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Lovastatin

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User Ratings

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Satisfaction

7.1

6.1 Effectiveness

3.4 Side Effects

4.2 Holistic Benefits

RateADrug users have reported 3 Lovastatin side effects and 1 Lovastatin benefit.

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Description | Uses & Side Effects | Warnings

There is currently no information to display in this section. RateADrug provides information about drugs and supplements though a wiki format provided by researchers, health care providers and others. We encourage you to add to this description by clicking on the button below.

Common Uses:

Lovastatin (Mevacor) is a prescription medication used for treating a number of conditions related to heart disease, including high cholesterol. It is part of a class of drugs called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, which are more popularly known as statins.

Lovastatin (Mevacor) is a medication that has been licensed to treat several conditions. These lovastatin uses include the:

Treatment of high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
Prevention of heart disease
Slowing the progression of atherosclerosis (narrowing and hardening of the arteries) in people with heart disease.

Off Label Uses:

At this time, there are no universally accepted off-label uses for lovastatin.

Side Effects:
Some of the side effects of Lovastatin include the following:

If you develop unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness while taking lovastatin, especially if the symptoms are with a fever or you feel ill, it is important to contact your healthcare provider immediately.

There are a number of side effects with lovastatin that you should report immediately to your healthcare provider. These include, but are not limited to:

Signs of liver damage, such as yellow eyes or skin, upper right abdominal pain, dark urine, and elevated liver enzymes.

Muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, especially if you also have a fever or feel ill, since these may be signs of serious breakdown of muscle, known as rhabdomyolysis.

Significant, unexplained changes in the amount of urine you produce.

Signs of an allergic reaction, such as:
A rash
Itching
Hives
Wheezing or difficulty breathing
Swelling of the mouth, tongue, or throat

The most common side effects of lovastatin include:
Gas
Constipation
Headache
Muscle pain, known medically as myalgia
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain (stomach pain)

The lovastatin side effects mentioned below also occurred in more than one percent of people and more often in the group taking lovastatin. These side effects included, but were not limited to:

General feeling of weakness, known medically as asthenia
Muscle cramps
Dizziness
Unexplained rash
Blurred vision

Some of these possible side effects include, but are not limited to:

Leg pain
Insomnia
Hair loss
Dry mouth
Vomiting

Cautions / Warnings:

Prior to taking lovastatin (Mevacor), you should tell your healthcare provider if you have:

Liver disease or liver failure
Kidney disease or kidney failure
A genetic condition known as homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia
Any allergies, including allergies to foods, dyes, or preservatives.

Let your healthcare provider know if you:
Are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant
Are breastfeeding
Will be undergoing a procedure or surgery
Drink alcohol frequently.

Also, tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you may be taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Finally, make sure to contact your healthcare provider immediately if you experience any muscle pain, weakness, or tenderness, especially if you also have body aches or a fever.

Drug Interactions:
Lovastatin (Mevacor) may interact with a number of other medications. Some of the medications that may lead to lovastatin drug interactions include:
Amiodarone (Cordarone®, Pacerone®)

Certain antibiotics, such as:
Erythromycin
Clarithromycin (Biaxin®)
Telithromycin (Ketek®)

Certain antifungals, such as:
Fluconazole (Diflucan®)
Itraconazole (Sporanox®)
Ketoconazole (Nizoral®)
Miconazole
Posaconazole (Noxafil®)
Voriconazole (VFEND®)

Cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®)
Danazol (Danocrine®)
Fibrates, such as:

Fenofibrate (Antara™, Lofibra™, Tricor®, Triglide™)
Gemfibrozil (Lopid®)

Grapefruit juice
Nefazodone (Serzone®)
Niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor®, Nicolar®)
Protease inhibitors, such as:

Amprenavir (Agenerase®)
Atazanavir (Reyataz®)
Darunavir (Prezista™)
Fosamprenavir (Lexiva®)
Indinavir (Crixivan®)
Lopinavir and ritonavir (Kaletra®)
Nelfinavir (Viracept®)
Ritonavir (Norvir®)
Saquinavir (Invirase®)
Tipranavir (Aptivus®)

Verapamil (Calan®, Calan SR, Verelan®, Verelan PM, Isoptin®, Covera-HS®)
Warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®).

Some of these drug interactions with lovastatin may increase your risk for developing serious muscle problems (see Mevacor and Muscle Pain). If you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness while taking lovastatin (especially if you also have a fever or feel ill), it is important to contact your healthcare provider right away.

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Brands	Effectiveness	Holistic Benefits	Side Effects	Number of Ratings
Zocor	7.63	5.59	1.97	30
Crestor	6.84	5.09	2.79	44
Lovastatin	6.62	4.5	2.5	21
Simvastatin	6.16	4.38	2.71	83
Lipitor	5.65	4.26	4.19	136

View All	About these Scores
	Choose a condition to compare treatments based on user feedback. You can sort by Effectiveness, Holistic Benefits or Side Effects RateADrug user scores, or the number of Ratings. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Effectiveness of Lovastatin by Condition

Click on a condition to view RateADrug.com users ratings

High Cholesterol

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Effectiveness on "High Cholesterol"

About these Results
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of how users rate the effectiveness of their medication. Click on the various conditions to see how the effectiveness ratings change. Close

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How effective is Lovastatin?

Reported Changes in Health and Well-Being

Since taking Lovastatin, RateADrug survey participants noticed these changes in their health:

Effect on:	Much Worse	Worse	No Change	Better	Much Better
Appetite	0%	11.5%	88.5%	0%	0%
Balance/Equilibrium	0%	8%	92%	0%	0%
Blood Pressure	4%	4%	88%	4%	0%
Breathing	0%	4%	96%	0%	0%
Confidence	4%	4%	92%	0%	0%
Coordination/Motor Skills	4%	4%	92%	0%	0%
Digestion	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%
Emotional Well-being	4%	4%	80%	12%	0%
Energy	7.7%	15.4%	76.9%	0%	0%
Eyesight	0%	4%	96%	0%	0%
Memory	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%
Mental Clarity	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%
Pain	8%	8%	80%	0%	4%
Patience	0%	8%	92%	0%	0%
Sexual Health	4%	4%	92%	0%	0%
Skin Complexion	0%	0%	100%	0%	0%
Sleep	4%	4%	88%	0%	4%
Stress Level	4%	12%	76%	8%	0%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of negative or positive changes in health and well-being experienced by users for all of the categories listed. Close

Commonly Reported Lovastatin Side Effects

RateADrug survey participants experienced these commonly reported side effects:

Effect on:	None	Mild	Moderate	Strong	Severe
Bloating	83.3%	11.1%	0%	5.6%	0%
Blurred Vision	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%
Constipation	85.7%	9.5%	4.8%	0%	0%
Dizziness	95.8%	4.2%	0%	0%	0%
Drowsiness	79.2%	8.3%	8.3%	4.2%	0%
Fatigue	66.7%	12.5%	16.7%	4.2%	0%
Gas	83.3%	8.3%	8.3%	0%	0%
Headache	95.8%	0%	0%	4.2%	0%
Hot Flashes / Flushing	79.2%	4.2%	0%	0%	16.7%
Insomnia	87.5%	4.2%	4.2%	4.2%	0%
Muscle / Joint Pain	71.4%	4.8%	9.5%	4.8%	9.5%
Stomach Ache	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of the severity of side effects experienced by users. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Less Commonly Reported Lovastatin Side Effects

RateADrug survey participants experienced less commonly reported side effects:

Effect on:	None	Mild	Moderate	Strong	Severe
Concentration / Focus Problems	85.7%	9.5%	4.8%	0%	0%
Diabetes	94.7%	5.3%	0%	0%	0%
Discolored Urine	91.7%	8.3%	0%	0%	0%
Elevated Blood Sugar	89.5%	10.5%	0%	0%	0%
Nerve Pain / Damage	87.5%	8.3%	0%	0%	4.2%
Reduced Libido	86.7%	6.7%	0%	6.7%	0%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of the severity of side effects experienced by users. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Episodes since taking Lovastatin

Since taking Lovastatin Rate a Drug survey participants reported these episodes:

Hospitalization

5.7%

About these Results
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the percentage of users who have experienced any of these episodes while taking their medication. Close

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User Comments about Lovastatin

27 Aug 2014	I took Lovastatin for 6 weeks. During that time, I had severe constipation. It caused abdominal pain and even some lower back pain. I can't be certain that this is a side-effect, but it is the only change in my life and diet during that time, so I'm assuming it is the "culprit". I have since then taken myself off of the medicine. It has been one week without medicine, but I'm still constipated. Perhaps it will take longer to get the medicine out of my system. If not, I'm going to begin searching for another cause of my discomfort. Any suggestions? —Posted by Anonymous Respond Display Name: Email: (Required) Notify me of new comments Email me monthly survey results Sending... I agree to the Terms of Use
17 Sep 2011	It seems to be something that works. —Posted by Anonymous Respond Display Name: Email: (Required) Notify me of new comments Email me monthly survey results Sending... I agree to the Terms of Use
17 Jul 2010	I thought it was the heat dehydrating me, humid weather causing arthritis flare-ups, menopause symptoms coming back, all at once. And maybe even something wrong with my thyroid medicine (a bad batch or needing a dosage increase) But symptom got worse when we went away from the heat on vacation.Towards end of our vacation my husband insisted I stop taking it and I immediately began to feel better. Too bad I didn't stop at the beginning of vacation, IT REALLY SPOILED IT FOR ME!!!! I absolutely will not be able to go back to work and take this medicine. And after this experience I just may refuse to ever take ANY CHOLESTEROL MEDICINE EVER!!! This is not worth lowering cholesterol by 26 points. —Posted by Anonymous Respond Display Name: Email: (Required) Notify me of new comments Email me monthly survey results Sending... I agree to the Terms of Use
30 Jun 2010	Im not sure if it is the Lovastatin that im taking that is causing my legs to become very weak. Sometimes its difficult to walk —Posted by Anonymous Respond Display Name: Email: (Required) Notify me of new comments Email me monthly survey results Sending... I agree to the Terms of Use
03 Jun 2010	I have been taking the 40 mg for many years now and in the past 3 months I was told to take another 40 mg and to split it in half so that I am taking 60 mg. I did not like this as much because I would feel more comfortable taking a 60 mg pill, but since they do not make that I will see if this help my level get back in place. —Posted by Samuel Cooper Respond Display Name: Email: (Required) Notify me of new comments Email me monthly survey results Sending... I agree to the Terms of Use