What is lipitor

The statin your doctor prescribes for you will depend on different factors. These include such things as your age, your cholesterol levels, and your risk for cardiovascular disease disease affecting the heart or blood vessels. If you have questions about what statin is right for you, talk with your doctor. According to estimates on GoodRx. Lipitor is available as a generic drug called atorvastatin.

Crestor is available as a generic drug called rosuvastatin. The generic is considered to be as safe and effective as the original drug. Here we look at how Lipitor and Zocor are alike and different. Lipitor contains the active drug atorvastatin. Zocor contains the active drug simvastatin.

Both atorvastatin and simvastatin belong to a class of medications known as statins. Lipitor and Zocor can cause very similar side effects, but some different ones as well. These lists contain up to 10 of the most common mild side effects that can occur with each drug, as well as mild side effects that both drugs may share. The use of Lipitor and Zocor in treating high cholesterol in adults has been directly compared in a clinical study. These drugs were atorvastatin the active drug in Lipitor , Crestor , simvastatin the active drug in Zocor , and pravastatin the active drug in Pravachol.

These include things like your age, your cholesterol levels, and your risk for cardiovascular disease. If you have questions about the statin that is right for you, talk with your doctor. Zocor is available as a generic drug called simvastatin. Other drugs are available that can treat high cholesterol. Some may be a better fit for you than others. They can tell you about other medications that may work well for you.

Examples of other drugs that may be used to treat high cholesterol include:. For more information on your treatment options, talk with your doctor. Examples of other drugs that may be used to lower the risk for cardiovascular disease and related death in adults include:. Lipitor is FDA-approved for preventing cardiovascular disease in people considered high-risk for developing this condition.

Examples of cardiovascular disease include stroke and heart attack. Certain risk factors can increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease. These risk factors include:. Lipitor is also approved to reduce the risk for cardiovascular problems in people with heart disease. This includes people who have:. Having high cholesterol levels in your blood raises your risk for cardiovascular disease. By lowering your cholesterol levels, Lipitor helps lower your risk for developing heart problems.

Lipitor belongs to a class of drugs called statins. A medication class is a group of drugs that work in a similar way. Like other statins , Lipitor has been shown to help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and related death. Researchers in one study looked at over 10, people with high blood pressure but no history of heart attack. To be in the study, people had to have at least three risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. People in the study took either Lipitor 10 milligrams mg or a placebo a pill with no active drug.

Half the people in this study were followed for slightly more than 3 years. At the end of the study, the researchers compared the people who took the placebo with those who took Lipitor.

A similar study included nearly 3, people with type 2 diabetes but without heart disease. To be in the study, people had to have at least one other risk factor for cardiovascular problems. The researchers randomly chose people in the study to take either Lipitor 10 mg or a placebo once daily. Half the people in this study were followed for almost 4 years. At the end of the study, the researchers found that, compared with people who took the placebo, those who took Lipitor:.

For this use, Lipitor should be combined with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance. Your body makes enough cholesterol on its own to meet your needs. Cholesterol becomes an issue only if the amount present in your blood becomes too high. This is the total amount of cholesterol found in your blood. Total cholesterol consists of:. But, in addition to lowering LDL levels, Lipitor has also been shown to:. Hyperlipidemia can usually be classified into five categories based on certain patterns of lipoprotein levels.

These categories are called types of Frederickson hyperlipidemia. People with Fredrickson types 1 and 5 hyperlipidemia have higher than normal amounts of chylomicrons.

These are a type of protein that transports cholesterol. Clinical studies have shown that Lipitor is helpful in treating high cholesterol. One study compared adults who took Lipitor with those who took a placebo for hyperlipidemia high blood lipid levels. A placebo is a pill with no active drug.

Researchers in the study observed the people for 6 weeks. They compared their cholesterol levels before and after the study. Lipitor is approved for treating high cholesterol in children ages 10 to 17 years who have a condition known as heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia HeFH.

Researchers studied children between the ages of 10 and 17 years who had HeFH. The children were randomly given either Lipitor or a placebo a pill with no active drug for 26 weeks. The purpose of the study was to see if Lipitor was better at lowering cholesterol levels in children with HeFH. Lipitor is approved for treating high cholesterol in children ages 10 to 17 years who have a condition known as heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia see above.

However, heavy alcohol use can damage your liver. And liver damage is a potential side effect of Lipitor. Combining the two could put you at greater risk for side effects that involve your liver.

Before you start taking Lipitor, be sure to tell your doctor if you drink alcohol, especially in large amounts. And be sure to ask your doctor if you have any other questions about using alcohol while taking Lipitor. Lipitor can interact with several other medications. It can also interact with certain foods. Different interactions can cause different effects. For instance, some interactions can interfere with how well a drug works. Other interactions can increase side effects or make them more severe.

Below are some of the medications that can interact with Lipitor. Before taking Lipitor, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Tell them about all prescription, over-the-counter, and other drugs you take. Also tell them about any vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use. Sharing this information can help you avoid potential interactions. If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

CYP3A4 is an enzyme that helps your body break down drugs. This increases your risk for side effects from Lipitor.

They may lower your dose of Lipitor. Or they may prescribe you a different medication instead of a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor. Doing so can increase your risk of myopathy muscle pain or weakness. These drugs can affect how your body handles and breaks down Lipitor by slowing down the protein that helps transport drugs in your body.

Gemfibrozil is a fibrate, a type of drug that helps lower levels of triglycerides a type of fat found in your blood. Like cyclosporine and letermovir see above , gemfibrozil slows down the protein that helps transport drugs like Lipitor in your body. So combining gemfibrozil and Lipitor greatly increases your risk of having myopathy muscle pain or weakness.

Lipitor can still interact with these medications, although not as severely as with gemfibrozil. This is because fibrate drugs can also cause myopathy as a side effect. Taking these types of drugs in combination with Lipitor can increase your risk for having muscle pain. If your doctor thinks you should take Lipitor with a fibrate, they may decide to lower your dosage of Lipitor or the fibrate.

Or they may decide to replace one drug or the other with a different medication. In addition to the drugs described above, other medications may increase your risk of myopathy muscle pain or weakness if taken with Lipitor. Your doctor may decide to prescribe a lower dosage of Lipitor or your other medication. Or they may prescribe you a different medication rather than Lipitor or the drugs listed above. No herbs or supplements have been reported to interact with Lipitor. However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Lipitor.

You should avoid drinking excessive amounts of grapefruit juice while taking Lipitor. For more information on how grapefruit juice can interact with medications, explore this guide. Lipitor belongs to a class of medications known as statins. A medication class is a group of medications that work together in a similar manner. Statins are used to lower cholesterol levels.

People with high cholesterol, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease may need to take these other types of medications as well. Do not let anyone else take your medication. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription.

It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription over-the-counter medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements.

You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies. Atorvastatin pronounced as a tore' va sta tin.

Why is this medication prescribed? How should this medicine be used? Other uses for this medicine What special precautions should I follow? What special dietary instructions should I follow? What should I do if I forget a dose? What side effects can this medication cause? What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication? Brand names Brand names of combination products.

Your health care professional will be able to advise whether you should stop taking the medicine during pregnancy and whether you may stop your statin temporarily while breastfeeding. Patients who are at high risk of heart attack or stroke who require statins after giving birth should not breastfeed and should use alternatives such as infant formula.

Health Care Professionals : Health care professionals should discontinue statin therapy in most pregnant patients, or they can consider the ongoing therapeutic needs of the individual patient, particularly those at very high risk for cardiovascular events during pregnancy. Because of the chronic nature of cardiovascular disease, treatment of hyperlipidemia is not generally necessary during pregnancy.

Discuss with patients whether they may discontinue statins temporarily while breastfeeding. Advise those who require a statin because of their cardiovascular risk that breastfeeding is not recommended because the medicine may pass into breast milk The FDA hopes the revised language in the prescribing information will help reassure health care professionals that statins are safe to prescribe in patients who can become pregnant, and help them reassure patients with unintended statin exposure in early pregnancy or before pregnancy is recognized that the medicine is unlikely to harm the unborn baby.

Other uses for this medicine. What special precautions should I follow? Before taking atorvastatin, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to atorvastatin, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in atorvastatin tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients. Be sure to mention any of the following: antifungal medications such as itraconazole Sporanox and ketoconazole Nizoral ; boceprevir Victrelis ; cimetidine Tagamet ; clarithromycin Biaxin ; cobicistat-containing medications Stribild ; colchicine Colcrys ; digoxin Lanoxin ; efavirenz Sustiva, in Atripla ; oral contraceptives birth control pills ; other cholesterol-lowering medications such as fenofibrate Tricor , gemfibrozil Lopid , and niacin nicotinic acid, Niacor, Niaspan ; certain HIV protease inhibitors such as darunavir Prezista , fosamprenavir Lexiva , lopinavir in Kaletra , nelfinavir Viracept , ritonavir Norvir, in Kaletra , saquinavir Invirase , and tipranavir Aptivus ; medications that suppress the immune system such as cyclosporine Neoral, Sandimmune ; rifampin Rifadin, Rimactane ; spironolactone Aldactone ; and telaprevir Incivek.

Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. Other medications may also interact with atorvastatin, so be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, even those that do not appear on this list.

Your doctor will order laboratory tests to see how well your liver is working even if you do not think you have liver disease. Taking atorvastatin with other cholesterol-lowering drugs raises your risk for muscle problems. Your doctor may change your dosage of these medications or have you avoid taking them together. Taking rifampin with atorvastatin may lower the amount of atorvastatin in your body.

This means that the atorvastatin may not work as well. Taking atorvastatin with certain drugs used to treat HIV may cause atorvastatin to build up in your body. Examples of these drugs include protease inhibitors such as:. Taking digoxin with atorvastatin can increase the amount of digoxin in your blood to dangerous levels. If you need to take these drugs together, your doctor will monitor these levels and adjust your medication doses if needed.

Taking atorvastatin with oral birth control pills may increase the levels of oral contraceptive hormones in your blood. Taking cyclosporine with atorvastatin raises your risk for muscle breakdown.

Your doctor should avoid this combination. However, because drugs interact differently in each person, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible interactions. Always speak with your healthcare provider about possible interactions with all prescription drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and over-the-counter drugs that you are taking.

Call or go to the nearest emergency room if you develop these symptoms. Taking it again could be fatal cause death. Avoid drinking large amounts of grapefruit juice while taking atorvastatin. Drinking grapefruit juice can lead to a buildup of atorvastatin in your blood, which raises your risk for muscle breakdown.

Ask your doctor how much grapefruit juice is safe for you. The use of drinks that contain alcohol raises your risk for liver disease from atorvastatin.

Talk to your doctor if you drink more than two alcoholic drinks per day. For people with kidney problems: Having kidney problems raises your risk for muscle breakdown while taking atorvastatin.

Your doctor may monitor you more closely for muscle problems. This means that you may have liver damage. If you have liver problems, talk with your doctor to make sure this drug is safe for you.

For people with diabetes : Atorvastatin may increase your blood sugar levels. For pregnant women: Atorvastatin should never be used during pregnancy. For women who are breastfeeding: Atorvastatin should not be used during breastfeeding.

If you breastfeed your child, talk to your doctor about what medication could be right for you. For seniors: People over the age of 65 years have a higher risk for muscle breakdown rhabdomyolysis while taking atorvastatin. This drug has been shown to be safe and effective in children 10—17 years of age.

This dosage information is for atorvastatin oral tablets. All possible dosages and drug forms may not be included here. Your dosage, drug form, and how often you take the drug will depend on:. The kidneys of older adults may not work as well as they used to. This can cause your body to process drugs more slowly. As a result, more of a drug stays in your body for a longer time. This increases your risk for side effects.

Your doctor may start you on a lowered dosage or a different medication schedule. This can help keep levels of this drug from building up too much in your body. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this list includes all possible dosages.

Always to speak with your doctor or pharmacist about dosages that are right for you.