In this video Doctor O’Donovan explains key facts you need to know about Atorvastatin (also known as Lipitor) – a cholesterol lowering drug called a ‘statin’.
Hi and welcome back to the channel in today’s video we’re going to be discussing a medication known as atorvastatin also known by its brand name lipitor in this video we’re going to be covering several different things first of all we’ll look at what the torva statin is and when you might take it we’ll then look at the common strengths of tablets then we’ll move
On to how and when to take it and what to do if you forget to take it or if you take too much medicine by accident fourthly we’ll look at common and important side effects to be aware of we’ll then move on and look at what you need to know if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding and finally i’ll answer some commonly asked questions but just before we get into the
Main section of the video please remember to subscribe to the channel if you haven’t done so already for new medical education videos which i publish every week so let’s start off with covering what a torva statin is and why you might take it so atooba statin belongs to a group of medicines called statins and it’s usually used to lower cholesterol if you’ve been
Diagnosed with high blood cholesterol and to prevent heart disease including heart attacks and strokes your doctor may also prescribe a torva statin if you’ve got a family history of heart disease or long-term health conditions such as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis now atova statin in the uk is available on prescription only and it comes as tablets including
Chewable tablets for people who’ve got difficulty swallowing so now let’s move on and discuss dosages and strengths so a tool of statin comes as 10 20 30 40 60 and even 80 milligram tablets the usual dose of adults is somewhere between 10 and 80 milligrams a day and the exact dose that your doctor will prescribe will depend on the reason why you’re taking it your
Cholesterol levels as well as other medicines that you’re taking if you’re unsure of the dose then speak to your doctor or the pharmacist for advice so how do you take at all the statin well normally you should take a tour of a satin once a day you can choose to take it at any time as long as you stick to the same time every day this prevents your blood levels
From becoming too high or too low now sometimes doctors may recommend taking it in the evening and that’s because your body makes most cholesterol at night if you’re not sure when to take your medicine again ask a pharmacist or your doctor for advice now just as a practical point you can take a torva statin with or without food but taking it after food may help
If it makes you feel sick you should try swallow at all the satin tablets hole with a drink of water but if you’ve been given chewable tablets you can chew these so what should you do if you forget to take your medicine well if you forget to take your dose of a torso statin please take it as soon as you remember if you don’t remember until the next day then skip
The mistos and take the next one at the usual time if you often forget doses then it may help set an alarm to remind you you could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you to remember to take your medicine and what about if you accidentally take too much of the medicine well taking more than your prescribed dose of a torvastatin is unlikely
To harm you but again talk to your pharmacist or your doctor if you’re worried or if you take more than one extra dose so now that we’ve discussed the practical aspects of how to take a tour of a statin as well as what to do if you miss a dose or take too much let’s go over some of the possible side effects now like all medicines atomostating can cause side
Effects in some people but not everybody gets them and different statins affect different people in different ways and some side effects may improve after the first few days as your body gets used to this medicine so in this section i’m not going to cover every possible side effect because you can find these on the information sheet inside your medicine pack but
Instead i’ll be covering common and serious side effects now in terms of common side effects of atorvastatin these typically happen in more than one in a hundred people and these include things like feeling sick which is described as nausea or indigestion as well as headaches nose bleeds sore throat cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose blocked nose or sneezing
Constipation or flatulence which is more commonly known as farting as well as diarrhoea now serious side effects of atova satin are rarer but they are important so in the following events you might need to stop taking a tour of a statin and contact 1-1-1 or call your doctor if you get unexplained muscle pain tenderness weakness or cramps and that’s because this
Can be a sign of muscle breakdown and kidney damage you may also need to seek urgent medical care if the whites of your eyes turn yellow or your skin turns yellow or if you’ve got pale poo or dark pee because these can be signs of liver problems also if you get a skin rash with pink or red blotches especially on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet
This could be a sign of something called erythema multi-form if you’ve got severe stomach pain this could potentially be a sign of acute pancreatitis or if you’ve got a cough feel short of breath and you’re losing weight that can be a sign of lung disease that can be precipitated by the autobiostatin if you think that atovastatin is causing side effects or serious
Concerns and then making you want to stop taking it then talk to your doctor first these side effects may be being caused by another problem and not the medicine and your doctor may suggest lowering your dose or changing your medicine it’s also possible in rare cases to have a serious allergic reaction known as an anaphylaxis to a torva satin in this case you
Need to contact emergency health services immediately so who can and who can’t take a tour of statin while most adults and children age 10 years nova can take a tour of a statin however for some people it may not be suitable and i’ve included more information on conditions or cases where a torvastatin may not be suitable in the description box of the video however
As a brief overview you should tell your doctor if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction to a torvastatin if you’ve ever had liver or kidney problems you think you might be pregnant or you’re already pregnant or breastfeeding you have lung disease you drink large amounts of alcohol or you’ve got a condition called phenylketonuria so moving on now let’s discuss
Etorvastatin and pregnancy so a tour of saturn is not recommended during pregnancy and if you become pregnant whilst taking a tour of a saturn you should stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor you should also talk to your doctor if you’re trying to get pregnant whether you continue to take a torva statin or not will depend on the reason for taking it it
May be possible to switch to an alternative medicine that’s better during pregnancy so let’s move on now and just discuss a tour of saturn and breastfeeding so it might be okay to take a tour of a static whilst you’re breastfeeding but you may also be advised to stop taking the medicine until you’re no longer breastfeeding again your doctor or pharmacist will
Help you decide that’s because it’s not known how much atorvastatin passes into breast milk but it’s likely to be a very small amount it’s unlikely to cause any side effects to the baby or affect their cholesterol and finally let’s move on in the video to talk about some common questions that people often ask about atorvastatin so the first one is can i drink
Alcohol and the simple answer to this is yes you can drink alcohol whilst taking it over statin however drinking a lot of alcohol regularly might increase the chance of you having side effects with the torvo statin and liver problems the next common question that people ask is is there any food or drink that you need to avoid well again it’s best not to have too
Much grapefruit juice whilst taking a tour of a statin and that’s because drinking a lot of grapefruit juice and by this i mean more than a litre a day can affect the way in which this medicine works that’s because it increases the level of etoro statin in your blood and again this increases the chances of you having side effects so in summary the key take-home
Points are as follows usually you’ll take a toll of statin once a day normally in the evening the most common side effects are headaches feeling sick diarrhea and cold like symptoms remember don’t take it over statin if you’re pregnant and if you take your medicine as your doctor prescribed your cholesterol levels should drop within four weeks you should keep
Taking a tour of a statin even if you feel well as you will still be getting the benefits because most people with high cholesterol don’t have any symptoms and remember try not to drink grapefruit juice too much of it can increase the level of torstatin in your blood and this can increase the risk of side effects once again i hope you found the video useful
Helpful and informative if you did find it useful please like it and leave me a comment in the comment section below if you’ve got any questions please also let me know thank you again for watching please remember to subscribe to the channel if you haven’t done so already and until next time bye you
Transcribed from video
Doctor explains how to take cholesterol lowering drug ATORVASTATIN (Lipitor) + doses, side effects! By Doctor O’Donovan
