After taking Lipitor for over a decade, I found that it no longer suited me. I had been managing to take it until the end of last year, but continuing it inevitably caused side effects, so I stopped taking it at the start of this year. Initially, I even wondered if these symptoms might be “post-COVID effects,” because I experienced severe fatigue, discomfort throughout my body, lower back pain, back pain, and tightness in my calves. However, since these symptoms can also arise from colds or other health issues, it’s difficult to tell whether they are caused by the medication or other reasons once they appear, which makes things tricky. Suspected Post-COVID Syndrome—Part 2
However, five months into 2025, my doctor advised me that it might not be good to remain off the medication for so long. Although switching to other drugs was suggested, all the alternatives I tried previously caused side effects within one to two weeks. So, I decided to try restarting Lipitor after a five-month break. I’m writing about this on the blog to remind myself later not to overlook the possibility that unknown health problems could be caused by medication.
Since writing this, I have been taking the medication every morning for several days, but I feel my condition is worsening. Specifically, I have been hit by unexplained drowsiness during the morning. However, it’s genuinely difficult to determine whether this is really due to resuming Lipitor or some other cause. Next, I plan to try taking it before bedtime, but from past experience, this tends to cause calf tightness at night, which makes it hard to sleep... It’s truly a troublesome issue.