Can Lipitor Cause Diarrhea?

Diarrhea from cholesterol-lowering medications is usually mild and goes away as you continue taking the drug. However, severe and persistent diarrhea can cause dehydration, dizziness, and loss of essential electrolytes such as sodium. Statins and other cholesterol drugs can be powerful tools to prevent heart disease, but they do come with potential side effects. Diarrhea is a common side effect reported in studies of the drug Lipitor, which includes atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol XL), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin, rosuvastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Zocor). The most common adverse reactions are nasopharyngitis, arthralgia, diarrhea, pain in the extremity, and urinary tract infection.

Statins are relatively safe for most people, but they are not recommended in certain cases. Some people are at an increased risk of side effects, including if they are at an increased risk of interacting with certain drugs. Common side effects of Lipitor include diarrhea, upset stomach, muscle and joint pain, and changes in some blood tests. The drug label also warns of serious side effects such as liver problems and muscle problems that can lead to kidney failure.

Diarrhea is possible with all statins, including atorvastatin, and may be accompanied by other gastrointestinal side effects. Diarrhea is typically worse when you take Lipitor, and it is typically worse when you take other medications. Common side effects include headache, dizziness, feeling sick, unusually tired or physically weak digestive system problems, such as constipation, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections.

Why is Lipitor better taken at night?

Certain statins work better when taken with a meal. Others work best when they’re taken at night. This is because the cholesterol-making enzyme is more active at night. Also, the half-life, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, of some statins is short.

. Some statins have half-lives of less than six hours. These statins are best taken at night.

Simvastatin is an example of a statin that works better if taken in the evening. Studies show that when simvastatin is taken at night, there’s a greater reduction in LDL cholesterol than when it’s taken in the morning.

What is the most common side effect of Lipitor?

These are just a few of the more common side effects reported by people who took Lipitor in clinical trials :

• Swelling and inflammation in nasal passages and back of the throat
• joint pain
• diarrhea
• pain in the arms or legs
• urinary tract infection (UTI)

. Mild side effects can occur with Lipitor use. This list doesn’t include all possible mild side effects of the drug. For more information, you can refer to Lipitor’s prescribing information.

Mild side effects that have been reported with Lipitor include:

Do statins cause loose bowels?

• Headache
• dizziness
• feeling sick
• feeling unusually tired or physically weak
• digestive system problems, such as constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion or farting
• muscle pain
• sleep problems
• low blood platelet count

Uncommon side effects. Uncommon side effects of statins include:

• Being sick
• memory problems
• hair loss
• pins and needles
• inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), which can cause flu-like symptoms
• inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which can cause stomach pain
• skin problems, such as acne or an itchy red rash
• sexual problems, such as loss of libido (reduced sex drive) or erectile dysfunction

What should you not eat while taking Lipitor?

Does Lipitor interact with food? You should avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice during your Lipitor treatment. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can block your body’s ability to break down Lipitor. This can cause a buildup of Lipitor in your body, which raises your risk of side effects.

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a prescription drug used to treat high cholesterol and to lower certain risks. The drug can interact with certain foods, other medications, and some supplements. For example, Lipitor can interact with grapefruit.

• Treat high cholesterol in certain adults and some children
• lower cardiovascular-related risks such as heart attack or stroke in certain adults
• lower the need for certain heart surgeries in certain adults

An interaction can occur because one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.

Does atorvastatin cause gas and diarrhea?

Some of the more common side effects that can occur with the use of atorvastatin oral tablets include:

• Cold symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, and coughing
• diarrhea
• gas
• heartburn
• joint pain
• forgetfulness
• confusion
• urinary tract infection (UTI)

If these effects are mild, they may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. If they’re more severe or don’t go away, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life-threatening or if you think you’re having a medical emergency. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following:

Is there a better alternative to Lipitor?

Is there a safer alternative to statins?. Cholesterol absorption inhibitors such as ezetimibe (Zetia) and PCSK9 inhibitors such as alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha) may be safer alternatives to statins if you are at a high risk of health complications from statins.

Keep in mind that ezetimibe is not as effective as most statins. Also, while it works well when taken with a statin, it does not work well on its own to lower high cholesterol. Therefore, in many cases, ezetimibe is prescribed to be taken in addition to a statin. Additionally, ezetimibe can cause side effects such as stomach pain, diarrhea, gas, and fatigue. This medicine may not be safe for pregnant women and people with liver disease.

PCSK9 inhibitors are a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs that are very effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients. They have an even better cholesterol-reducing effect when taken with a statin.

What foods should you avoid when taking Lipitor?

Does Lipitor interact with food? You should avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice during your Lipitor treatment. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can block your body’s ability to break down Lipitor. This can cause a buildup of Lipitor in your body, which raises your risk of side effects.

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a prescription drug used to treat high cholesterol and to lower certain risks. The drug can interact with certain foods, other medications, and some supplements. For example, Lipitor can interact with grapefruit.

• Treat high cholesterol in certain adults and some children
• lower cardiovascular-related risks such as heart attack or stroke in certain adults
• lower the need for certain heart surgeries in certain adults

An interaction can occur because one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.

What should be avoided when taking Lipitor?

Does Lipitor interact with food? You should avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice during your Lipitor treatment. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can block your body’s ability to break down Lipitor. This can cause a buildup of Lipitor in your body, which raises your risk of side effects.

Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a prescription drug used to treat high cholesterol and to lower certain risks. The drug can interact with certain foods, other medications, and some supplements. For example, Lipitor can interact with grapefruit.

• Treat high cholesterol in certain adults and some children
• lower cardiovascular-related risks such as heart attack or stroke in certain adults
• lower the need for certain heart surgeries in certain adults

An interaction can occur because one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.

Do statins make you go to the toilet more often?

• Excessive thirst or having to urinate frequently
• Severe confusion or memory impairment
• Unexplained significant joint or muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
• Unusual fatigue or weakness, loss of appetite, pain in your upper abdomen, dark-colored urine, or yellowing of your skin or eyes.

Not everybody who takes a statin has side effects, but they tend to be more common in women, seniors, and people with liver or kidney disease. People who drink large amounts of alcohol or who take other medicines that may interact are also at a higher risk.

Statins do cause muscle pain, although the reported prevalence varies from 0. 3 to 33% depending on the source. This variation may be due to the different ways muscle pain is described (such as muscle weakness, cramps, or muscle pain ) and the fact patients are usually told to ” Watch out for muscle problems! “, which tends to lead to an over-reporting of muscle complaints, commonly called the ” nocebo ” effect. Medical professionals estimate the true occurrence of muscle pain is approximately 50-100 out of 10, 000 (0. 5-1%) people treated over five years.

What foods should be avoided when taking atorvastatin?

Is there any food or drink I need to avoid? It’s best not to have too much grapefruit juice when taking atorvastatin. Drinking lots of grapefruit juice (more than about a litre a day) can affect the way this medicine works. It increases the level of atorvastatin in your blood.

Atorvastatin works by stopping the liver from making cholesterol. This lowers your blood cholesterol level.

During the first 12 months on this medicine, you’ll be offered a couple of routine tests to make sure your liver is working properly.

Your cholesterol levels should drop within 4 weeks, if you take your medicine regularly, as prescribed.

What is the best time of day to take Lipitor?

Lipitor can be taken at anytime. If a statin has a half life of less than 6 hours it should be taken at night. The half life of Lipitor is 14 hours and its active metabolites up to 20 to 30 hours therefore Lipitor can be taken at anytime.

Lipitor belongs to a group of prescription medicines called statins. Statins are used to lower cholesterol. They inhibit an enzyme that your body needs to produce cholesterol and targets low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

The elimination half-life of statins, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, determines if the drug should be taken in the evening when the cholesterol-making enzyme is more active, or if it can be taken anytime.

If a statin has a half life of less than 6 hours it should be taken at night. The half life of Lipitor is 14 hours and its active metabolites up to 20 to 30 hours therefore Lipitor can be taken at anytime.