Lovastatin; Simvastatin/Nefazodone
This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.
Medical warning:
Severe. These medicines may interact and cause very harmful effects and are usually not taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
Nefazodone may slow down your body's ability to process your cholesterol medicine.
What might happen:
The levels of your cholesterol medicine may build up in your blood. This may cause damage to your muscles.
What you should do about this interaction:
Let your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) know right away that you are taking these medicines together. You may need to take a different cholesterol medicine.Tell your doctor right away if you experience muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness; unexplained tiredness; or discolored urine.Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.
References:
1.Mevacor (lovastatin) US prescribing information. Merck & Co., Inc. February, 2012.
2.Anonymous. FDA Drug Safety Communication: New restrictions, contraindications, and dose limitations for Zocor (simvastatin) to reduce the risk of muscle injury. available at: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm256581.htm June 8, 2011.
3.Zocor (simvastatin) US prescribing information. Merck & Co., Inc. October, 2011.
4.Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) US prescribing information. Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals October, 2012.
5.Jacobson RH, Wang P, Glueck CJ. Myositis and rhabdomyolysis associated with concurrent use of simvastatin and nefazodone. JAMA 1997 Jan 22-29; 277(4):296-7.
6.Karnik NS, Maldonado JR. Antidepressant and statin interactions: a review and case report of simvastatin and nefazodone-induced rhabdomyolysis and transaminitis. Psychosomatics 2005 Nov-Dec;46(6):565-8.
7.Skrabal MZ, Stading JA, Monaghan MS. Rhabdomyolysis associated with simvastatin-nefazodone therapy. South Med J 2003 Oct;96(10):1034-5.
8.Thompson M, Samuels S. Rhabdomyolysis with simvastatin and nefazodone. Am J Psychiatry 2002 Sep;159(9):1607.
9.Serzone (nefazodone hydrochloride) US prescribing information. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company January, 2005.
10.Phansalkar S, Desai AA, Bell D, Yoshida E, Doole J, Czochanski M, Middleton B, Bates DW. High-priority drug-drug interactions for use in electronic health records. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2012 Sep-Oct; 19(5):735-43.
