What is Mevacor (lovastatin)? Lovastatin is a cholesterol-lowering medicine that blocks the making of cholesterol (a kind of fat) in the body. Lovastatin decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and total cholesterol in the blood. Lowering your cholesterol can help prevent heart disease and hardening of the arteries, conditions that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and vascular disease. Lovastatin might also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
What is the most significant information I should know about Mevacor (lovastatin)?
In exceptional cases, lovastatin can trigger a condition that result in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue. This condition can cause kidney failure. Call your doctor immediately if you have unexplained muscle pain or tenderness, muscle weakness, fever or flu signs, and dark colored urine.
This medication can cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Do not use if you are pregnant. Use an effectual form of birth control, and tell your doctor if you become pregnant during treatment. Do not buy Mevacor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease.
What should I discuss with my medical doctor prior to taking Mevacor (lovastatin)?
Do not use this medication if you are allergic when you buy Mevacor, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease. Sooner than you buy Mevacor, tell your doctor if you are allergic to some drugs, or if you have: diabetes; underactive thyroid; kidney disease; or a muscle disorder. If you have some of these conditions, you may not be able to buy Mevacor, or you may need a dosage modification or special tests throughout your treatment.
FDA pregnancy category X.
This medication can cause birth defects. Do not buy Mevacor if you are pregnant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. Use an effectual form of birth control while you are using this medication. It is not known whether lovastatin passes into breast milk. Do not take lovastatin without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Lovastatin is not for use in children younger than 10 years of age.
How must I take Mevacor (lovastatin)?
Take this medication accurately as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger quantities, or take it for longer than suggested by your doctor. Follow the directions on your medicine label. Take lovastatin with a full glass of water.
Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow the pill whole. It is specially made to release medicine gradually in the body. Breaking or opening the pill would trigger too much of the drug to be released at one time. Take Mevacor at bedtime or with an evening meal. If you get Mevacor a number of times every day, take it with meals. Follow your doctor’s instructions.