Preventing high cholesterol levels and/or cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a growing concern for many women over 50 who want to take preventative measures to protect their health going into their golden years. That’s exactly what Lipitor lawsuit plaintiff Nancy Olivas thought she was doing, and why she opted to start taking Lipitor as a means to prevent health issues down the road.

Lipitor is one of the many cholesterol drugs on the market, but as the complaints roll in, it’s alleged that it also has a tendency to cause type-2 diabetes in patients who previously had no risk factors for diabetes. The risk is highest in women over the age of 50. While this type of diabetes can often be treated via diet and exercise if caught early, the scores of women filing Lipitor lawsuits claim that the diabetes they developed after taking the drug is here to stay, requiring constant monitoring and often medication in addition to massive lifestyle changes.

Olivas filed her Lipitor lawsuit on Feb. 26, 2014, alleging Lipitor gave her diabetes and that she was never warned that this could happen.

Type-2 diabetes is the fastest-growing chronic disease in the United States. Without treatment, it can cause a number of issues including necessary amputations, blindness and even death. Olivas says she took Lipitor for less than one year when she got her diabetes diagnosis.

“Plaintiff is a natural person currently residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado and was residing there at the time Plaintiff ingested LIPITOR, and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and/or glucose levels diagnostic for type 2 diabetes,” her Lipitor lawsuit says. “Plaintiff was prescribed LIPITOR and used it as directed from approximately year 2005 until approximately 2005.”

At first, she thought getting diabetes was a fluke and not related to her use of Lipitor. However, since 2005, it’s been revealed that Lipitor and diabetes have a strong link, and Olivas has since become aware that she might actually be a victim of Lipitor diabetes.

Before taking the drug, Olivas says she was “very healthy” and not at risk of developing diabetes according to doctors. “She relied on claims made by Defendant that LIPITOR has been clinically shown to reduce the risk of developing heart disease,” her Lipitor diabetes lawsuit says. “Despite her healthy weight and diet, Plaintiff developed type 2 diabetes after initiating her LIPITOR treatment.”

Now, she’s forced to completely change her lifestyle and, ironically, work towards preventing some diseases that Lipitor was actually designed to prevent. “As a result, for the rest of her life she must undergo regular testing of her blood glucose levels, adhere to a restrictive diabetic diet, and take medication to control her diabetes. Due to her diabetes, she is now at markedly increased risk of heart disease, blindness, neuropathy, and kidney disease.”

Pfizer is the maker of this drug, and it’s alleged that the company either knew or should have known about Lipitor dangers before it was ever released on the market. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and testing requirements are strict. However, Olivas and others like her claim that Pfizer intentionally hid the full Lipitor risks because the drug was so profitable for the company. This isn’t the first time Pfizer has been in trouble.

“On August 11, 2011, the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products of the FDA requested that Defendant make labeling changes for LIPITOR based upon the FDA’s comprehensive review, including clinical trial date. In February 2012, Pfizer complied with the FDA request and added the following language to its Warning and Precautions Section: Increases in HbAlc and fasting serumglucose levels have been reported with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, including LIPITOR. LIPITOR’s label had never warned patients of any potential relation between changes in blood sugar levels and taking LIPITOR until the February 2012 label change.”

Still Not Enough

Olivas says that even these changes aren’t adequate, and it was too late for many victims like her who took the drug well before these changes anyway. Her Lipitor lawsuit also notes that “Had Defendant properly disclosed the risks associated with LIPITOR, Plaintiff would have avoided the risk of diabetes by either not using LIPITOR at all or by closely monitoring Plaintiff’s blood glucose levels to see if the drug was adversely affecting her metabolism.”

She’s suing Pfizer for failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, constructive fraud, unjust enrichment, violation of the Colorado consumer protection act, and punitive damages.

The Lipitor diabetes lawsuit is Nancy Olivas v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-00586-CBS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.