Lipitor medication
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Q: How does Lipitor (medication for cholesterol control) affect the liver?
A: I agree with the last post, you should probobly ask your doctor.
As you mentioned in your question, this med. affects cholesterol. Some of our cholesterol comes from diet, and some from our own bodies which make cholesterol in the liver. Lipitor (and other medicines like it- the statins) affects the production of cholesterol in the body. More specifically, it blocks the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of cholesterol.
Also, most substances that we ingest end up being processed by the liver, and so if the liver has too much going through it then it can become overwhelemed and maybe damaged. Some substances have more of an effect than others, and some people are more succeptible. In additoin to genetic, our general health, drinking alcohol, etc… all have an effect on how much the liver can handle.
In most cases, the benefit of lower bad cholesterol is worth the possible risk of side effects. (The biggest killer of men and women is cardiovascular diease, and cholesterol contributes to this. A healthy liver isn’t much help without a working heart).
Hope that helps.
Good health and God bless.
Q: Any information on medication lipitor causing dementia?
I read a short report in a news paper about a nurse that took lipitor, it caused dementia. I am a Nurse this is not one of the side effects of the medication. I have never heard of it doing this. My mother takes this medication and has for years. She has dementia and this started years ago. Would like information to help make good decision if she needs to maybe stop to see if this would correct if she came off of the lipitor.
A: I work in the medical field as well and have not heard of this at all. We have many patients on Lipitor and have not seen the correlation between the two. Would she be a decent candidate for Aricept at this point? Interesting question–will be curious to see if there is anything that supports use of lipitor as a cause of dementia.
Q: What is the reaction between grapefruit and Medication ie: lipitor or high blood pressure pills?
A: Grapefruit juice causes increased levels of atorvastatin (Lipitor). It is metabolized by the same cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme which will decrease the first pass effect in the liver and therefore increase lipitor concentrations that are in the blood stream.
If you are an avid grapefruit drinker and are concerned about not being able to drink it, don’t be alarmed. If you were to drink or eat the same amount of grapefruit juice each day you would be able to maintain proper drug levels in your body. Just be sure to let you doctor know, so that when he prescribes the dose he doesn’t give you too large of strength.
It is possible to have some grapefruit juice in the morning when you are taking your Lipitor (or other statin) in the evening. Just be sure to talk to your pharmacist or doctor beforehand.
Increased drug levels will increase side effects. Most notably is the rhabdomylysis (or increased muscle breakdown – it will feel like sore muscles), and this is bad.
I’m surprised that the MD posts that there is no consequence to taking grapefruit juice and lipitor. He should do some reading. It can be a very big concern, so don’t take it lightly.
Q: the medication lipitor does the strength of the medicine go down as the milligrams go up?
A: No. The strength goes up as you increase the mg. Generally, you drop the cholesterol by about 6% with each doubling of the dose.
Q: Is there evidence that psoriasis could be linked to taking medications like Lipitor?
I have psoriasis on the palms of both hands…. no medication prescribed for this condition seems to do much good. I believe that psoriasis is caused by a liver disorder… and Lipitor can definitely cause problems in the liver. I’m trying to find an answer in order to cure the psoriasis.
A: Hi, The cause of psoriasis is not known (that is why there is no cure) and nobody is in the position to tell you when it will subside or flare up more. You can try one of the natural treatments available on the Internet (just google “natural treatment of psoriasis”) and take your pick. Some of them do actually work. For my psor. I use herbal cream by Champori quite successfully. It takes just a couple of weeks to clear the spots and they then stay clear for months on end.
Try it: Champori is available online without prescription and comes with money back guarantee so if it doesn’t work for you – it’s free.
Miko
Q: I am taking statins called Lipitor can i eat grapefruit when taking this medication?
A: No you can’t eat grapefruit, or certainly not at the same time.
Grapefruit can have detrimental effects on your cholesterol lowering therapy:
Grapefruit contains the compound bergamottin, which interacts with certain enzyme systems in the body. These enzyme systems are responsible for breaking down statins, as well as other drugs, into more usable chemicals and transporting them in the body.
When grapefruit juice is consumed at or around the time you take your statin, the components in grapefruit juice prevent these enzyme systems from breaking down the drug, causing the drug to accumulate in high amounts in the body. This can be very dangerous and can cause a variety of health problems, such as liver damage or a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle and kidney damage).
The only statins I am aware of that cause this interaction are;
Atorvastatin (Lipitor) What you are taking
lovastatin and simvastatin
But generally speaking statins are taken at night so this should not be an issue
I am not 100% certain but I think you should only avoid grapefruit at the time of taking the statin…hopefully Dr Frank will pick this up and maybe correct me if I am wrong. Haven’t seem him much today (I hope the trolls haven’t driven him away, I’m afraid to say I am missing him already)
Q: If you are on statin medication(Lipitor, Zocor,etc) have you experienced side effects?
Also: do you take CoQ10 enzymes to replace the ones destroyed by the medication?
www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/statin.html – 83k -
gangadha: These are mostly pro-industry sites, although they do list side effects. Try these:
www.healthy-heart-guide.com/statin-side-effects.html – 12k -
www.spacedoc.net/ – 55k
mb.rxlist.com/rxboard/lipitor.pl?noframes;read=2851 – 27k
www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/11/07/bad_news_about_statin_drugs.htm – 195k
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082401714.html -
healthsy: thanks for this site:
http://mb.rxlist.com/rxboard/lipitor.pl?…
I had to laugh that a Dr. Reckless(sic) wants to put statins n the water supply.
I want to let this Q run 3 more days, but you are in line for Best Answer.
gangadha: I see you want to educate peole on health issues; check out the sites I have given and see if you agree that profits have prevented drug companies from acting ethically.
Look at the case of Merck and their drug Vioxin. It would be interesting if a class action could be initiated because of side effects of the statins.
This is an excellent 20 page report by the Weston A. Price Foundation: Web Results 1 – 10 of about 150,000 for dangers of statin. (0.21 seconds)
Sponsored Links
Statin Side Effects
Find Out What Your Doctor Won’t
Tell You About Using Statins!
Your-Cholesterol-Levels.info
Side Effects Of Statins
Breaking News, Expert Tips, Member
Support, Treatment Options & More
www.EverydayHealth.com
Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven’t Been Told About Popular …Sally Fallon and Mary Enig discuss the costs of cholesterol-lowering medicines.
www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/statin.html – 83k
I mean the bottom one; the other 2 sneaked in!
A: It really bothers me that so much is taken for granted when it is comes to certain aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. This megabillion or trillion dollar industry has very few objective individuals involved in it. I recommend with many people that have a lot more health and wellness intellect and experience than I, that we should be examining our lifestyles as a whole, instead of padding the wallets of these companies and the MD’s that get kickbacks for handing out prescriptions, and coming to a holistic approach that better suits our complete being, including spirit, mind, body and all parts thereof. There is no medical evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that negative cholesterol levels have a huge impact of the likelihood of a heart abnormality, angina, or stroke, unless is is exacerbated by other factors that are also present. Here is something else they just don’t want you to know. Great marketing supporting statin use does not prove anything, and it shouldn’t anyway. Nuf said.
Q: Lipitor 40mg medication can it be broken in half?
now lipitor comes in 20mg and 40mg tablets. me and my my mother both have high cholesterol and both are on the lipitor tablet. i am on the 40mg while mum is on the 20mg i have 2 prescription from the dr for lipitor 40mg (cause each time i go i get one just incase i don’t go back for a little while). when i buy it i give one pack of the 40mg and give it to my mum, but because she is on the 20mg she just breaks it in half and takes it. in effectiveness this actually saves money too cause she can go for 2 months rather than only 1 month using this technique.
does anyone know if this tablet can be split and if split does it lose its effectiveness. the tablet doesn’t have a break line so normally you can’t break them, but according to website http://aids.about.com/od/generalinformation/a/splitting.htm you can. its not a different generic tablet it is the actual lipitor 40mg.
A: That should be fine. You can always ask your pharmacist these questions as well.
Q: I am currently on the medication Lipitor. I wand to stop taking it.do I go off at once or do I taper off?
A: You can just stop taking it but it could be VERY dangerous to you in the long run. Lipitor is prescribed because you have high cholestrol/tryglicerides. These are the fatty things in your blood stream that cause you to have clogged/blocked arteries and strokes and heart attacks.
Before quitting you best be asking your doctor to put you on another medication. Or you will be a high risk candidate for death.
Q: Which cholesterol medication is stronger, Zocor or Lipitor?
A: Both statins both poison. Lipitor is typically prescribed in larger relative doses but since the piddly 1% benefit is not dose or cholesterol level dependent, the added strength (or dose) just adds to the side effects. In my research, the really horrific side effects, seem to occur with Lipitor. My numerous side effects really took off when I was switched to Lipitor from Zocor.
Pharm dude, I never heard of a drug company proving that their drug was no better than their competitor. Seems like a waste of money. Yet CBS was able to discern an advantage. Really, CBS, is that what you call a reliable source? Even the drug companies have never proved that lowering cholesterol has a direct effect on CHD. It states that in all their advertisements. The 1% benefit is very repeatable but never tied to lowering cholesterol. The most likely mechanism of action seems to be an anti inflammatory effect. This appears to be confirmed by the latest Crestor study, where they gave Crestor to patients with normal cholesterol, but elevated C reactive protein, a marker of inflammation. It still reduced events by 1 person out of 100.. Those clever drug companies say this is proof, we should give their drugs to patients who have normal cholesterol. Of course, they stopped the study before the negative effect on the immune system could show an increase in cancer deaths.
Side effects that I personally experienced= depression, memory loss, muscle pain, tendon pain in ankle, hand and hip, stomach problems, sleep problems, eye problems, extreme low energy, argumentative (seems to be permanent), low testosterone, very short term amnesia.
Why do people spend up to $1500 a year for such a small chance of any benefit?
Pharmacist who’s life was almost ruined by Lipitor
Q: what is liponil and lipitor? are they the same medication?
any other info would be helpful!!
A: Im not sure what Liponil is… its some kind of herbal remedy that claims to lower cholesterol but there doesnt seem to be any available info on how it works in the body or how effective it is.
But I know that Lipitor is a drug that inhibits an enzyme in your body called “HMG-CoA Reductace”. This enzyme is responsible for synthesizing cholesterol. By inhibiting this enzyme, Lipitor prevents the formation of cholesterol thus lowering your total cholesteral to a normal level.
Q: Lipitor side effect occur after 2 years ?
My mom has been on Lipitor for 2+ years. Very recently she has been feeling like a “zombie” as she put it. She feels no emotion and feels “empty”. The only medication is has been on is Lipitor. I read the side effects of Lipitor and, sure enough, depression is one of them.
Is it possible that even though she has been on Lipitor for 2+ years, the side effect can occur now?
Thanks in advance!
A: I looked up atorvastatin (Lipitor) in the Micromedex evidence-based database and in the Drug Information Handbook (14th ed.). I found no evidence of depression as an adverse effect related to its use. I did find one recent article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that looked specifically at “statin” use and depression, and they were unable to show a link (source below). Could you please share your source of information?
Depression is a very complex state and stems from a huge variety of causes. Some of these causes are psychological, but a good many of them may be physical or hormonal. Menopause, lack of sleep, improper diet/exercise regimens, early onset diabetes, thyroid problems, anemias – these can all contribute symptoms that look like depression or lead to chemical imbalances that would be considered clinical depression. There’s no way to know without first doing a “complete workup” (blood tests, liver tests, etc.).
It is *possible*, that atorvastatin may be causing to some other adverse effect (e.g. muscle weakness, changes in your blood cells). These effects can become noticeable at any time during statin therapy, which is why your mom probably has regular liver function tests – if she hasn’t, then she needs to soon. You do *not* want to abruptly stop your statin therapy without first talking to your doctor.
This is not to say that you should ignore these signs or symptoms, because depression is serious and treatable. You definitely want to bring this up with your doctor as soon as possible. It helps to bring a “diary” of how your mom feels on a day-to-day basis (physically and mentally). They will first try to rule out a correctable physiological abnormalities, and then refer to a psychiatrist for evaluation.
Let me know if you need clarification. Good luck and best wishes for your mother!
Q: What are some things my grandmother should avoid when taking Lipitor?
My grandmother is taking Lipitor for her cholesterol. She is worried that she can’t drink coffee while on medication??? Help please! thank you!!!
A: First thing is to AVOID THE LIPITOR! That drug is dangerous and should not be on the market.
Statin drugs like Lipitor, lower cholesterol by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, a key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. In many cases these drugs activate the Atrogin-1 gene that plays a key role in muscle atrophy. Three separate tests showed that even at low concentrations, statin drugs led to Atrogin-1 induced muscle damage. As the concentrations increased, the damage increased as well. This is why many people have muscle cramps and aches when taking these drugs. Since the heart is a muscle, does it make sense to activate the Atrogin-1 gene that causes muscle atrophy? Additionally, the production of Coenzyme Q-10 is greatly reduced by 50% in just 30 days from taking statin drugs. This co-enzyme is vital to good heart function, making collagen for structural integrity, and most importantly every cell in the body needs this coenzyme to produce ATP for cellular energy. There are some disease consequences from having low Coenzyme Q-10 such as rhabdomyolysis, hepatitis, myopathy, neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, vertigo, congestive heart failure. Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially fatal disease where muscle tissue deteriorates as a result of a deficiency of Coenzyme Q-10. This is in addition to the activation of the Atrogin-1 gene. In addition to these problems from taking statin drugs things like cognitive loss, neuropathy, anemia, acidosis, frequent fevers, cataracts, and sexual dysfunction have also been reported as side effects.
It is BAD SCIENCE that says cholesterol numbers above 200 are bad. A woman should have a total cholesterol between 240 and 300 for longevity and the ability to make good STEROID HORMONES.
The body makes 85% of the cholesterol found in the body and only 15% comes from diet. If you eat less cholesterol, your body just makes more. Controlling the cholesterol levels in people is just a way for drug companies to sell billions of dollars of that and other drugs, nothing more. Cholesterol does NOT cause heart disease. Even the American Heart Associations says that.
Your grandmother will need to watch her blood pressure now very carefully because reducing the cholesterol in her body will affect her ability to repair arteries and STROKE will now become a higher risk for her. She needs to become educated on this issue and not listen to the INDOCTRINATION that is happening everywhere on this subject.
EDIT: Tweety, the biggest drug interaction from taking Lipitor is Lipitor itself. It is reacting with the body in ways that no one should have to endure, ever. It is a dangerous drug, addressing a make believe problem, and is damaging so many people, yet our illustrious medical system seems to still believe the ego maniac, Ancel Keys, was credible and his lipid hypothesis that created this lunacy was credible. When someone asks the question, they need to learn the truth, not some sugar coated medical indoctrination dreamed up by a pharmaceutical company with a profit agenda regardless of the health problems that drug is creating, like liver cancer!
I liked your suggestion to see a pharmacist about his opinion on Lipitor. Here is a guy on Yahoo Answers that is a pharmacist that will give you his opinion: “aceofspd”
good luck
Q: Is there a cholesterol medication that you can take and still eat grapefruit? (on lipitor now)?
A: I take LIPITOR AND I HAVE FOR YEAR but what’s this about grapefruite??? i have never heard of that before my Doc as never told me i can’t eat grapefruit, THANKS
Q: Have you or anyone you know experienced bad side effects from Lipitor?
It does reduce my cholesterol, but it also has serious side effects, and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I am going to ask my doctor to change the medication for another.
A: Not including myself I know 12 other people who are on Lipitor and none of us has ever had problems. I’ve been on it 2 years and the others have been on it as long or longer then me.
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