How long lipitor work

Doctors often prescribe Lipitor and other statins to treat dyslipidemia and to prevent cardiovascular disease CVD in those who are at high risk. If a person has dyslipidemia, or hyperlipidemia, they have a high level of cholesterol , triglycerides, or both, in the blood. CVD is the leading cause of illness and death in the United States.

According to the CDC, in —, nearly 28 percent of adults aged 40 years and over were using some kind of prescription drug to lower cholesterol. This was an increase of nearly 8 percent since Other statins include fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin , and simvastatin. Statins stop the body from producing bad cholesterol by suppressing an enzyme in the liver, called HMG-CoA reductase.

The enzyme is vital for cholesterol production. Statins reduce the levels of bad cholesterol, and this helps to prevent coronary artery disease and serious complications of CVD, such as angina , stroke , and heart attack. The first person to synthesize Lipitor was Bruce Roth, in At first, the producers did not think the drug would be very popular, and they almost stopped development.

Some people have abnormally high levels of lipids in their blood. The name of this is dyslipidemia, or hyperlipidemia. Lipids are a broad group of many different organic compounds, including fats, fat-soluble vitamins , sterols, waxes, phospholipids, diglycerides, monoglycerides, and triglycerides. Research has linked high lipid levels with a range of diseases and disorders.

Lipitor is highly effective at treating people with a high risk of these diseases. CVD includes coronary heart disease, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease. These affect the circulation outside the heart and the brain. People with CVD are at risk of angina and myocardial infarction, or a heart attack. However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Lipitor.

You should avoid drinking excessive amounts of grapefruit juice while taking Lipitor. For more information on how grapefruit juice can interact with medications, explore this guide. Lipitor belongs to a class of medications known as statins. A medication class is a group of medications that work together in a similar manner. Statins are used to lower cholesterol levels.

People with high cholesterol, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease may need to take these other types of medications as well. For instance, they may need an ACE inhibitor or beta-blocker to manage high blood pressure. Or they made need a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots which could lead to heart attack or stroke.

However, studies have shown that when used with a healthy diet, Lipitor can lower the amount of cholesterol in your blood. This can reduce your risk of having heart disease and other problems, such as stroke. You should avoid eating large amounts of grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while taking Lipitor. Certain substances found in grapefruit can slow down the activity of an enzyme in your body called CYP3A4.

CYP3A4 helps your body break down drugs, including Lipitor. This can increase your risk for side effects from the drug.

Drinking more than 1. If you have any questions about eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while taking Lipitor, talk to your doctor. The medication may not work as well otherwise. The American Heart Association offers dietary recommendations for managing cholesterol and lowering your risk of heart disease, including:. Although not common, Lipitor can cause myopathy muscle pain or weakness and muscle damage.

Lipitor belongs to a class of medications called statins. Some people think statin drugs, such as Lipitor, have too many risks. This may be because, in a small number of studies , taking statins was linked to an increased risk for certain side effects. These included high blood sugar, type 2 diabetes, and memory problems. However, the risk of these side effects has been shown to be very low.

Also, other risk factors play a role when people develop these side effects. Whether Lipitor is right for you depends on your health conditions and risk factors. If you have additional questions about taking Lipitor, talk with your doctor. Cholesterol is a type of lipid. Lipids are fat-like substances made by your liver. So your liver also makes lipoproteins, which carry cholesterol through the bloodstream. Having too much LDL cholesterol in your blood is known as high cholesterol.

This buildup is called cholesterol plaque. Cholesterol plaques raise your risk for developing blood clots.

This is because plaques narrow your blood vessels and limit your blood flow. This increases the chance that blood could stick to your blood vessel wall, completely blocking off blood flow. Eventually, a plaque may grow large enough to block off blood flow on its own. Also, cholesterol plaques may break off and travel through your blood. If a plaque reaches an artery in your heart, it can block blood flow and cause a heart attack. If it reaches an artery in your head, it can block blood flow and cause a stroke.

This is because it works to bring LDL cholesterol back to your liver. Your liver converts cholesterol into bile salts, which then get sent to your intestines for removal from your body. In this way, HDL helps prevent cholesterol plaques from forming in your arteries. Atorvastatin affects the way your body makes cholesterol. An enzyme is a protein your body makes to help speed up reactions, such as making cholesterol.

HMG-CoA is one of the most important enzymes for making cholesterol. By blocking this enzyme, atorvastatin reduces the amount of cholesterol your body makes. This lowers the amount of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and other fats in your blood.

Lipitor begins working as soon as you take your dose. It reaches its highest levels in your blood about 1 to 2 hours after you take your dose. Most people see improvements in cholesterol within 2 to 4 weeks. The only way to know what your cholesterol levels look like is by having a blood test. Your doctor will check your blood from time to time to see how well Lipitor is working. You can take Lipitor at any time of day.

So even if you take it in the morning, it will still work just as well at night. As with all medications, the cost of Lipitor can vary. To find current prices for Lipitor in your area, check out GoodRx.

The cost you find on GoodRx. Before approving coverage for Lipitor, your insurance company may require you to get prior authorization. This means that your doctor and insurance company will need to communicate about your prescription before the insurance company will cover the drug.

The insurance company will review the prior authorization request and decide if the drug will be covered. If you need financial support to pay for Lipitor, or if you need help understanding your insurance coverage, help is available. Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor, offers a Lipitor Savings Card. This card may help lower the cost of the drug for you. Lipitor is available in a generic form called atorvastatin. And generics tend to cost less than brand-name drugs. To find out how the cost of atorvastatin compares to the cost of Lipitor, visit GoodRx.

They may have a preference for one version or the other. Studies have shown that statin drugs, including Lipitor, may cause birth defects if used during pregnancy. They can offer advice about your birth control needs while using this drug. If it does show up in human breast milk, Lipitor could cause serious side effects in a child who is breastfed.

Lipitor is also used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and related death, and to reduce the need for certain types of heart surgery. Your doctor will likely have you continue to take medications you use for other conditions, including heart disease.

Before taking Lipitor, talk with your doctor about your health history. Lipitor may not be right for you if you have certain medical conditions or other factors affecting your health. These include:. Do not use more Lipitor than your doctor recommends. For some drugs, doing so may lead to unwanted side effects or overdose.

You can also call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at or use their online tool. But if your symptoms are severe, call or your local emergency number, or go to the nearest emergency room right away. When you get Lipitor from the pharmacy, the pharmacist will add an expiration date to the label on the bottle. This date is typically 1 year from the date they dispensed the medication.

The expiration date helps guarantee that the medication is effective during this time. If you have unused medication that has gone past the expiration date, talk to your pharmacist about whether you might still be able to use it. How long a medication remains good can depend on many factors, including how and where you store the medication. It should be kept in a tightly sealed container.

Avoid storing this medication in areas where it could get damp or wet, such as bathrooms. This helps prevent others, including children and pets, from taking the drug by accident.

It also helps keep the drug from harming the environment. This article provides several useful tips on medication disposal. You can also ask your pharmacist for information on how to dispose of your medication. Lipitor is also indicated in children aged 10 to 17 years who have HeFH. Lipitor comes as a tablet that is given by mouth. The typical dosing range is 10 mg to 80 mg once daily, depending on the condition being treated and several patient factors.

HMG-CoA serves as the catalysts for the rate-limiting step in cholesterol synthesis. Whether the drug is taken with or without food is not expected to have a clinical impact. Metabolism is primarily hepatic via CYP3A4. Disclaimer: Medical News Today has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional.

You should always consult your doctor or other healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects.

The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses. Read this article to find out the…. Eating a healthy diet is one way to keep cholesterol levels in check. Learn which foods to avoid and which to prioritize to maintain healthy…. Some heart attacks are more severe than others.

In this article, learn about the signs and symptoms of each type. Atorvastatin doesn't upset the stomach, so you can take it with or without food. Swallow atorvastatin tablets whole with a glass of water. If you've been given chewable tablets, you can chew them or swallow them whole with a glass of water. In children, the usual dose is 10mg to 20mg once a day. Your doctor will use your child's age to work out the amount of atorvastatin that's right for them.

Your dose depends on the reason for taking it, your cholesterol levels , and what other medicines you're taking. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice if you're unsure how much to take.

Don't reduce your dose without talking to your doctor first. If you occasionally forget to take a dose, take your next dose the next day at the usual time. Never take 2 doses at the same time. Never take extra doses. If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor if you're worried or take more than 1 extra dose.

Like all medicines, atorvastatin can cause side effects in some people - and different statins affect people in different ways. One rare but serious side effect is unexplained muscle aches and pains , tenderness or weakness. This can happen a few weeks or months after you first start taking this medicine. Talk to your doctor or a pharmacist if side effects are bothering you. They may recommend trying an alternative statin.

These common side effects of atorvastatin happen in more than 1 in people. Some side effects may improve after the first few days, as your body gets used to the medicine.

Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects bother you or don't go away:. Report any unexplained muscle aches and pains, tenderness or weakness to a doctor straight away.

Less than 1 in people may have some memory loss. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if this side effect bothers you. It usually goes away after you stop taking the medicine.

Serious side effects when taking atorvastatin are rare and happen in less than 1 in 1, people. In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to atorvastatin.

These are not all the side effects of atorvastatin. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. Atorvastatin isn't recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as there's no firm evidence it's safe. Talk to your doctor if you want to get pregnant. It's best to stop taking atorvastatin at least 3 months before you start trying for a baby.

If you become pregnant while taking atorvastatin, stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor. It's not known if atorvastatin gets into breast milk, but it may cause problems for your baby.

Speak to your doctor about what's best for you and your baby while you're breastfeeding. It may be possible to delay starting or restarting atorvastatin until you've stopped breastfeeding completely. Some medicines affect the way atorvastatin works and can increase the risk of serious side effects.

If you're taking atorvastatin and need to take one of these medicines, your doctor may:. These are not all the medicines that can interfere with atorvastatin. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicine packet or check with your pharmacist.

St John's wort, a herbal medicine taken for depression , reduces the amount of atorvastatin in your blood, so it doesn't work as well. Talk to your doctor if you're thinking about starting St John's wort, as it will change how well atorvastatin works. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. Atorvastatin acts on the liver to stop it making cholesterol.

This lowers your blood cholesterol level. For the first 12 months on this medicine, you'll be offered a couple of routine tests to make sure your liver is working normally. Your cholesterol levels should drop noticeably within 4 weeks - if you take your medicine regularly, as prescribed. Usually, treatment with a statin such as atorvastatin is for life. The benefits will only continue for as long as you take it.

If you stop taking atorvastatin without starting a different treatment, your cholesterol level may rise again. You may have read negative stories about statins, but they're thought to be very safe, effective medicines. Statins are thought to have very few side effects. Sometimes the side effects that people report aren't related to their medicine. However, if you're concerned about the safety of statins, talk to your doctor. Atorvastatin is safe to take for a long time, even many years.

In fact, it works best when you take it for a long time. No, there's no evidence that atorvastatin is addictive.