Pravastatin

Prescription Pravastatin Drug Information

Important information You should not take pravastatin if you are allergic to it, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease. Stop taking pravastatin and tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant. Before taking pravastatin, tell your doctor if you have ever had liver or kidney disease, diabetes, or a thyroid disorder, or if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily. In rare cases, pravastatin can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine. Avoid eating foods that are high in fat or cholesterol. Pravastatin will not be as effective in lowering your cholesterol if you do not follow a cholesterol-lowering diet plan. Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may increase your risk of liver damage. There are many other drugs that can increase your risk of serious medical problems if you take them together with pravastatin. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. Pravastatin is only part of a complete program of treatment that also includes diet, exercise, and weight control. Follow your diet, medication, and exercise routines very closely. Before taking this medicine You should not take pravastatin if you are allergic to it, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease. To make sure you can safely take pravastatin, tell your doctor if you have any of these other conditions: history of liver disease; history of kidney disease; diabetes; a thyroid disorder; or if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily. In rare cases, pravastatin can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. This condition may be more likely to occur in older adults and in people who have kidney disease or poorly controlled hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). Certain other drugs can increase your risk of serious muscle problems, and it is very important that your doctor knows if you are using any of them: gemfibrozil (Lopid), fenofibric acid (Fibricor, Trilipix), or fenofibrate (Antara, Fenoglide, Lipofen, Lofibra, Tricor, Triglide); medicines that contain niacin (Advicor, Niaspan, Niacor, Simcor, Slo-Niacin, and others); or drugs that weaken your immune system, such as steroids, cancer medicine, or medicines used to prevent organ transplant rejection, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), sirolimus (Rapamune), or tacrolimus (Prograf).