What should I ask?

  I have been having some health problems, I saw my cardiologist last
  week, she sent me for bloodwork, she said she was worried about
  my liver and took me off of Lipitor.  I had been taking Zocor before
  and had been on lipitor for about 8mos.  She increased the mg. by
  10 which increased the symptoms I had been having, increased muscle
  and joint pain, swelling all over not just my feet and ankles.
     Could the zocor and then the lipitor have been causing these symptoms
  all the long?   What should I make sure to ask my doctor, I am
  to return in 2 weeks for bloodwork again?
___________
DEar Trudy,
Lipitor and zocor are members of the 'statin' class of cholesterol lowering drugs.  Muscle pain, muscle inflammation and even muscle cell death have been reported.  Muscle pain and tenderness as well as muscle wekness are the usual presenting symptoms. I would ask the doctor to stop these medications to determine if the muscle pain improves.  If cholesterol lowering medication is needed, ask your doctor about a medication such as cholestyramine which has a different mechanism of action than the statins.
This information is presented for educational purposes only,  Always consylt your personal physician for specific medical issues.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords; myopathy
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