"Zocor is the Ford Pinto of Drugs," Says Victim

Lancaster, OH"If I was told about Zocor side effects I would never have taken this drug," says Alice, age 56, who was extremely active before starting the statin med. "Both my neurologist and arthritis doctor have diagnosed me with statin toxicity, which explains why I was bedridden for six months, all because of muscle spasms caused by Zocor. Now I want to get hooked up with a good attorney.

"Every doctor I have seen since I was hospitalized is aware of Zocor muscle spasms, but a statin is never prescribed to a patient in Europe without taking a backup drug, which eliminates these side effects. What this pharmaceutical company has done to countless Zocor users is reprehensible, but even worse is our government—the FDA—for allowing them to put Zocor on the market."

Back in 2007, Alice was prescribed Lipitor because her cholesterol was very high. "After taking it for two weeks I couldn't even tie my shoes, my muscles were so sore. Needless to say, I stopped taking it." (It is important that Alice include this information—it ties in with Zocor…)

In August 2010, Alice was hospitalized after suffering two heart attacks; she was put on several meds, including the statin Zocor, again to treat high cholesterol. "After about 10 days on these meds, and still in hospital, I felt like a truck had hit me; after I got home from the hospital I felt much worse and got horrific muscle spasms," Alice explains. "Before this happened I went to the gym five days a week; I ran a daycare for 10 years and played baseball, swam, did all kinds of activities with the kids daily. Now I could barely get out of bed. Something was going on but I didn't remember the Lipitor incident.

"I curtailed exercising, but that didn't help. The muscle spasms were particularly bad at night. My doctor said the muscle 'soreness' would get better, but I know the difference between soreness and spasms. One night it was so bad I thought my leg was going to break—I was screaming bloody murder. The next day I drove to my chiropractor but couldn't get out of the car and I was incontinent.

"I ended up in ER—they got me into a wheelchair from my car. My whole body was contorted and I was urinating all over the gurney. They brought in several doctors including my cardiologist, who said 'No more Zocor.' An MRI showed that the muscle spasms had ruptured two vertebrae that bulged two discs and leaked over the sciatic nerve. That explained the incontinence. And I couldn't walk. I ended up in the hospital for eight days with a catheter and a pain pump.

"During this time the hospital doctor ordered Zocor. When the nurse came in, I asked her what she was giving me. 'It's Zocor because your cholesterol is extremely high,' she said. Right away the muscle spasms started again but this time they had back-up; they gave me a shot of Atavan to stop the spasms. I was really pissed.

"Back home again. After a few days the pain meds wore off and I was screaming into my pillow. The meds they sent me home with didn't help at all. They wanted me to have injections in my back to block the nerve, but my husband had gone through that before and there was no way I was going there. I couldn't move out of my bed for six months. I could barely stand. Before this happened, my resting heart rate was 60. After this happened, my heart rate was 115. My doctor tried me on another drug to lower my cholesterol but I got the muscle spasms again—he gave me more pain meds and Atavan to stop the muscle spasms.

"Finally I went to another hospital and saw their 'Number 1' heart doctor. She told me to stop all the meds until I could walk again; I changed my diet and increased niacin and I'm back at the gym. And I am furious with the Zocor makers and the FDA.

"If I knew about Zocor side effects, no matter how rare, I wouldn't have taken it. And I would have stopped taking it immediately with that first muscle spasm. I believe that these side effects happen to so many people but the drug companies figure they are better off financially to settle with victims out of court rather than take it off the market. These drugs are like the Pinto—rather than take it off the road and save lives, the almighty dollar trumps."