LIPITOR FAQs

A: LIPITOR is used, along with diet and exercise, to lower cholesterol levels. LIPITOR is also used to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, certain kinds of heart surgeries, and chest pain if you have several common risk factors for heart disease, including family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, age, low HDL ("good" cholesterol), or smoking.

A: LIPITOR can cause serious side effects. These side effects have happened only to a small number of people. Your doctor can monitor you for them. These side effects usually go away if your dose is lowered or LIPITOR is stopped. These serious side effects include:

• Muscle problems. LIPITOR can cause serious muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure. You have a higher chance for muscle problems if you are taking certain other medicines with LIPITOR
• Liver problems. LIPITOR can cause liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start taking LIPITOR, and while you take it

Call your doctor right away if:

• You have muscle problems like weakness, tenderness, or pain that happen without a good reason, especially if you also have a fever or feel more tired than usual
• You have allergic reactions including swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing, which may require treatment right away
• You experience nausea and vomiting
• You pass brown or dark-colored urine
• You feel more tired than usual
• Your skin and whites of your eyes get yellow
• You feel stomach pain
• You have an allergic skin reaction

In clinical studies, patients reported the following common side effects while taking LIPITOR: diarrhea, upset stomach, muscle and joint pain, and alterations in some laboratory blood tests.

The following additional side effects have been reported with LIPITOR: tiredness and tendon problems.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any side effects that bother you or that will not go away.

These are not all the side effects of LIPITOR. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a complete list.

A: LIPITOR is generally well tolerated and has an established safety profile.

Like all medicines, LIPITOR may cause side effects in some people. If you take LIPITOR, tell your doctor if you feel any new muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of rare but serious muscle side effects. Tell your doctor about all medications you take. This may help avoid serious drug interactions. Your doctor should do blood tests to check your liver function before and during treatment and may adjust your dose.

A: Only your doctor can properly determine if you need medication along with diet and exercise to lower your high cholesterol.

Ask your doctor if LIPITOR is right for you.

A: LIPITOR is taken once a day. It can be taken with or without food, day or night. It's helpful to remember to try and take LIPITOR at about the same time every day.

A: LIPITOR can be taken with or without food.

A: Try to take your medicine at the same time every day. Try connecting your medication with something you do every day, such as brushing your teeth or eating breakfast.

Keep a daily calendar and add taking your medicine to your daily to-do list. Check it off once you have taken it.

Use a calendar to remind yourself to get refills before you run out of medicine. Set an alarm clock to go off at the time you need to take your medication.

A: A doctor may prescribe LIPITOR to children older than 10 years if diet and exercise have not lowered their cholesterol enough.

LIPITOR has not been studied in controlled clinical trials involving prepubescent patients younger than 10 years.

A: Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. LIPITOR and certain other medicines can interact, causing serious side effects.

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