My cholesterol levels have gone from 208 to 223 and my doctor has recommended Lipitor. Recently my cholesterol was much lower while I was taking Simvastatin. Since I was also taking Verapamil my pharmacist recommended to my Doctor that since I have taken the two for over twenty years I should be taken off the Simvastatin. The side effects for the two are muscle problems of some kind and I have been having problems with my shoulder and hip. Apparently bursitis or tendonitis. I have been told that muscle deterioration is a side effect for the two prescriptions taken together over the long term. I also have been told the statin s themselves have a side effect of muscle deterioration. My question is, since Lipitor is a statin, shouldn t I be taking something that is not a statin in order to lower my cholesterol level?