The lawsuits are one day gonna fly- Big time.
Give your neurologist a hug for me, and tell her its from MedLab.

Hmm who do i contact to start my suit? lol

Barry, the suits have already begun. We just need a BIG WIN, and that should pave the way for others.

In the meantime, talk. Share with your friends, family, co-workers about the dangers of these drugs. Doing so can save lives.

my Brother in Law stopped taking Lipitor a year ago and he suffered a H/attack but i am worse off then he is

OK as I have written before I had to go off statins due to elevated CK levels. Then my dr put me on Zetia and all I got were higher cholesterol numbers and high high tri-g's. Well new dr put me on gemfibrozil and I started with OTC slo-release 500 mg nicancin and GUESS what? Bad Cholesterol down to 122, good cholesterol at 44 and I forget tri-s number but BELOW 150....I am stoked stoked stoked and beleive me those numbers were all screwed up back in AUG. I got the big thumbs up from dr,he attributes me being able to lower the tris and raise the good with the NIACIN. It is cheap, OTC, one bottle at 10$ is over a month and a half of supply. Go ME!!!!!!!!!!

Im glad you are happy with your new doctor. Its interesting how a $10 bottle of niacin can effect blood lipids beter than statins.

Was this just over the counter niacin, or was it niaspan?

obviously you are very excited about these changes. Had you been diagnosed with heart disease?

to med lab....I take gemfibrozil (lopid) costs under 10$ for rx, the niacin is OTC 500 mg slo release...the niaspam I took were samples but costs 35$ as rx so otc I go...dr said it works and now he wants hubby to use it as his good cholesterol is low...LOL I am playing the dr here...other drs said niacin is overrated...I do not belive it at all...plus I eat yogurt every day and I think somehow that works too...did it before years ago...apples and yogurt and my levels came down even with the damn lipitor...

lorelie, I think your joy itself over your numbers will benefit your health. Joy takes away stress, and stress causes all sorts of health problems.

The reason I asked you if you have ever been diagnosed with heart disease is important. I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but rather wanted to direct you to some facts about the niacin you may not have been told.

Drugs like Niaspan are used to treat those who have already had a heart attack. It clearly states at the top of the page on the niaspan website that "NIASPAN has not been shown to prevent heart disease". This is true. Yet doctors will prescibe niacin products as a preventative anyway.

Niacin products will, without a doubt lower LDL and raise HDL, and make for a rosey lab report, and they will do this without as much risk as statins.

But will it prevent a future cardiovascular event in individuals who have no heart disease?

To measure this, you will need an NNT score on the drug, with your sex and age group. This will tell you exactly how many people in your sex and age group needed to take the drug to spare one person a heart attack or stroke.

I'm not saying the niacin isn't benefitting you. It may very well be. I just didn't want you to be led into a false sense of security that you are "safe" on home plate.

I was on Lipitor And before you know it I was rushed to hospital to have a spinal tap because they thought I had Gillian Barnes disease! No anesthtic there was no time so I did the spinal tap and we all discovered it was the Lipitor! I then was givin another med similar same thing leg cramps difficulty walking etc. So now they have me trying this Slo-Niacin except I have to take it half hour after I take bayer. I hate how it makes me feel. The flushing (hot flashes) make me miserable as well as the diarhea. My legs are now aching but I know if that has anything to do with new meds. Anyway, thought I would give my input!! good luck to all!

Yes, Niacin made my legs weak and achey. So I understand what you are going thru.

Niaspam gave me very intense flushy feeling! hated that stuff

For all that are trying or thinking of trying either Niaspam or OTC niacin make sure to take an 81mg aspirin half an hour before taking and ALWAYS eat a low fat snack with it...I either eat a yogurt or eat a banana and drink a glass of low fat milk. I also find if I take it an hour after dinner or so I have no side effect "hot flushes". I swear they are awful, almost as bad as hot flashes were from menopause. It might take a few tries to get it right, took me about 3 days before i got the combination of niacin and food right.