Generic Zocor - Simvastatin

Take this medication by mouth usually once daily in the evening, with or without food. Certain medical conditions (e.g., familial hypercholesterolemia) may require more frequent dosage instructions as directed by your doctor. Dosage is based on your medical condition, response to therapy, and use of certain interacting medicines. Many of the drugs listed in the Drug Interactions section may increase the chances of muscle injury when used with simvastatin. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details. Limit the amount of grapefruit or grapefruit juice you may eat or drink (less than 1 quart a day) while being treated with this medication, unless specifically directed otherwise. Grapefruit juice may increase the amount of certain medications in your bloodstream. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details. If you also take certain other drugs to lower your cholesterol (bile acid-binding resins such as cholestyramine or colestipol), take simvastatin at least 1 hour before or at least 2 hours after these medications. Use this medication regularly in order to get the most benefit from it. Remember to use it at the same time each day. It may take up to 4 weeks before the full benefit of this drug takes effect. It is important to continue taking this medication even if you feel well. Most people with high cholesterol or triglycerides do not feel sick.

Rating

Effectiveness:          Highly Effective
Side effects:          No Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:          Hyperlipidemia
Dosage & duration:          80mg tablet taken once per day for the period of One Year
Other conditions:          Fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, allergies, chronic pain
Other drugs taken:          Trazadone, cymbalta, thyroxine, niaspan, asprin

Reported Results

Benefits:          My total cholesterol level dropped from 282 to 150. The niaspan dropped my triglyceride level about 30 points!
Side effects:          The only side effects I had was from the Niaspan. I would get flushed and itchy (terribly uncomfortable). The doctor told me to take an aspirin (350mg) 30 minutes to an hour prior to taking the Niaspan. The aspirin worked well, I can take the Niaspan with no problems.
Comments:          My treatment includes statin drugs and Niaspan because normal diet and exercise were not sufficient to keep my cholesterol level down. So, I take my medicine every night without fail, exercise at least 3X per week and I incorporate more fruit and vegetables into my diet.

Hypersensitivity to any component of this medication.

Active liver disease or unexplained persistent elevations of serum transaminases (see WARNINGS).

Pregnancy and lactation. Atherosclerosis is a chronic process and the discontinuation of lipid-lowering drugs during pregnancy should have little impact on the outcome of long-term therapy of primary hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, cholesterol and other products of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway are essential components for fetal development, including synthesis of steroids and cell membranes. Because of the ability of inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase such as ZOCOR to decrease the synthesis of cholesterol and possibly other products of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, ZOCOR is contraindicated during pregnancy and in nursing mothers. ZOCOR should be administered to women of childbearing age only when such patients are highly unlikely to conceive. If the patient becomes pregnant while taking this drug, ZOCOR should be discontinued immediately and the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus