Lipitor may interact with a blood pressure drug called diltiazem (Cartia XT). Its likely safe for you to take these medications together. Never disregard or delay professional medical advice in person because of anything on HealthTap. Before you start treatment for high cholesterol, your doctor will recommend the best plan for you. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 5 Feb 2023), Cerner Multum (updated 22 Feb 2023), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2023) and others. Sarah Lewis is a pharmacist and a medical writer with over 25 years of experience in various areas of pharmacy practice. To learn more, please visit our. Lipitor dosages range from 10 mg to 80 mg. ABC News medical contributor, Dr. Marie Savard, in an opinion piece, advises the approximately 13 million Americans taking statins to lower cholesterol, that there are side effects that doctors often dont take into account. This may raise your risk of side effects from your birth control pills. Would spacing out my medications lower my risk of interactions. In other words, alcohol wont immediately interfere with or react with the statins in your body. It works by decreasing bad cholesterol and fats (such as LDL, triglycerides) and increasing good cholesterol (HDL) in your blood. Cranberry might decrease how quickly the body breaks down atorvastatin (Lipitor). Milk, Soy Milk, Milk-Based Smoothies. Examples include: Taking birth control pills with Lipitor may raise your risk of side effects from your birth control pills. Caffeine is a nonspecific adenosine receptor blocker, and thus drinking CC may block the myocardial protective effects of statins.. A bigger concern. Letting your doctor know you have been or are currently a heavy drinker will alert them to look for alternatives or monitor your liver function for signs of damage. However, they are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Promptly consult your doctor or pharmacist. If youve had an allergic reaction. Both Lipitor and Zetia are approved to treat high cholesterol. Stay on this low-fat diet when you take LIPITOR. Drinking large amounts of alcohol puts you at an increased risk of liver damage, which may be worsened by Lipitor. Drink water (no soda, etc). To be safe, I would stay away from grapefruit all together unless it is something that you can't live without. If you have questions about using Lipitor with birth control pills, talk with your doctor. Supplements can affect the way other medicines work. Up to 30 percent of people experience muscle pain with statin use. But new medications can help lower cholesterol and improve heart health. Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Is it ok to drink aloe vera juice while taking simvastatin? Patients taking warfarin should be aware of foods that contain Vitamin K (green leafy vegetables) and try to maintain a consistent diet of these foods. 2 In some cases, your doctor may recommend taking Lipitor with lisinopril. Slowly lower the handles behind the back of your head until your elbows bend at . Do I need to avoid any food or drinks while taking atorvastatin? To learn more, please visit our, There should not be any impact. Kidney problems. Lipitor can interact with a certain type of antifungal drug called azole antifungals. Statins are drugs that can help decrease your levels of LDL cholesterol. In rare cases, Lipitor can raise your risk of high blood sugar. 7,752,060 and 8,719,052. Drinking alcohol whilst taking statins can cause the possible side effects to be exacerbated, turning them from minor to very serious. He has been featured in numerous publications including the Huffington Post as well as a variety of health and pharmacy-related blogs. Lee, J. W., Morris, J. K., & Wald, N. J. Thank you. High dosages are correlated with increased side effects. (2014, December 16). Is it safe to use it with Benadryl though? Our expert explains if grapefruit is safe to mix with your statins. Included are Zocor (simvastatin), lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev) and to a lesser extent Lipitor (atorvastatin). Yes: It can be crushed. There's no clear evidence, however, that taking CoQ10 at the same time as atorvastatin will benefit your health. About atorvastatin Who can and cannot take it How and when to take it Side effects Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility Taking atorvastatin with other medicines and herbal supplements Common questions Related conditions Angina If you have kidney problems and take Lipitor, your doctor may monitor you more closely for side effects during your treatment. Vitamin C, fiber and potassium are just a few of the health perks of eating grapefruit. All Rights Reserved. The phase IV clinical study analyzes what interactions people who take Ginger and Lipitor have. They can determine how much caffeine may be safe during your treatment. Yes, its likely safe to take Lipitor and sildenafil (Viagra) together. Drinking alcohol while on statins Overall,. Cranberry might decrease how quickly the body breaks down atorvastatin. And for those people who enjoy an occasional (or frequent) alcoholic drink, the side effects and risks may be different. You can ask them about other treatments that may be better choices for you. Grapefruit juice contains compounds called furanocoumarins that stop CYP3A from doing its job. Can I drink coffee while taking statin? This can increase your risk of certain side effects from Lipitor, such as myopathy (muscle pain) and rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown). Although rare, statins may increase liver enzyme production. The general consensus is that drinking more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women could put you at a greater risk of alcoholic liver disease and possible statin side effects. Learn more about how taking a supplement can affect statin side effects and your overall heart health. Studies offer conflicting data on just how much grapefruit it takes to produce a clinically significant interaction. Cholesterol itself isnt bad. Gu Q, et al. Here, Shamir Patel, pharmacist and founder at Chemist-4-U, lists the seven foods and drink you should never take with these common medicines. Sometimes, this interaction can cause Lipitor to be less effective. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2017, July 18). Atorvastatin. UpToDate: Statin muscle-related adverse events. Breastfeeding. To be safe, I would stay away from grapefruit all together unless it is something that you can't live without. You should avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice during your Lipitor treatment. Heres what some top doctors have to say about high cholesterol, or hyperlipidemia. LIPITOR can be taken with or without food. Severe side effects are rare, but can include muscle fiber breakdown and kidney injury. Increased risk of alcohol addiction. Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Statin drugs such as Lipitor may actually decrease the amount of CoQ10 in your body. Grapefruit can increase the potency of many drugs (including simvastatin) from the normal dose up to 4 to 5 times of the dosage. This is because taking the drug could cause another allergic reaction. He graduated from the University At Buffalo with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2010. Also what oil is best to cook with for LDL's and heart health. Pravachol or pravastin is not thought to be altered by grapefruit juice. Fatigue was found to be a real concern for some users. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from West Virginia University and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. For example, a vaginal ring such as etonogestrel ethinyl estradiol (NuvaRing) or a contraceptive injection such as medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera) may be better options. And the paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may have other details about interactions. Your doctor may recommend avoiding red yeast rice when youre taking Lipitor. Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with Lipitor. While this has been shown to hold true for simvastatin (FloLipid, Zocor), lovastatin (Altoprev), and atorvastatin (Lipitor), grapefruit juice is not associated with higher blood concentrations of pravastatin (Pravachol), which is why its sometimes viewed as the safest statin (Fukazawa, 2004). Grapefruit Juice and Statins. With that being said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests that you not drink grapefruit juice if youre taking a statin like Lipitor, reasoning that different people can respond differently to the combination, and instead, consult your healthcare provider to make a decision that is right for you (FDA, 2017). While grapefruit has kind of become the poster child when it comes to what youre not allowed to combine with prescription drugs such as Lipitor (generic name atorvastatin), it turns out its not alone in that regard. For more information about some of these interactions, see the Drug interactions explained section below. Your doctor should start you on a low-fat diet before giving you LIPITOR. In addition, enzyme inhibition from grapefruit can last 24 hours, so separating grapefruit from medication by a few hours generally isn't sufficient. Learn more about the link. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Alternative statins like rosuvastatin (Crestor), pravastatin (Pravachol), pitavastatin (Livalo) or fluvastatin (Lescol) do not have this potential adverse interaction with grapefruit. The effect of the grapefruit can last up to five hours. Your doctor can recommend a different treatment option for you. Because Lipitor is a long-acting statin, with a half-life of 14 hours, you can take it whenever you wantas long as you pick the same time each day. Diabetes. Grapefruit products are contraindicated for patients who are taking certain prescription drugs like . Drinking grapefruit juice has been shown in past studies to increase the blood levels of certain medications, including some statins, allergy medications, immunosuppressive drugs, and anti-HIV medications. I dont drink or smoke and I'm a diabetic, your opinion would be appreciated ty? Note that the information below does not include all other possible interactions with Lipitor. THIS TOOL DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. 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