What is the most important information I should know about Lipitor? • Do not take Lipitor without first talking to your doctor if you have liver disease. • Alcohol and Lipitor can both damage your liver. Discuss with your doctor the amount of alcohol that you drink so that it can be determined if Lipitor is the best choice for lowering your cholesterol. • Do not take Lipitor if you are pregnant, if you are planning a pregnancy, or if you are breast-feeding a baby. • Contact your doctor immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, especially if it is accompanied by a fever or flulike symptoms or yellowing of your skin or eyes.
What is Lipitor? • Lipitor blocks the production of cholesterol (a type of fat) in your body. • Lipitor is used to reduce the amounts of LDL (bad) cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides (another type of fat), and apolipoprotein B (a protein needed to make cholesterol) in your blood. Lipitor is also used to increase the level of HDL (good) cholesterol in your blood. These actions are important in reducing the risk of hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. • Lipitor may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
How should I take Lipitor? • Take Lipitor exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand these directions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you. • Take each dose with a full glass of water. • Lipitor can be taken with or without food. • Lipitor is usually taken once a day. Try to take your dose at the same time each day. Follow your doctor's instructions. • Your doctor may want to monitor your liver function with blood tests before starting treatment with Lipitor, at twelve weeks after both the start of your treatment and any increase in dose, and periodically (every 6 months) thereafter. Depending on the results of these tests, your doctor can determine how much monitoring you will require. • Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with Lipitor. The interaction could lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit and grapefruit juice with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor. • Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. To realize beneficial effects from Lipitor, avoid fatty, high-cholesterol foods. • Do not stop taking Lipitor without first talking to your doctor. It may be weeks or months before beneficial effects are seen from this medication. • Store Lipitor at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
What should I avoid while taking Lipitor? • Alcohol and Lipitor can both damage your liver. Discuss with your doctor the amount of alcohol that you drink so that it can be determined if Lipitor is the best choice for lowering your cholesterol. • Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with Lipitor. The interaction could lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit and grapefruit juice with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.
What other drugs will affect Lipitor? • Do not take Lipitor without first talking to your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines: · cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral); · gemfibrozil (Lopid); · niacin (Nicolar, Nicobid, Nicotinex, others); · clarithromycin (Biaxin); · erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Ery-Tab, Ilotycin, Eryc, PCE, Ilosone, others); or · fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), or ketoconazole (Nizoral). • The medications listed above interact with Lipitor and may cause damage your muscles. • Before taking Lipitor, tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines: · other cholesterol-lowering drugs such as cholestyramine (Questran) or colestipol (Colestid); or · digoxin (Lanoxin, Lanoxicaps). • You may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment if you are taking any of the medicines listed above. • Drugs other than those listed here may also interact with Lipitor. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines.