Atorvastatin oral tablet doesn’t cause drowsiness, but it can cause other side effects.

Statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) are a popular medication class used to treat high cholesterol or lower your risk of heart disease. The muscle pain statins may cause can keep you up at night.

The current evidence, from well-run research trials of more than 100,000 patients, is that statins do not cause insomnia or any other sleep disturbance, compared with a dummy pill (placebo).

In clinical studies, patients reported the following common side effects while taking LIPITOR: diarrhea, upset stomach, muscle and joint pain, and alterations in some laboratory blood tests. The following additional side effects have been reported with LIPITOR: tiredness, tendon problems, memory loss, and confusion.

Simvastatin is probably best taken at night because concentrations of total cholesterol and of low density lipoprotein are significantly greater when it is taken in the morning.

People who did take statins consumed more calories and fat over time, and gained more weight. The study also showed that statin users had a faster increase in body mass index (BMI) than those who didn’t use statins.

What are statin side effects?

• Muscle pain and damage. One of the most common complaints of people taking statins is muscle pain.
• Liver damage. Occasionally, statin use could cause an increase in the level of enzymes that signal liver inflammation.
• Increased blood sugar or type 2 diabetes.
• Neurological side effects.

A: While taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol foods as part of your overall treatment. You should avoid large quantities of grapefruit or grapefruit juice, which can increase the risk of serious side effects. Also, avoid excess alcohol use, as this may cause serious liver problems.

Psychiatric adverse effects, altering mood, personality, and behavior, sometimes arise in patients receiving statins. Statin psychiatric effects can include irritability/aggression, anxiety or depressed mood, violent ideation, sleep problems including nightmares, and possibly suicide attempt and completion.

Significantly lower risk of anxiety and depression also were observed in statin users, compared with nonstatin users, in subgroups of men, women, patients younger than 50 years, and patients aged 50 years and older.

When taken at high doses, simvastatin may be more likely to cause muscle pain than other statins. The more common side effects of taking higher doses of this drug also include: dizziness. fast or irregular heartbeat.

The study also found that statins were linked to fewer sleep disturbances, but an increase in reports of needing to urinate at night and urinate more frequently, while there were too few reports of cognitive problems to draw any conclusions.

Side effects of atorvastatin include:

• Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
• Cold symptoms such as a runny or stuffy nose.
• Joint pain.
• Insomnia.
• Urinary tract infection.
• Nausea.
• Loss of appetite.
• Indigestion symptoms such as stomach discomfort or pain.

Therefore, most people who begin taking a statin medication will likely take it for the rest of their lives. If you’ve been taking statins and would like to stop, you’ll need to do so with your doctor’s guidance. This is because it can be dangerous to stop taking statins.