Hi there, I understand your problem, and I agree that it is probably not a good idea to persist with a long-term medication like lovastatin if it is giving you significant side effects. However, first we have to confirm that it is indeed the lovastatin causing the problem. Did the dry skin appear soon after starting the lovastatin, and have you tried stopping it and restarting to see if it reappears? Statins are rather safe to temporarily stop, unlike other medication like those for blood pressure and diabetes. You might want to stop it for a couple of weeks and see if the itch goes away. If it does, restart it again to confirm that the lovastatin actually triggers it. The reason we need to do this is so that we don t go on a wild goose chase looking for the perfect medication when the problem wasn t the pill to begin with. If it is confirmed to be the lovastatin, then yes, you can try other statins to see if it has a different effect on you. Some people find that the whole statin group will give them the same reaction, but others respond differently. You will have to watch your own symptoms and decide for yourself. Regarding the option of trying non-statin drugs, I hesitate to offer advice because I do not know the reason that your doctor has started you on the lovastatin. If it is to prevent heart attacks and you are at high risk, then statins actually has better results from research done so far compared to other cholesterol lowering drugs. In this case I would not suggest changing groups. If it is just to bring down your cholesterol or triglyceride levels and you have no other health issues, then the option to change to another group like fibrates is there. You might even be able to consider opting out of medication altogether, but you need to discuss this with the doctor who started you on the lovastatin. Hope this helps, and please let me know if you have further questions. Regards, Dr. Teh