In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain lab tests during your treatment , especially if you develop symptoms of liver damage.
Before having any laboratory test, tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are taking atorvastatin. 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.
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:. A "nocebo" effect means people who have negative expectations about a medication report experiencing the potential side effect at higher rates than the drug should cause. The actual risk of developing muscle pain as a result of taking statins is about 5 percent or less compared with taking a pill that doesn't contain medication placebo.
However, studies have found that nearly 30 percent of people stopped taking the pills because of muscle aches even when they were taking a placebo. A strong predictor you'll experience muscle aches when taking statins could be whether or not you read about the potential side effect.
Very rarely, statins can cause life-threatening muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis rab-doe-my-OL-ih-sis. Rhabdomyolysis can cause severe muscle pain, liver damage, kidney failure and death. The risk of very serious side effects is extremely low, and calculated in a few cases per million people taking statins.
Rhabdomyolysis can occur when you take statins in combination with certain drugs or if you take a high dose of statins. Occasionally, statin use could cause an increase in the level of enzymes that signal liver inflammation. If the increase is only mild, you can continue to take the drug. Rarely, if the increase is severe, you may need to try a different statin. Although liver problems are rare, your doctor may order a liver enzyme test before or shortly after you begin to take a statin.
You wouldn't need any additional liver enzyme tests unless you begin to have signs or symptoms of trouble with your liver. Contact your doctor immediately if you have unusual fatigue or weakness, loss of appetite, pain in your upper abdomen, dark-colored urine, or yellowing of your skin or eyes. It's possible your blood sugar blood glucose level may increase when you take a statin, which may lead to developing type 2 diabetes.
The risk is small but important enough that the Food and Drug Administration FDA has issued a warning on statin labels regarding blood glucose levels and diabetes. The increase generally occurs when blood sugar levels are already higher than normal and fall in the prediabetes or diabetes range when you begin taking a statin.
Statins prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes, so the relevance of the mild increase in sugar values with statins observed in some people is unclear.
The benefit of taking statins likely outweighs the small risk to have the blood sugar level go up. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns. The FDA warns on statin labels that some people have developed memory loss or confusion while taking statins. These side effects reverse once you stop taking the medication. There is limited evidence to prove a cause-effect relationship, but talk to your doctor if you experience memory loss or confusion while taking statins.
There has also been evidence that statins may help with brain function — in people with dementia, for example. This is still being studied. Don't stop taking your statin medication before talking to your doctor.
Not everyone who takes a statin will have side effects, but some people may be at a greater risk than are others. Risk factors include:.
Grapefruit juice contains a chemical that can interfere with the enzymes that break down metabolize the statins in your digestive system. While you won't need to eliminate grapefruit entirely from your diet, ask your doctor about how much grapefruit you can have.
There are many drugs that may interact with statins, so be sure your doctor is aware of all the medicines you take when being prescribed with statins. To relieve side effects believed to be caused by statins, your doctor may recommend several options. Discuss these steps with your doctor before trying them:. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if this side effect bothers you.
It usually goes away after you stop taking the medicine. Serious side effects when taking atorvastatin are rare and happen in less than 1 in 1, people. In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to atorvastatin. These are not all the side effects of atorvastatin. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet.
Atorvastatin isn't recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as there's no firm evidence it's safe. Talk to your doctor if you want to get pregnant. It's best to stop taking atorvastatin at least 3 months before you start trying for a baby.
If you become pregnant while taking atorvastatin, stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor. It's not known if atorvastatin gets into breast milk, but it may cause problems for your baby. Speak to your doctor about what's best for you and your baby while you're breastfeeding.
It may be possible to delay starting or restarting atorvastatin until you've stopped breastfeeding completely. Some medicines affect the way atorvastatin works and can increase the risk of serious side effects. If you're taking atorvastatin and need to take one of these medicines, your doctor may:. These are not all the medicines that can interfere with atorvastatin. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicine packet or check with your pharmacist.
St John's wort, a herbal medicine taken for depression , reduces the amount of atorvastatin in your blood, so it doesn't work as well. Talk to your doctor if you're thinking about starting St John's wort, as it will change how well atorvastatin works. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. Atorvastatin acts on the liver to stop it making cholesterol. This lowers your blood cholesterol level. For the first 12 months on this medicine, you'll be offered a couple of routine tests to make sure your liver is working normally.
Your cholesterol levels should drop noticeably within 4 weeks - if you take your medicine regularly, as prescribed. Usually, treatment with a statin such as atorvastatin is for life. The benefits will only continue for as long as you take it. If you stop taking atorvastatin without starting a different treatment, your cholesterol level may rise again.
You may have read negative stories about statins, but they're thought to be very safe, effective medicines. Statins are thought to have very few side effects. Sometimes the side effects that people report aren't related to their medicine.
However, if you're concerned about the safety of statins, talk to your doctor. Atorvastatin is safe to take for a long time, even many years. In fact, it works best when you take it for a long time. No, there's no evidence that atorvastatin is addictive. You won't get any withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it. You may want to stop atorvastatin if you think you're having side effects. Talk to your doctor first to see if it really is a side effect of atorvastatin or an unrelated problem.
Your doctor may decide to lower your dose or change your medicine. You won't get any withdrawal symptoms. However, stopping atorvastatin may cause your cholesterol to rise.
This increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes. If you want to stop taking your medicine, it's important to find another way to lower your cholesterol. There's some interest in taking CoQ10 together with statins. However there's no firm evidence that taking CoQ10 at the same time as atorvastatin will benefit your health.
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