I really want to quit statins

Update to my first post. I stopped the Lipitor the day I wrote the first post. The good news is that my legs seems to be getting back to normal; however, I am now having some pretty serious skin problems. As noted in my first post I had some mild itching and rash on my ears and face. A day later, the skin on my eyelids started peeling! The itch continues because the thin, delicate skin around my eyes is so dry it is cracking and peeling. My skin is like paper. I'm so angry with myself for not quitting this poison sooner. I now suspect that my cholesterol is so low, it's not sufficient to support good skin health. I wonder what that means for the rest of my organs! I have an appointment with my Naturopath tomorrow -- I hope she can help me recover from these side effects. 

Interesting to find someone with the skin disorder in the ears and on the face.  I had this for years.  I am 61, have been on 80mgs of statin for 9 years, after a heart attack & corrective angioplasty.  It appeared about 1 year after starting the statin.  I was told it was psoriasis and not releated to statin.  Topical treatments didn't work and I lived it it.  At times the itching was severe.  In 2013 the skin disorder spread.  I got severe psoriasis of the hands, really bad requiring ~100 UV light treatments which failed then followed by chemotherapy - oral methotrexate - which worked but the psoriasis always came roaring back.  I was told to just take meth-x once or twice a year, as needed for the rest of my life.  My feet began to feel numb (perhipheral neuropathy) in 2011 and were completely numb by 2016 plus I had muscle weakness and cramping issues in the lower legs.  I lost control of my weight and became obese.  No doctor seemed to want to have the conversation about why all this was happening.  They said it wasn't statins, or that the cause was unknown.  Genetics was a frequent answer. 

In late 2016 I went on a low carb high fat diet.  The results are outstanding, the psoriasis almost gone now, numbness almost gone, obesity melting away rapidly and I feel better, can exercise properly again.   Blood pressure is better too.   I recently started cutting the statin pills in half. 

There are some sources out there who say that a low carb high fat diet has the same protective ability as a statin.  It seems that a carb rich western diet (refined carbs & sugar) is what gave me heart disease in the first place.   I think I had a sick liver.   The disorders I had appear to be metabolic precursors to Type 2 diabetes.  I can't figure out if it was the statin or the carbs.  Probably both.

In my case diet appears to be the cause and the cure.

Update 2: I saw my Naturopath who ran a lipid panel and liver enzyme test. By the day I saw her the itchy, scaly rash on my face progressed to include swollen, itchy, bloodshot, watery eyes. The rash and eyes were my usual seasonal allergies magnified because of impaired liver function. She put me on a hypoallergenic diet CoQ10, an Omega 3 supplement and gave me a cream to reduce the inflammation on my face and calm the itching. The diet is designed to give the liver a rest so it can start to heal itself. I started eating "clean" about 18 months ago (no sugar or processed foods -- fresh veggies, healthy proteins animal and vegetable, healthy fats)  so the diet is easy to follow. 

I'm now about 3.5 weeks off the Lipitor and feeling so much better. I feel more connected to my legs and so much steadier. In my first post I didn't mention that I was also experiencing a large numb patch of skin/muscle on my right thigh, with episodes of tingling on my left thigh. I didn't connect it to the Lipitor because my doctor told me it was likely a pinched nerve in my back, but, about a week ago I noticed the tingling in my left thigh had stopped and I was starting to have more feeling on the right side. The numbness in my right thigh is now gone; there's a bit of tenderness in the muscle, but that seems to be going away slowly as well so I can only assume it was not a pinched nerve, but rather the Lipitor. 

My allergy symptoms are under control. My eyes are clear, the rash is gone. I still have a little bit of itching on my face and ears, but I'm definitely headed in the right direction. 

I was very healthy with only hi cholesterol - I talked my md into letting me stop stattin due to elbow pain  and I just had a stroke - BIG WAKE UP CALL to take my station - I'm active low weight , low BP pressure woman and woke unable to move half my body - no joke - think I'd listen to my dr next time!

Nikki