Lipitor (Atorvastatin 10mg) Tablets

Lipitor general information

What is Lipitor used for?

Our body needs some cholesterol to keep us healthy.  Cholesterol is a type of fat and is used for many normal body functions.  These include making cell membranes, producing some hormones like oestrogen and testosterone, and building the protective sheath around nerves.  Cholesterol is also essential for transporting fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D around the body and making bile acid to help digestion. However, too much cholesterol can cause health problems and increase your risk of heart disease.  You may not even know that you have high cholesterol unless you have regular checks, as there are usually no symptoms.  Lipitor tablets 10mg are used to lower high cholesterol levels in the blood to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke that can be caused by high cholesterol.  Lipitor also helps reduce the amount of triglycerides in the blood.  Triglycerides are produced from excess calories/kilojoules consumed in the diet and stored in adipocytes (fat cells) to be used as an energy source when needed.

Why is high cholesterol bad for you?

Cholesterol is a fatty, waxy substance.  The liver produces most of the cholesterol we need, and the rest comes from the diet.  High cholesterol-containing foods are mainly animal products like red meat and dairy foods.  Eating too much of these food types can increase your cholesterol above healthy levels.  Cholesterol is not soluble in water and circulates in the blood attached to proteins called lipoproteins.  In this way, cholesterol can be transported to all parts of the body.

You have most probably heard cholesterol described in terms of good and bad.  If you have high levels of cholesterol in your blood, it can be dumped in your arteries by low-density lipoproteins (LDL).  LDL is the lipoprotein that carries cholesterol around the body and is referred to as bad cholesterol.  High-density lipoprotein (HDL) picks up excess cholesterol returns it to the liver to be processed and is referred to as good cholesterol.  Cholesterol deposited in the arteries gradually builds-up and forms a plaque, which can clog your arteries.  Cholesterol plaques restrict blood flow, as well as making arteries hard and narrow.  This build-up of plaque is known as atherosclerosis, and it can lead to coronary artery disease (CAD), which includes heart attack and angina.  If a piece of the fatty deposit breaks off, it can cause a blood clot, which may travel to the heart (heart attack), lungs (pulmonary embolism) or brain (stroke). 

What causes high cholesterol?

High cholesterol in the blood or hypercholesterolaemia can have several causes and is often a combination of factors that include:

• High-fat diet
• Lack of exercise
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Increasing age
• Some conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism and liver disease
• Inherited familial hypercholesterolaemia

It is important to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle while you are taking Lipitor, starting with an improved diet, more exercise and quitting smoking.  However, you may not be able to bring your cholesterol down to healthy levels just by making lifestyle changes.  If you still have high cholesterol levels after making lifestyle changes, Lipitor will help lower your blood cholesterol.  Taking Lipitor will reduce your risk of heart and artery disease, even if you do not have symptoms.

How does Lipitor work?

Lipitor tablets 10mg contain atorvastatin, which belongs to a group of cholesterol-lowing medications called statins that are used to lower high blood cholesterol. 

Most of the cholesterol our bodies need is produced In the liver.  A complex metabolic pathway is used to synthesise cholesterol from basic building blocks.  HMG-CoA reductase is an important enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis.  It is known as a rate-limiting enzyme, and if this enzyme is blocked the synthesis of cholesterol cannot proceed.  HMG-CoA reductase is the enzyme targetted by statin medications like Lipitor.

Atorvastatin in Lipitor works by inhibiting the action of HMG-CoA reductase, which reduces the production of cholesterol in the liver.  However, atorvastatin in Lipitor only blocks cholesterol synthesis in the liver; it has no effect on cholesterol that comes from fat in food, which is why a low-fat diet is important even when you are taking Lipitor. 

Lipitor reduces the amount of “bad” cholesterol LDL in your blood and also helps increase the amount of “good” cholesterol HDL.  This balance between these two forms of cholesterol is as important as the overall amount.  It may also be possible to slow down the build-up of plaque in the arteries that causes atherosclerosis and prevent it from worsening and even help it to heal using Lipitor.

What does Lipitor contain?

Lipitor tablets 10mg contain the active ingredient atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowing medication belonging to the statin group of drugs that is used to treat hypercholesterolaemia to lower high cholesterol levels in the blood.  They also contain calcium carbonate, microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, croscarmellose sodium, polysorbate 80, hyprolose, magnesium stearate, Opadry White YS-1-7040, simethicone emulsion.

What are the side effects of Lipitor?

Most medications have some side effects, but they are not experienced by everyone.  Some side effects are commonly experienced when taking Lipitor tablets 10mg, but others are not so common, and you should discuss any problems or concerns with your primary care physician. 

Common side effects when taking Lipitor include constipation, abdominal pain, nausea, headache and dizziness, unusual tiredness, skin rash, itching or hives.  More serious side effects are less common and may include: muscle ache, tenderness or weakness, not caused by exercise (myopathy), rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle).

When should Lipitor not be used?

Have a talk with your primary healthcare physician before taking Lipitor tablets 10mg so that you have a full understanding of what this medicine is for and how to use it.  There are some reasons for not taking a medication; these are called contraindications, and for Lipitor you should consider the following before taking Lipitor:

• Have you ever had an unusual reaction or an allergy when taking Lipitor?
• Are you pregnant or breastfeeding?
• Do you have any problems with your kidneys or your liver?
• Do you have or have you ever had a muscular disorder?
• Do you have hypothyroid disease?
• Do you drink excessive amounts of alcohol?

What medications interact with Lipitor?

Some medicines interact with Lipitor tablets 10mg and may affect the way it works, or are affected by Lipitor or increase side effects; you should discuss possible interactions with your primary care physician.  These may include other lipid-lowering medications like gemfibrozil, the immunosuppressant cyclosporine, ritonavir, digoxin for heart failure, lopinavir for HIV, antacids for indigestion (within 2 hours), calcium channel blockers for hypertension and heart conditions like verapamil or diltiazem, some contraceptives like norethindrone and ethinyl oestradiol. 

If other medications may interact with Lipitor, your doctor will discuss these with you. 

How should Lipitor be taken and for how long?

You should take your Lipitor tablets 10mg swallowed whole with a glass of water once a day, with or without food.  It is important to take Lipitor at the same time each day, morning or evening.  Atorvastatin in Lipitor is a long-acting statin, which means that it is active for 20-30 hours, compared short-acting statins like simvastatin, which are active for up to 12 hours.  This means that you can take Lipitor at any time of day and it works just as well, whereas short-acting statins should be taken at night when your body is resting, and your liver is producing the most cholesterol. 

Your doctor may increase your dose, as required.  Your cholesterol levels should fall to within normal limits within four weeks, but you should continue to take your Lipitor tablets 10mg for as long as recommended by your doctor.  You may need to take Lipitor for the rest of your life as it helps keep your cholesterol levels from being too high.  If you stop taking Lipitor tablets 10mg, your cholesterol levels may rise again. 

If you drink large quantities of alcohol, you may increase the risk of liver problems when taking Lipitor.  Grapefruit juice in large quantities (more than one litre a day) can also increase the risk of side effects as it increases the amount of Lipitor that gets into your blood.

Missed dose of Lipitor

If you miss a dose of Lipitor tablets 10mg take it as soon as you remember, unless it is time to take the next dose, then skip the missed dose.  Do not take a double dose.

How should Lipitor be stored?

You should store your Lipitor tablets 10mg below 25°C in a cool dry place.