Food and alcohol Grapefruit juice can affect some statins and increase your risk of side effects. A doctor may advise you to avoid it completely or only consume small quantities. The doctor will also ask you how much alcohol you drink before prescribing statins.
Background: Adenosine receptor activation is essential for mediating the IS-limiting effects of statins. Caffeine is a nonspecific adenosine receptor blocker, and thus drinking CC may block the myocardial protective effects of statins.
Is it safe to mix the two? Although taking the two together has no direct risks, both statins and alcohol can impair liver function and cause tissue damage. Mixing alcohol and statins can, therefore, increase the burden on the liver, potentially raising the risk of liver damage or disease.
Statins can stabilize cholesterol plaque already attached to artery walls, making it less likely to get worse or rupture, causing a heart attack or stroke. "Statins also help remove cholesterol from you blood by causing the liver to express more LDL cholesterol receptors that take cholesterol out of your blood," Dr.
It's thought that simvastatin (Zocor) may be more likely to cause muscle pain as a side effect than other statins when it's taken at high doses. Change your dose. Lowering your dose may reduce some of your side effects, but it may also reduce some of the cholesterol-lowering benefits your medicine has.
It's important to know that stopping statins cold turkey, or even gradually, can cause serious health problems and you should talk to your doctor before doing so.
Statin use has been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes because the medication can fuel mild glucose elevations in predisposed individuals — an effect that can often be countervailed by exercise and losing as little as a few pounds.
Many statins work more effectively when they are taken at night. This is because the enzyme which makes the cholesterol 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.
Statin use is associated with increased calorie intake and consequent weight gain. It is speculated that statin‐dependent improvements in lipid profile may undermine the perceived need to follow lipid‐lowering and other dietary recommendations leading consequently to increased calorie intake.
We do know that red wine contains polyphenol compounds that may lower the bad form of cholesterol, LDL. Moderate consumption of red wine is linked to healthy cholesterol levels.
It is recommended that certain individuals abstain from consuming alcohol or quit drinking entirely, including pregnant women, minors, and those on specific medications [30]. Drinking a bottle of wine or having more than a few drinks daily can affect liver health, resulting in liver damage or liver disease [31].
For most statins, manufacturers don't recommend a specific time of day to take your dose. But studies have found that some statins work better when taken in the evening. This may be because the liver makes the most cholesterol when we're eating the least — at night.
Accumulating databases from the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) suggest that statin use is associated with an increased risk of sleep disturbances including insomnia [8]. In other studies hallucinations and nightmares during statin therapy were also observed [6, 7].
We often tell patients to take statins in the evening because most cholesterol is produced at night. But this isn't always necessary. Lipitor, Crestor, and Pravachol can be taken at ANY time of the day.
Statin Warning Signs
Excessive thirst or having to urinate frequently. Severe confusion or memory impairment. Unexplained significant joint or muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness.
Initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the aorta suggested that statin use might result in atherosclerotic plaque regression as early as 6 months after initiation of therapy [2].
Some people taking statins may experience fatigue, especially when they exercise or move. Fatigue affects about 1% to 4% of people taking statins. A few tips to manage fatigue while on a statin include: Taking plenty of breaks during the day.
Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage. Things that can increase this risk include: being over 70 years old.
Within a month of starting statin therapy, they may feel aches or weakness in the large muscles of their arms, shoulders, thighs or buttocks on both sides of the body. About 5 to 10% of people who try statins are affected. It's more common in the elderly, in women and in those taking the more potent statins.
Although there are some potential side effects long-term for statins, in most cases, if your doctor has identified you as having high cholesterol and needing a statin, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Muscle aches are among the most common complaints.
Ezetimibe. Ezetimibe is a tablet that lowers cholesterol. It may be prescribed if statins cannot be taken, or alongside a statin for extra cholesterol-lowering.
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
Providers prescribe statins for people who: Have high cholesterol (LDL above 190 mg/dL) that exercise and diet changes couldn't reduce. Had a stroke, heart attack or peripheral artery disease. Have diabetes and an LDL of at least 70 mg/dL and are 40 to 75 years old.