Generic Lipitor

Lipitor is a pharmaceutical drug sold and marketed by a company named Pfizer. Relatively new on the market, its success in reducing its users' Low-Density Lipid (LDL) cholesterol levels has been tremendous. In 2004 it recorded sales of over $10.4 billion, making it the best-selling drug in the world.

Lipitor is an atorvastatin, or "statin," a type of compound that is used to inhibit the amount of "bad," or LDL, cholesterol produced in the human body. As an added benefit, it also reduces the amount of LDL already present in the body. Both of these effects can be very beneficial for those people looking to decrease their risk of heart disease, which, in this day and age, includes a fairly large segment of the population.

Lipitor is available in various pill-sizes and can be taken orally. Its side effects can include the usual roster of muscle cramps, gas, stomach pain, constipation, and heart burn, though it does depend on how much is being taken and in combination with what other drugs. As with most serious prescription medicines, it's important to keep a close watch on Lipitor's interaction with other drugs in your body, to make sure that it doesn't cause any problems.

Although Lipitor is far too new a drug to have all of its side effects and benefits definitively catalogued, many people agree that the possibility for more serious side effects does exist. Patients with liver trouble or taking liver-related medication are advised to talk to their doctor before trying Lipitor. Even without liver-related problems, extreme muscle pain and muscle disease have been known to occur.