Hi, I have been on Lipitor for almost a year now and I think I am having side effects from it. They are muscle pain in my shoulders, arms, & hands and even some numbness in my hands and arms. Some examples of statin medications are Lipitor® (atorvastatin), Pravachol® (pravastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin), Livalo® (pitavastatin) and Crestor® (rosuvastatin). Unfortunately, some people may experience muscle pain or weakness while taking statins. How statins cause muscle pain is not fully understood. One theory is that statins may affect a protein in muscle cells, which decreases muscle growth. Rhabdomyolysis can cause severe muscle pain, liver damage, kidney failure and death. The risk of very serious side effects is extremely low, and calculated in a few cases per million of patients taking statins. Rhabdomyolysis can occur when you take statins in combination with certain drugs or if you take a high dose of statins. For decades we have been receiving messages from people who have experienced devastating and debilitating muscle damage from their use of drugs like atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor). If muscle pain develops, stop Lipitor (atorvastatin) and see doctor. Doctors give unbiased, trusted information on whether Atorvastatin can cause or treat Aching Muscles: Dr. Hellman on lipitor and muscle soreness: It can. Most people who have muscle pain while on Lipitor experience no serious muscle-related problems. However, in less than 1 percent of cases, people develop a serious problem with their muscles while on Lipitor, and muscle pain can be a sign of serious problems. Lactic acid is a normal byproduct of muscle metabolism, but it can irritate muscles and cause discomfort and soreness. Muscle soreness associated with exercise is known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. DOMS can make it difficult to walk, reduce your strength, or make your life uncomfortable for a couple of days. Had the same problem with the other statins, muscle aches stopped after about a week after discontinuing. Lipitor worked for me for over a year before problem started.