55 year old male with calcifications

[bluspo2]

My 55 year old husband  recently volunteered at work for a new heart scan to test the machine.  It showed he had a fair amount of calicification in one of his descending arteries.  He has alway kept himself extremely fit and runs every other day and lifts weights.  His doctor started him on Lipitor 20 mg.  After a few months he can hardly move-- his joints ache and  he is getting new joint injuries daily--  (knuckels are swelling--arm muscle injury won't heal--).. His doctor stopped the meds, waited a week, then started at lower dose. Same results,  He went from a vibrant energetic man to a slow limping man in a few months.  What injuries is this medication doing to his joints?  Might they be permanent?  Does the Lipitor dissolve the calcifications?  Is there any other medication?   What about the Red yeast rice?  I read a study that people had just as much success with that as with medications.  Thank you

[kenkeith]

Lipitor can cause serious muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure. You have a higher chance for muscle problems if you are taking certain other medicines with Lipitor.  Especially telling if there are muscle problems like weakness, tenderness, or pain that happen without a good reason, and if your husband also has a fever or feel more tired than usual.

I was on Lipitor, but went on Simvastatin 20mg (much less expensive, too) and the results have been very good.  Recent blood test shows LDL 45 and HDL 58, trig 55 and chol 114.
I was told there can be a reversal of CAD?!  

Your husband should change his medication and have a blood test for kidney functionality and no damage.  The kidneys maintain the blood creatinine in a normal range, and Creatinine has been found to be a fairly reliable indicator of kidney function.

[ed34]

One of the side effects of statins, and a fairly serious one, is degeneration of muslce tissue especially in the legs. If this side effect is noticed, then the drug is to be immediately stopped by the doctor. This is written on the leaflet accompanying the
packaging. If this is the reason for his pains, he must stay off the medication because
it can cause serious damage to muslces.