Health

Patients Report Damaging Side Effects From Lipitor

BOSTON (WBZ) ― They are the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. Millions of people take statins to help lower the artery-clogging cholesterol that can lead to heart disease. But your doctor may be missing a dark side to these drugs.

Standing for just a few seconds is so painful. Susan Grayson-Johnson of Sudbury has to sit down to make something to eat.

Maureen Webber had to quit her job. She has to write everything down in a journal or else she'll forget right away.

And former NASA astronaut Duane Graveline has had two bouts of temporary amnesia.

They are three patients with three different problems. But one thing is the same. They all took the same cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor.

Watch TV for a little while and you'll probably see a commercial for it. "Like everyone else, I heard about it on television," said Susan.

Two weeks after Susan started taking Lipitor, she started having muscle problems. "I couldn't put my socks on... I couldn't lift my legs to get into bed… I couldn't dress myself."

Remembering the TV ad, she immediately suspected it was the Lipitor and called her doctor. "I contacted her numerous times and I went to see her… And she said, 'I've never heard of such a thing.'"

Maureen and Duane had similar experiences. Even Duane's doctors at NASA dismissed the possibility. "They all said uniformly that statin drugs don't do this."

But Lipitor and other statins can cause these rare but serious side effects. They're even listed in the package insert.

The problem is, the drugs are so widely used and most people tolerate them well, that some doctors are missing the signs. "The word impossible was used quite frequently," said Dr. Beatrice Golomb of the University of California at San Diego. "These drugs have no side effects."

Dr. Golomb recently completed a study on statin side effects. "For each of the top three most common symptoms, according to the patients, the physician denied the possibility that there could be a connection… and that was very troubling to us."

Dr. Adolph Hutter -- a leading cardiologist at Mass. General Hospital – says "Statins, like Lipitor, are safe for the vast majority of people."

He feels so strongly about the drug, he actually believes everyone with coronary artery disease should be on one. "There's absolutely no question that these drugs save many, many lives."

In a statement, Pfizer -- the company that makes Lipitor -- told WBZ it is one of the most widely studied drugs.

They went on to say: "The appropriate management of patient side effects from any drug is the responsibility of the prescribing physician".

Susan, Maureen and Duane all took themselves off the drug against the advice of their doctors.

Susan filed a complaint against her doctor with the Massachusetts Board of Medicine. No disciplinary action was taken, but the complaint remains on the doctor's permanent record. "Lipitor has had a devastating... devastating effect on my life."

WBZ wants to stress that Lipitor is one of the most widely studied drugs ever. It is safe for most people.

Statin drug information and resources:

Article: Jury Still Out On Statin Benefits
SpaceDoc.net -- Statin Drug Side Effects
Medscape.com (you have to create an account to view this.)

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