Anyone here take lipitor?

[MizzouRah]

My doctor just started me on lipitor and even with my medical insurance it's $40 a bottle. Yikes!

High cholesteral runs in the family and diet and exercise have not helped.. either has 2 helpings of fish a week.

Anyhow, just wondered if it has helped anyone on here get back down to normal levels? ...and if any side effects have shown up for you.


Todd

[path12]

I've been on it for almost 7 years now -- my initial count went down from 245 to 175 or so and it has stayed pretty steady since then. No side effects at all for me. Runs about $25/month for me on my insurance.

[terpkristin]

My dad was on Lipitor briefly this summer. He experienced one of the known side effects, cramping, to very severe level. The day he started taking it, he and my mom were out on the boat (sailing), and it started with really bad cramps in his hands but progressed that more or less all of his limbs became severely cramped/charley-horsed, bad enough that he was non-functional on the boat and my mom considered calling him an ambulance (why she didn't is STILL beyond me, but they never listen to me anyway).

Needless to say, he stopped taking it immediately and has since been switched to a different medication...Crestor, I think (not positive). It seems to be working fairly well for him, but with all cholesterol-lowering drugs, I believe there is potential for liver side-effects, so you need to get your liver function checked out (blood tests).

Best of luck..
~tk

[Glengoyne]

It is a Brand Drug with no chemically equivalent generic alternatives. Based on the dossage the unit price of each pill varies between just under $3 to almost $4. So it sounds like you have a fairly high Brand Copay. I'd call your insurance company to verify that you should pay the high brand copay even if there are no generic alternatives for your prescription.

[Glengoyne]

Dola,

Another thought is that there might be an alternative to Lipitor that has a generic equivalent. Ask your physician to prescribe one of those alternatives if he believes them to be equivalent therapy. It would save you the difference between the brand and a generic copay each month. Most of the time the physicians prescribe the same drug to most of their patients with a like diagnosis, but if you tell them it is impacting you financially they will almost always work with you for a better solution.

Good Luck

[mking]

I have been taking Lipitor for several years. That combined with 2000mg of fish oil (capsules) a day has brought me down to 'good' chlorestoral levels and my doctor is quite pleased.

I have had no side effects.

As for the price, it's expensive. It was expensive with my crappy insurance (but that's another topic). I told my doctor my tale of woe and he gave me and keeps giving me free samples of Lipitor. I haven't paid for a pill in about a year.

Of course, this all depends on your doctor. Mine is both an excellent doctor and an excellent person. If you have any sort of decent relationship with your doctor, tell him you can't afford it. Perhaps he can throw some samples your way. God knows the drug companies throw lots of samples at the doctors.

[clintl]

I don't think I know anyone taking Lipitor. My parents both take Zocor. I don't know of any problems they have had with it, and I think it has been effective at lowering their cholesterol.

[miked]

My dad takes it, I work in Cardiology and know many people who take it. If I had high cholersterol and couldn't bring it down with a healthy diet and exercise, I'd pay $100/bottle for a statin. I do not think there are any generic statins available to the public yet, and they keep combining them with other things like beta-blockers and ace-inhibitors since most people with high cholesterol also have high blood pressure. The results from most statin clinical trials are staggering.

The major problem is most Cardiologists and hospitals are on the bankroll of places like Merck, Pfizer, etc so they mainly prescribe their statin of choice. Go to a different doctor and he may recommend Zocor or something else. See if they'll give you freebies to "test" them out.

[scooter]

I started out taking Lipitor about 3 years ago. I took it for about 6 months and started getting achey joints (hips, knees, back and shoulders). I told my doctor and he switched me to Pravachol. Seems to have done the trick for me. I went from 280 down to 193 in a year. I'm not sure where I am now.

Each person is different and their bodies react differently to drugs, so educate yourself on what you are taking and watch out for the side effects.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm almost positive that there aren't any generic statins out there. As several people have mentioned, they can cause liver side effects and this must be monitored. Than again, 90% of medications are metabolized by the liver and many of them have the potential to cause liver problems. The cramping is a more common side effect, and would be a reason to stop if it was too uncomfortable. All of the statins do a good job of lowering the cholesterol for most people (about 85-90%) This can prevent a heart attack or stroke. I'd gladly pay 40/month if my doctor thought I needed it. Fortunately, despite my poor eating habits my cholesterol has always been about 100 to 110.

[Glengoyne]

I'm just doing a little bit of a search, and I found Lovastatin as the Generic for Mevacor. It appears to be in the same class of drug as the others discussed Pravachol, Lipitor, Crestor, etc. I don't know if it is realistically substitutable though.

[MizzouRah]

Wow, thanks for all the replies, help, and advice. I don't really mind the $40, heck I spend that on a game about every month :) I just wondered if that was the "going" rate. I think it's like $78 full price.

Anyhow, I'm also on 81mg aspirin as well. My good cholesterol is fine, but my bad is well... bad. :)


Todd