lipitor

will make this short
6 months ago, discovered while walking a bit breathless. knew something was up a few months before because of swollen ankles. knew my heart was not pumping, but never had pain, just fatigued quickly.
this pressure was not hard, but enough for me to say it was time to see what's happening.
went to ER, did tests, said no heart attack, come back in the morning
did so, and stress test showed angina ( as per cardiologist's professional guess), went into do the checking and one of my arteries was 85% blocked, left interior, (the widow maker), all others fine. had stents put in and ankles immediately became like a 14 year old ( i am 79) . asked if i could go out and play racquetball, doc said sure if you feel like it. of course, didn't and cant ( covid restrictions made sure of that idea) .
so dosed with 80 mg lipitor
3 weeks later, walking , i was struck in my calf muscles, could not walk, pain was excruciating, sat down. in 5 minutes pain was gone. after that, no more pain. this was daily and finally after daily walking now 6 months daily for 15-20 minutes, its very mild walking up a hill, nothing on a straight path and downward walking also nothing.
however, if i could lower my dose from 80 to 50 or 60, does anyone out there know if this would be effective while still doing what lipitor does for the HDL?
would my pains go away and not return in the calf muscle.?
when you have any problem, doctors usually dose the crap out of you to give you ahead start. side effects be darned.
any suggestions or experiences with this, anyone

thank again

peter

Hi Peter, the best I can suggest is to tell your doctor about the pain and ask about possibly lowering the dosage. Your walking routine is great!

Oh gosh, please never follow anyone's advice here if they tell you to change your medicine dosage or anything like that. No one is a doctor here, we're just regular people who volunteer to help posters if we can - at least to guide them back to their doctor.

So, my usual answer is 'ask your doctor'. Nowadays it's easier to get a response through the patient portal if the doctor's office has them.

Good luck with a lower dosage and I hope the pains subside!

Exactly! Keep us updated!