"Brad Sheppard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:I'm stopping Lipitor 10 mg and going on Niaspan (hdl increaser). What
scares me is the muscle problems some people get. For Niaspan info see
http://www.niaspan.com/templates/patient.asp?class=1&page=1
Brad,
Lipitor has this problem, too. Please see
http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7051, Petition to the
FDA to issue strong warnings about the potential for certain
cholesterol-lowering drugs to cause potentially life-threatening muscle
damage. (HRG Publication #1588)
You will note that, while Baycol had the largest number of deaths to
rhabdomyolysis, in the period October 1997 through December 2000, there were
86 cases of rhabdomyolysis, 11 % of the rhabdo cases, in Lipitor patients.
Of those, 13 Lipitor patients died in that same time period - 18.1% of the
statin death cases.
On that same site you listed, but at
http://www.niaspan.com/templates/patient.asp?class=1&page=75 it says
(emphasis added with *s) "Rare cases of a serious muscle disorder have been
reported *****when niacin is taken in combination with other cholesterol-
correcting medications*****. You should report to your doctor any
unexplained muscle pain or weakness if you're taking other
cholesterol-correcting medications while on NIASPAN®, as this could be a
sign of a serious, but rare, side effect."
You said you were stopping Lipitor, so the combination effect should not be
an issue if you wait for the Lipitor to leave your body before starting the
other drug.