FLUVASTATIN

(FLOO va sta tin) Brand: Lescol, Lescol XL

What is the most significant information I must know about fluvastatin?

• You must not take fluvastatin if you are allergic to it, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease.

• Stop taking this medicine and speak your doctor right away if you become pregnant.

• Till taking fluvastatin, speak your doctor if you have ever had liver or kidney malady, diabetes, or a thyroid mess, or if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily.

• In rare cases, fluvastatin can reason a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine.

• Avoid eating foods that are tall in thick or cholesterol. Fluvastatin will not be as effective in lowering your cholesterol if you do not follow a cholesterol-lowering diet plan.

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may magnify your risk of liver damage.

• There are much another drugs that can magnify your risk of serious medical problems if you take them together with fluvastatin. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal commodity. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor. Hold a list of all your medicines and show it to any healthcare provider who treats you.

• Fluvastatin is only part of a complete program of treatment that also includes diet, exercice, and weight control. Follow your diet, medicine, and exercice routines very closely.

What is fluvastatin?

• Fluvastatin is in a group of drugs called HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins." Fluvastatin reduces levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) and triglycerides in the blood, while increasing levels of "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL).

• Fluvastatin is used to treat tall cholesterol in adults and children who are at least 10 years old. Lowering your cholesterol can help prevent heart malady and hardening of the arteries, conditions that can lead to heart onslaught, stroke, and vascular disease.

• Fluvastatin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking fluvastatin?

• You must not take fluvastatin if you are allergic to it, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease.

• To create certain you can safely take fluvastatin, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:

· history of liver disease;

· history of kidney disease;

· diabetes;

· a thyroid mess; or

· if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily.

• In rare cases, fluvastatin can reason a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. This condition may be more likely to occur in older adults and in people who have kidney malady or poorly controlled hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).

• Tell your doctor about all another medications you use. Determined another drugs can magnify your risk of serious muscle problems, and it is very significant that your doctor knows if you are using any of them:

· erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole);

· fluconazole (Diflucan)

· gemfibrozil (Lopid), fenofibric acid (Fibricor, Trilipix), or fenofibrate (Antara, Fenoglide, Lipofen, Lofibra, Tricor, Triglide);

· medicines that contain niacin (Advicor, Niaspan, Niacor, Simcor, Slo-Niacin, and others); or

· drugs that weaken your immune system, such as steroids, cancer medication, or medicines used to prevent organ transplant rejection, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), sirolimus (Rapamune), or tacrolimus (Prograf).

• FDA pregnancy category X. This medicine can harm an unborn child or reason birth defects. Do not take fluvastatin if you are pregnant. Stop taking this medicine and speak your doctor right away if you become pregnant. Use effective birth control to avoid pregnancy while you are taking fluvastatin.

• Fluvastatin may pass into breast milk and could harm a nursing child. Do not breast-feed while you are taking fluvastatin.

How must I take fluvastatin?

• Take exactly as predesigned by your doctor. Do not take in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Fluvastatin is generally taken once or twice daily, with or without food. Take the medication at the same time every day. Your doctor may occasionally change your doze to create certain you get the excellent results.

• Do not crush, chew, interrupt, or open a fluvastatin tablet or capsule. Swallow it intact. Speak your doctor if you have trouble swallowing the pill.

• You may need to stop using fluvastatin for a short time if you have:

· uncontrolled seizures;

· an electrolyte imbalance (such as tall or low potassium levels in your blood);

· severely low blood pressure;

· a severe infection or diseases; or

· surgery or a medical emergency.

• To be certain this medication is helping your condition and is not causing deleterious effects, your blood will need to be tested often. Visit your doctor regularly.

• Fluvastatin is only part of a complete program of treatment that also includes diet, exercice, and weight control. Follow your diet, medicine, and exercice routines very closely.

• You may need to take fluvastatin on a long-term basis for the treatment of tall cholesterol.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. Skip the missed doze if your following doze is smaller than 12 hours away. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.

What must I avoid while taking fluvastatin?

• If you also take cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran) or colestipol (Colestid), avoid taking them within 2 hours till you take fluvastatin.

• Avoid eating foods that are tall in thick or cholesterol. Fluvastatin will not be as effective in lowering your cholesterol if you do not follow a cholesterol-lowering diet plan.

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may magnify your risk of liver damage.

What are the possible side effects of fluvastatin?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.

• Stop taking fluvastatin and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

· unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness;

· confusion, memory problems;

· fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine;

· pain or burning when you urinate;

· swelling, weight gain, urinating smaller than normal or not at all;

· heighten thirst, heighten urination, famine, dry mouth, fruity breath odor, drowsiness, dry skin, blurred vision, weight loss); or

· nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· headache;

· mild muscle pain;

· diarrhea;

· mild nausea;

· stomach pain or indigestion;

· sleep problems (insomnia); or

· cool symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect fluvastatin?

• Speak your doctor about all another medications you use, especially:

· cimetidine (Tagamet);

· a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven);

· glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase, Micronase);

· omeprazole (Prilosec);

· phenytoin (Dilantin);

· ranitidine (Zantac);

· spironolactone (Aldactone, Aldactazide); or

· any another "statin" medicine such as atorvastatin (Lipitor, Caduet), lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor), or simvastatin (Zocor, Simcor, Vytorin).

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with fluvastatin. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal commodity. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about fluvastatin.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.