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Suggest Treatment For Muscle Weakness And Pain In An Elderly Person
Posted on
Sun, 20 Nov 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sun, 20 Nov 2016
Answered on
Mon, 12 Dec 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : 67 YEAR OLD MALE HAVING MUSCLE WEAKNESS AND PAIN THAT HAS GOTTEN WORSE OVER 2 MONTHS TIME.WAS FAIRLY ACTIVE AND NOW BARELY ABLE TO WALK OR MOVE ARMS CAN'T RAISE ARMS OVER HEAD WITHOUT PAIN.ALOT OF PAIN IN HIPS RUNNING DOWN THE BACK OF LEGS. HANDS AND FEET SWELLING. HAVE HAD STRESS TESTS SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS AND ALL WERE OK. HAD HIATIAL HERNIA REPAIR IN 2000 AND INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR IN 2012. ON LIPITOR AND BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINES. THE LAST TIME SCOPED TOLD THAT HIATIAL HERNIA HAD REOCCURED. HAS A PROBLEM SWALLOWING AND HAVE HAD FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS BEFORE THE HIATIAL HERNIA REPAIR SO EATING HAS BEEN A PROBLEM. EAT MOSTLY SOFT FOODS SO DIET IS NOT PROBABLY NOT THE BEST. GOING TO HAVE A MRI SOON ABOUT PAIN IN HIPS AND LEGS DOCTOR THINKS IT IS DISC IN BACK BUT THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE PAIN AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS IN ARMS.
Brief Answer:
Strong chance that the problem is from Lipitor.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I am sorry you are having so much pain and weakness in your muscles.
My first question was to ask if you are on any statin drugs for cholesterol-lowering, as these are notorious for causing muscle weakness and pain and I see that you are (Lipitor)! I strongly recommend talking with your doctor about getting off of it.
It can take some time after discontinuing the statin for your muscles to return to normal. But I strongly recommend discontinuing it if it is causing muscle symptoms. My guess is that if a blood test for muscle enzymes (and possibly liver enzymes) was done now, it would be abnormal from the Lipitor.
If discontinuing the Lipitor does not do the trick, I recommend getting a sedimentation rate (ESR) blood test to evaluate for inflammation and if you have had any evaluation for autoimmune disorders.
I hope this helps. I invite you to let me know how you are doing after you have taken action on this.
Strong chance that the problem is from Lipitor.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I am sorry you are having so much pain and weakness in your muscles.
My first question was to ask if you are on any statin drugs for cholesterol-lowering, as these are notorious for causing muscle weakness and pain and I see that you are (Lipitor)! I strongly recommend talking with your doctor about getting off of it.
It can take some time after discontinuing the statin for your muscles to return to normal. But I strongly recommend discontinuing it if it is causing muscle symptoms. My guess is that if a blood test for muscle enzymes (and possibly liver enzymes) was done now, it would be abnormal from the Lipitor.
If discontinuing the Lipitor does not do the trick, I recommend getting a sedimentation rate (ESR) blood test to evaluate for inflammation and if you have had any evaluation for autoimmune disorders.
I hope this helps. I invite you to let me know how you are doing after you have taken action on this.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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