Also...Livalo is being detailed heavily now since Lipitor went generic and Crestor is soon to leave patent also. (hence all the Crestor ads).

Livalo was the last statin approved by the FDA, basically because it was in process, coming from Japan. All subsequent statins have NOT been approved after it on RX.

However Pfizer is attempting to get OTC lipitor in the US. All previous statin OTC attempts have been denied. Here is an article discussing it.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlama...f-otc-lipitor/

If Lipitor goes OTC insurance won't pay for it. (Seniors will not be happy with this arrangement). I can also say based on my experience with patients returning Lipitor during a recall in the mid 2000's....the patients didn't even want the replacement....they hated it more than I expected.

So I don't see an OTC Lipitor working out. But who knows?
It just may appear, and then disappear..like many products do.

Livalo was approved in 2009. This drug has a complex history at the FDA. Here is the patent data:
http://orange-book.findthebest.com/l/21901/Livalo

It is your guess as to which expiration date of this drug is the real one.

All statins are toxic in some ways. So I put up the information here so people can monitor themselves, and request from their doctors a response to problematic side effects. It is up to each person here to decide and monitor their statin use. It is not only PN at stake, however. So watch for any signs of not feeling well.

Quite right. They're recommending statins based on GREED.

this is an old thread, but I thought I would add: I personally know that you need to take CoQ10 if you take statins. I was on Lipitor for a while, saw the bad press, stopped taking it, and then my endocrinologist did a routine cholesterol test and said it was WAY HIGH, so I told him I stopped it for a month, and he highly recommended I go back on it.

I was getting very tired/lethargic at one point. for many months I just slept a lot, had little energy, etc. I researched all the drugs I took, and found some stuff about Lipitor screwing with your CoQ10. so I got some CoQ10 and within two days, all the tiredness was gone! it was like a miracle.

I still take the generic statin today, but with every statin pill I pop, I also take 200 mg ubiquinol by swansons. I am convince it is needed.

Welcome spanz.

I took 10 mg Lipitor around 1999 and had no side effects for a long time, so when I started noticing numbness and burning in my feet, I never suspected that Lipitor was the cause. Thank goodness my daughter-in-law read an article in the Peoples Pharmacy about statins causing these problems.

drugs as powerful as these should not be OTC, i assume otc, as mean you can buy it from at a grocery store, convenient store that can store generics, where anyone can buy it. i think it will stay generic, and still require a prescription.

Here is a new article from the UK about statins ...and the risks of Parkinson's disease.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/...-nerve-disease

BTW UK allows OTC statin Zocor for sale there! Zocor is the most lipophilic (soluble in fat) and hence gets into nerves and the brain more easily than other statins. The FDA here has already sent out warning letters regarding high dose Zocor therapies.
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Cons.../ucm257884.htm

Statins' days are numbered and soon they will be history, IMO.

As I not long ago made a big change in my diet to go low carb, I did a lot of reading on the subject of saturated fat and whether it's still believed to be bad for you or not. In the process, here's something VERY interesting I learned about LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that I didn't know:

"LDL comes in four basic forms: a big, fluffy form known as large LDL, and three increasingly dense forms known as medium, small, and very small LDL. A diet high in saturated fat mainly boosts the numbers of large-LDL particles, while a low-fat diet high in carbohydrates propagates the smaller forms. The big, fluffy particles are largely benign, while the small, dense versions keep lipid-science researchers awake at night.

But here's the problem: The typical LDL test doesn't distinguish between large and small LDL particles — it can't even spot the difference. And people can have mostly large LDL or mostly small LDL in their overall LDL, depending upon a host of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Your own personal mix may make all the difference between living to a heart-healthy old age and becoming a Monday-morning casualty at your desk."

I pulled this excerpt from the article at the link below, but saw it in many other places.

It will be interesting to see my cholesterol results in July. I'm not watching my fat intake at all right now while doing very low carbs.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35058896/n.../#.VSVzcvnF98E

___________________________________

The science has actually moved beyond particle size/type/pattern since there were many confounders in that data, which have since been sorted out. Lipoprotein particle number is now considered to be a better predictor of heart disease risk. When they looked at data where they held both particle count and LDL size consistent, the relationship between particle size and cardiac events diminishes. However, they do think that those smaller, more dense particles might be marker for metabolic issues, which carries its own risk issues. Particle count is measured my NMR, which is test most people will never receive. Interesting stuff.

Wow mrsD!

Big Pharma will really be upset by this.

What do you think are the top reasons?

Lawsuits?

TIA