HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/Niacin (=> 250 mg)
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:
Serious. These medicines may interact and cause very harmful effects. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
The cause of the interaction is not known. This interaction may be more likely to occur in patients of Chinese descent.
What might happen:
When the two medicines are taken together, you may experience muscle aches, tenderness, and weakness.
What you should do about this interaction:
Contact your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) as soon as possible about taking these two medicines together. They may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. If your doctor prescribes these medicines together, report any symptoms of muscle aches, tenderness, weakness, changes in the color of your urine, or flu-like symptoms. 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.Niaspan (niacin) US prescribing information. Abbott Laboratories February, 2013.
3.Lipitor (atorvastatin) US prescribing information. Pfizer Inc. October, 2012.
4.Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) US prescribing information. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP December, 2012.
5.Zocor (simvastatin) US prescribing information. Merck & Co., Inc. October, 2011.
6.Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) US prescribing information. Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals October, 2012.
7.Anonymous. FDA Drug Safety Communication: Ongoing safety review of high-dose Zocor (simvastatin) and increased risk of muscle injury. available at: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPati entsandProviders/ucm204882.htm March 19, 2010.
8.Livalo (pitavastatin) US prescribing information. Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. October, 2012.
9.Lescol (fluvastatin sodium) US prescribing information. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation October, 2012.
10.Pravachol (pravastatin sodium) US prescribing information. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company October, 2012.
11.Norman DJ, Illingworth DR, Munson J, Hosenpud J. Myolysis and acute renal failure in a heart-transplant recipient receiving lovastatin. N Engl J Med 1988 Jan 7;318(1):46-7.
12.Reaven P, Witztum JL. Lovastatin, nicotinic acid, and rhabdomyolysis. Ann Intern Med 1988 Oct 1;109(7):597-8.
13.Phansalkar S, van der Sijs H, Tucker AD, Desai AA, Bell DS, Teich JM, Middleton B, Bates DW. Drug-drug interactions that should be non-interruptive in order to reduce alert fatigue in electronic health records. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2012 Sep 25.
