Knowing that your cholesterol level is high, putting you at risk of heart attack, can be quite difficult to deal with. Cholesterol’s plaque-like structure in blood vessels blocks the flow of blood around your body and to your heart, causing heart muscle damage. This is known medically as a myocardial infarction, and commonly as a heart attack. With this new information, your doctor may tell you that you need medication to control and/or lower cholesterol levels. While this may be a hard pill to swallow, it’s still important to be informed about your drug choices. Lipitor and Zocor are the last two prescribed cholesterol medications. Both HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are designed to slow down your body’s production of cholesterol to reduce your risk heart attack let your heart sink. /a>. Since the drugs work in the same way, your doctor may ask you to combine them. Hopefully this article will help you decide which drug is right for you.
Lipitor is a brand name of the drug Atorvastatin, and is taken once a day in pill form, with or without food. Your doctor will usually start you on a low dose that he will raise every week until your cholesterol is under control.
Zocor and Vytorin are brand names for Simvastatin, and are taken in pill form between one and three times a day; equity at about the same time every day. Like Lipitor, your doctor may start you on a low dose and gradually increase the medication until your cholesterol is under control; but Zocor levels only increase every 4 weeks or so.
Both Lipitor and Zocor can also interact with certain types of medications, so you should talk to your doctor about all medications. that you should take before you decide to take the medication. Since Lipitor and Zocor can affect the liver, if you consume large amounts of alcohol or have previous liver disease, it is critical that you are honest with your doctor about your medical history and drinking habits. This medicine is also considered to be teratogenic, or toxic to the fetus or baby, so women who have the possibility become pregnant or those who definitely should not breast feed, Lipitor or Zocor.
Lipitor and Zocor are both very effective drugs, and are safe for most patients, but there are some side effects but to keep in mind when deciding I stopped taking cholesterol medication. Overall, Zocor has far less common side effects than Lipitor. with the same
For Zocor, the only common side effect but is constipation, which can be controlled using a gentle laxative from your doctor. . For Lipitor, common side effects include flushing, headaches, insomnia, dizziness, joint pain, and weight gain. risk of upper respiratory infections.
side effects can also occur with both drugs, and although they are rare, they are dangerous. These can include flu-like symptoms, such as muscle pain, tenderness or weakness, lethargy, fever, chest pain, nausea, swelling of the hands, feet and legs, and face, throat and mouth. The medicine can also make you sick, yellowing of the eyes and skin, itching, hives, hives, excessive bleeding or bruising, painful or frequent urination. /a>. If you experience any of these serious side effects on Lipitor, especially chest pain, swelling, sudden fever, or extreme or sudden pain that doesn’t hurt, go straight to the emergency room of the closest hospital.
So, as we can see, both drugs can slow down the production of cholesterol in the same way, can be adapted to the ideal dose to maintain your health, and come with the greatest risk of serious side effects. However, when looking at the common side effects that occur, Lipitor contains a long list, while Zocor only has one easily manageable side effect. Remember, whichever medicine you choose, you’ll need physical therapy and monitoring from your general practitioner and (perhaps) cardiologist, and you’ll healthy diet and exercise schedule.
Atorvastatin, Medline Plus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a600045.html
Simvastatin, Medline Plus
