Lipitor and Memory Loss
What is Lipitor®?
Lipitor, or atorvastatin calcium, is a medication commonly prescribed to treat high cholesterol. A popular drug, Lipitor has been prescribed to about eighteen million people in the United States to help with cholesterol issues. It’s proven to be very effective in cholesterol management, with few side effects, including digestive upset, which is usually mild.
In some cases, though, Lipitor can cause muscle pain, which can be severe, and in even rarer instances, it appears to be linked to memory loss.
The link between Lipitor and memory loss
Of the approximately eighteen million people using Lipitor in the United States, about two percent have reported side effects that involve memory loss. Reported memory loss can range from short-term memory loss, feelings of disorientation, and mild confusion, to profound loss of memory that has a strongly detrimental effect on everyday life.
While researchers are hesitant to attribute this kind of memory loss solely to use of Lipitor, many patients report a reduction in symptoms if they switch to a different cholesterol medication. (Note: Never stop or change your medications, or reduce your dosages, without consulting with your physician.)
Whether or not memory loss is caused directly by Lipitor, or by other factors, there are other measures you can take to help reduce any symptoms of memory loss and generally keep your brain functioning at its best.
Solutions to memory loss from Lipitor
Several approaches have been found to be effective for improving memory and general brain function. Among these are overall good nutrition, brain games, concentrated learning, and supplements.
Overall good nutrition and health can help keep your brain as well as your body at peak form. Good nutrition and exercise can also help reduce stress, which has also been linked to memory loss. Various brain games also improve memory, concentration, focus, and the ability to reason and calculate. Exercising your brain through learning also helps it stay in top form. Learning complex subjects such as music or a language can be particularly helpful in maintaining brain power.
Various specific nutritional supplements also seem to contribute to optimum brain health. By increasing blood flow to the brain, reducing stress and tension, and helping replenish and protect important chemicals the brain needs to process information, these supplements can help reduce short term memory loss and keep your mental functions at their peak.
Supplements like Constant Focus provide many compounds that help optimize brain function. If you seem to be suffering from memory loss due to use of Lipitor, ask your doctor if you can try a supplement like Constant Focus.
Lipitor® is a registered trademark of Pfizer.
