Lipator|Lipitor - Statins Side Effects
Lipator (more commonly known as Lipitor, and also as Liptor) and the other proven cholesterol lowering drugs belong to a group of drugs known as statins. The other members of the statin group that are popular are Zocor, Mevacor, Pravachol and Crestor. Sometimes these medications are prescribed to people whose cholesterol levels are not high, but have other cardiac risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes or smoke, in an effort to reduce the cholesterol levels even further, to reduce the risk.
Statins act by blocking the enzyme that the liver needs to produce cholesterol. So far Lipator (Lipitor) has been seen to be more effective that the other statins (perhaps with the exception of Crestor) in reducing the total and LDL or bad cholesterol. Cholesterol reduction in patients suffering from hypercholesterolemia is normally two-pronged: both controlling the diet by avoidence of high cholesterol foods such as egg yolk, fat meats, butter, coconut milk and cuttlefish, as well as by taking Lipator.
It is noted, however, statins as a group tend to have some side effects. Although statins side effects are not very common, nevertheless they are troublesome. The occurrence of side effects vary depending on the individual as well as the statin used.
The most common side effects seen in Lipator are: headache and muscle aches. If one does regular checks on the liver function of individuals on Lipator, some of this patients show a slight rise in liver enzymes, which can be interpreted as liver damage. A slight rise is said to be tolerable in view of the benefits of Lipator, especially as it is noted that the rise falls to normal when the drug is discontinued. However some patients show moderate to marked rises in the liver enzymes especially the GGT, ALT and AST. These patients are advised to discontinue the drug.
Another noted potentially serious side effect is myopathy. This may manifest in a rise in muscle enzymes in the blood (Creatine kinase) or muscle aches.
Some other claimed side effects are sexual dysfunction, memory loss and irritablility.
Filed Under lipator, statins side effects |
Tagged With high cholesterol foods, lipator, Lipitor, liptor, statins side effects
Comments
Leave a Reply