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What Causes Radiating Pain In The Elbow After Taking Lipitor?
Posted on
Mon, 5 Jun 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 5 Jun 2017
Answered on
Wed, 28 Jun 2017
Last reviewed on
Question : Recently I was prescribed a generic version of Lipitor. The medication has helped lower my cholesterol but within the last few weeks the back side of my right arm has a radiating pain right above my elbow. It's not continuous but it does aggravate me from time to time during the day. The pain does not develop during any activity ,it just shows up. I am 52 yrs old and have had a physical job my whole life so I never know if it's old age, medication, or years of physical usage
Brief Answer:
neuropathy? muscular injury? injured tendon?
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
you should visit your doctor for a complete description of the affected part of your body. Your doctor should understand whether the affected area corresponds to nerve distribution (like radial nerve), a dermatome (like C5) or other structures like the muscles or the tendons of the area. If it's the nerve then causes of neuropathy would have to be investigated (won't be easy). If it's the dermatome then checking the cervical spine usually suffices to reveal the cause. The muscles and tendons usually hurt when executing certain moves, so the diagnosis should be more straightforward.
Lipitor may cause nerve-related symptoms albeit rarely. If the investigation cannot come to a solid conclusion then trying to stop the allegedly offending agent (lipitor) for a while may be helpful to see if the symptoms get better.
I hope you find these comments helpful!
Kind Regards!
neuropathy? muscular injury? injured tendon?
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
you should visit your doctor for a complete description of the affected part of your body. Your doctor should understand whether the affected area corresponds to nerve distribution (like radial nerve), a dermatome (like C5) or other structures like the muscles or the tendons of the area. If it's the nerve then causes of neuropathy would have to be investigated (won't be easy). If it's the dermatome then checking the cervical spine usually suffices to reveal the cause. The muscles and tendons usually hurt when executing certain moves, so the diagnosis should be more straightforward.
Lipitor may cause nerve-related symptoms albeit rarely. If the investigation cannot come to a solid conclusion then trying to stop the allegedly offending agent (lipitor) for a while may be helpful to see if the symptoms get better.
I hope you find these comments helpful!
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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