Lipitor is considered the best drug for the management of high levels of cholesterol. Use of this medicine helps in lowering cholesterol levels to normal so that the complications occurring due to high levels of cholesterol can be prevented. The indications and the dosage along with Lipitor effect on the muscles are provided beneath:

Indications of Lipitor
Lipitor is a powerful cholesterol lowering drug. It belongs to a class of drugs that are known as statins. It can also help in decreasing the levels of triglycerides. It can be used for preventing hypertension and coronary artery disease. It helps by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called HMG CoA Reductase that is responsible for increasing the level of cholesterol in the body. Lipitor binds itself to this enzyme and blocks its action, making it ineffective.

Recommended dosage of Lipitor
The recommended dosage of Lipitor is 10 milligrams, one time in a day. Patients should check their blood pressure and cholesterol levels regularly to monitor the effect of this medicine.

Lipitor and Muscle Pain
It was proved in recent research that the use of cholesterol lowering drugs such as statins can result in inflammation of the muscle tissues, leading to myositis. It was also observed that the incidence of muscle pains in patients using Lipitor was not directly related to its dosage. Also, if these medicines are used in combination with other medicines that are known to produce muscle pains, the risk of muscle injury increases greatly.

Lipitor Muscle Pain symptoms

• Unexplained pain in the muscles


• Tenderness in the muscle tissues


• Unexplained tiredness


• Stiffness of the muscles

The damage caused to the muscle tissues due to the use of statins takes place in 3 stages. There can be pain and weakness of the muscles in the first stage. The Lipitor effect in muscles at this stage is reversed within few days of stopping it. If the use of Lipitor is not stopped, there can be more damage to the muscles, resulting in inflammatory changes in the muscle tissues. This is the second stage of myositis. In case the use of Lipitor is not stopped after this stage, muscle inflammation may aggravate further; causing muscle pains all over the body. The muscle cells may release proteins into the blood circulation, which get trapped in the kidneys leading to renal damage. It can also lead to renal failure. Patients often need renal dialysis at this stage of muscle damage. Other side effects of Lipitor related to the muscle tissues are myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis can also cause breakdown of the muscles causing severe complications.

Lipitor Muscle Pain Treatment
Individuals should stop the use of Lipitor in case they develop such symptoms. If the symptoms are mild, they should reduce the dosage of Lipitor for a few days. However, if the symptoms appear again after resuming previous dose, they may have to switch to other cholesterol lowering drugs.

Individuals should keep in mind these points while using Lipitor so that these side effects occurring due to it can be prevented.