Lipitor

Indications:

Pravastatin,Lipitor, is used with diet changes (restriction of cholesterol and fat intake) to reduce the amount of cholesterol and certain fatty substances in the blood. Pravastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body. Buildup of cholesterol and fats along the walls of the blood vessels (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body. Lowering blood levels of cholesterol and fats may help to prevent heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks.

.Usage:

Pravastatin comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day with or without food. To help you remember to take pravastatin, take it around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask Your Health provider or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take pravastatin exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by Your Health provider.
 

special precautions:

Inform Your Health provider and pharmacist if you are allergic to pravastatin or any other medications.
Inform Your Health provider and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: cimetidine (Tagamet); erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin); ketoconazole (Nizoral); medications that suppress the immune system such as cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); other cholesterol-lowering medications such as fenofibrate (Tricor), gemfibrozil (Lopid), and niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor, Niaspan); and spironolactone (Aldactone). Your Health provider may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
if you are taking cholestyramine (Questran) or colestipol (Cholestid), take them 4 hours before or 1 hour after pravastatin.
Inform Your Health provider if you drink large amounts of alcohol and if you have or have ever had liver or kidney disease.
Inform Your Health provider if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking pravastatin, stop taking pravastatin and Inform Your Health provider immediately. Pravastatin may harm the fetus.
if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking pravastatin.
if you have a severe infection, surgery, an injury, low blood pressure, or seizures while taking pravastatin, talk to Your Health provider about stopping to take the medication for a while.
What special dietary instructions should I follow?
Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.

side effects:

Pravastatin may cause side effects. Inform Your Health provider if either of these symptoms is severe or does not go away:

heartburn
headache
Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, Inform Your Health provider immediately:

muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
lack of energy
fever
yellowing of the skin or eyes