Navigation

Lipitor vs. Zocor

What Drugs Interact With Lipitor?

Talk to your doctor before you start any new medicines.

This includes prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Lipitor and certain other medicines can interact causing serious side effects.

Do not get pregnant. If you get pregnant, stop taking Lipitor right away and call your doctor.

What Drugs Interact With Zocor?

Zocor should not be taken with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, HIV protease inhibitors, boceprevir, telaprevir, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, nefazodone, and cobicistat-containing products).

 

How Should Lipitor Be Taken?

Take Lipitor exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not change your dose or stop Lipitor without talking to your doctor. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your cholesterol levels during your treatment with Lipitor. Your dose of Lipitor may be changed based on these blood test results.

Take Lipitor each day at any time of day at about the same time each day. Lipitor can be taken with or without food.

Don't break Lipitor tablets before taking.

Your doctor should start you on a low-fat diet before giving you Lipitor. Stay on this low-fat diet when you take Lipitor.

If you miss a dose of Lipitor, take it as soon as you remember. Do not take Lipitor if it has been more than 12 hours since you missed your last dose. Wait and take the next dose at your regular time.

Do not take 2 doses of Lipitor at the same time.

If you take too much Lipitor or overdose, call your doctor or Poison Control Center right away. Or go to the nearest emergency room.

How Should Zocor Be Taken?

Recommended Dosing

The usual dosage range is 5 to 40 mg/day. In patients with CHD or at high risk of CHD, Zocor can be started simultaneously with diet. The recommended usual starting dose is 10 or 20 mg once a day in the evening. For patients at high risk for a CHD event due to existing CHD, diabetes, peripheral vessel disease, history of stroke or other cerebrovascular disease, the recommended starting dose is 40 mg/day. Lipid determinations should be performed after 4 weeks of therapy and periodically thereafter.

Restricted Dosing For 80 mg

Due to the increased risk of myopathy, including rhabdomyolysis, particularly during the first year of treatment, use of the 80-mg dose of Zocor should be restricted to patients who have been taking simvastatin 80 mg chronically (e.g., for 12 months or more) without evidence of muscle toxicity.

Patients who are currently tolerating the 80-mg dose of Zocor who need to be initiated on an interacting drug that is contraindicated or is associated with a dose cap for simvastatin should be switched to an alternative statin with less potential for the drug-drug interaction.

Due to the increased risk of myopathy, including rhabdomyolysis, associated with the 80-mg dose of Zocor, patients unable to achieve their LDL-C goal utilizing the 40-mg dose of Zocor should not be titrated to the 80-mg dose, but should be placed on alternative LDL-C-lowering treatment(s) that provides greater LDL-C lowering.