Lipitor has the same side effects as other statins. Possible muscle pain or weakness. Some people do better on it that others, and everybody is different.
I don't know what your situation is, and what questions your doctor asked, but IME many doctors can be mentally lazy, and formulaic. If you have high cholesterol, they put you on a statin, and give you the canned lecture about diet and exercise. That's fine as far as it goes, and many people do have high cholesterol because of diet, lack of exercise, and the resulting overweight. But many perfectly fit people who exercise, eat well, aren't overweight, and have very low body fat also have high serum cholesterol.
So the key is to ask plenty of questions, and work with the doctor to experiment and find the least invasive (drugs) program that works for you. That may be very different than what works for anyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if your doctor pushes hard on a statin, and that's probably smart to start. But once your numbers are OK, then you want to find the best way to keep them there.
BTW-
here's something you may find enlightening on a related subject.