LOVASTATIN AND NIACIN

(LOE va sta tin and NYE a sin) Brand: Advicor

What is the most significant information I must know about lovastatin and niacin?

• You must not take this medicine if you are allergic to niacin (Niaspan, Niacor, and others) or lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor), if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver malady, severe bleeding, or a stomach ulcer.

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

• Till taking lovastatin and niacin, speak your doctor if you have ever had liver or kidney malady, heart malady, diabetes, gout, or a thyroid mess, if you have recently had a heart onslaught, or if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily.

• In rare cases, lovastatin 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.

• There are much another drugs that can magnify your risk of serious medical problems if you take them together with lovastatin and niacin. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. Hold a list of all your medicines and show it to any healthcare provider who treats you.

What is lovastatin and niacin?

• Niacin, also called nicotinic acid, is a B vitamin (vitamin B3). It occurs naturally in plants and animals, and is also added to much foods as a vitamin supplement. Niacin is also gift in much multivitamins and nutritional supplements.

• Lovastatin is in a group of drugs called HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins." Lovastatin 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).

• The combination of lovastatin and niacin is used to lower cholesterol and triglycerides (types of fat) in the blood.

• Lovastatin and niacin may also be used for another purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking lovastatin and niacin?

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

· history of liver or kidney disease;

· epilepsy or another seizure disorder;

· diabetes;

· gout;

· a thyroid disorder;

· if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily; or

· if you are switched to this medicine from regular niacin, nicotinic acid, or nicotinamide (or vitamin supplements that contain niacin).

• In rare cases, lovastatin and niacin 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).

• Many drugs must not be used at the same time. Speak your doctor about all another medications you use, especially:

· danazol (Danocrine);

· nefazodone (an antidepressant);

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

· an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole), rifampin (Rifater, Rifadin, Rifamate), or telithromycin (Ketek);

· antifungal medicine such as itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), miconazole (Oravig), posaconazole (Noxafil), or voriconazole (Vfend);

· heart or blood pressure medicine such as nicardipine (Cardene) or quinidine (Quin-G);

· the hepatitis C medications boceprevir (Victrelis) or telaprevir (Incivek);

· HIV/AIDS medicine such as atazanavir (Reyataz), delavirdine (Rescriptor), ritonavir (Norvir, Kaletra), and others;

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

· drugs that weaken your immune system, such as steroids, cancer medication, or medicines used to prevent organ transplant rejection.

• FDA pregnancy category X. This medicine can harm an unborn child or reason birth defects. Do not take lovastatin and niacin 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 lovastatin and niacin.

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

How must I take lovastatin and niacin?

• 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.

• Lovastatin and niacin is generally taken at bedtime with a low-fat snack. Do not take lovastatin and niacin on an empty stomach.

• Do not crush, chew, or interrupt an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole.

• Niacin can reason dizziness, sweating, chills, redness or tingly feeling, quick or pounding heartbeats, shortness of breath, or feeling like you might pass out. These side effects can be made worse if you drink alcohol or hot beverages shortly after you take lovastatin and niacin.

• You may need to stop using lovastatin and niacin for a short time if you have surgery or a medical abnormal. If you stop taking the medication for longer than 7 days in a row, conversation with your doctor till restarting the medication.

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

• Niacin can raise your blood sugar, and may reason unusual results with determined medical trials. Speak any doctor who treats you that you are using lovastatin and niacin.

• Lovastatin and niacin 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.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. Skip the missed doze if it is nearly time for your following scheduled doze. 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. Overdose symptoms may include severe dizziness, severe redness or tingling, vomiting, or fainting.

What must I avoid while taking lovastatin and niacin?

• If you also take cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran) or colestipol (Colestid), avoid taking them within 4 to 6 hours till or after you take lovastatin and niacin.

• Avoid eating foods that are tall in thick or cholesterol. Lovastatin and niacin 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.

• Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with lovastatin and niacin and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit commodity with your doctor. Do not magnify or decrease the amount of grapefruit commodity in your diet without first talking to your doctor.

What are the possible side effects of lovastatin and niacin?

• 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 this medication and call your doctor at once if you a serious side effect such as:

· unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness;

· confusion, memory problems;

· fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine;

· chest pain, extreme dizziness, feeling like you might pass out;

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

· tall blood sugar (increased 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 dizziness;

· diarrhea, mild nausea, stomach pain or indigestion;

· mild skin rash;

· back pain;

· flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling); 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 lovastatin and niacin?

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

· cimetidine (Tagamet);

· colchicine (Colcrys);

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

· drugs to treat tall blood pressure or a prostate mess, such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress), silodosin (Rapaflo), terazosin (Hytrin), or tamsulosin (Flomax);

· heart or blood pressure medicine such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), diltiazem (Cardizem, Cartia, Dilacor, Diltia, Diltzac, Taztia, Tiazac), felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine (Nifedical, Procardia), ranolazine (Ranexa), verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan), and others;

· nitroglycerin (Nitro-Dur, Nitrolingual, Nitrostat, Transderm-Nitro, and others), isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate, Isordil, Isochron), or isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur, ISMO, Monoket); or

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

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with lovastatin and niacin. 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 lovastatin and niacin.

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.

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