Yes. Many medications, such as cholesterol medications and medications prescribed for depression, can be cut in half. As a general rule, if the tablet has a score mark or groove down the middle, it can be split in half.
Tablet splitting, in which a higher-dose tablet is split to get two doses, reduces patients' drug costs. Statins can be split safely. General practitioners (GPs) may not direct their patients to split statins because of safety concerns or unawareness of costs.
As evident from periodic liver enzyme estimations, we can say that alternate-day statin therapy is at least as safe as daily treatment regime. While there was one instance of myalgia, on daily atorvastatin treatment, alternate-day dosage of the same was well tolerated.
Swallow the tablet whole. Do not break, crush, or chew it. Take this medicine with or without food. Do not drink large amounts of alcohol with atorvastatin.
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
Fifty patients met study criteria, and overall most (37/50; 74%) tolerated the once-a-week regimen (Table 1). Among those who experienced myalgias from previous statins, 71% (25/35) tolerated once-a-week rosuvastatin.
So, why do people take statins at night? Many statins work more effectively when they are taken at night. This is because the enzyme which makes the cholesterol is more active at night. Also, the half-life, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, of some statins is short.
Statins are typically very successful at lowering cholesterol, but they only work as long as you're taking them. Therefore, most people who begin taking a statin medication will likely take it for the rest of their lives.
High doses -- also called high-intensity statin therapy -- included 40 to 80 milligrams (mg) of atorvastatin (Lipitor) or 20 to 40 mg of rosuvastatin (Crestor) daily. Examples of moderate doses include 10 to 20 mg of Lipitor and 5 to 10 mg of Crestor, the study reported.
You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level. If you forget to take your dose, do not take an extra one to make up for it. Just take your next dose as usual the following day.
If you forget to take your dose, take it as soon as you remember. If you do not remember until the next day, skip the missed dose and take the next one at the usual time. If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you.
Background: Adenosine receptor activation is essential for mediating the IS-limiting effects of statins. Caffeine is a nonspecific adenosine receptor blocker, and thus drinking CC may block the myocardial protective effects of statins.
Doctors have been prescribing statins for more than 30 years, and these medications are generally safe and effective with a low risk of serious side effects. Short-acting statins are most effective when a person takes them at night, but a person can take long-acting statins at any time of the day.
In a study of more than 1,000 adults, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are more likely than non-users to experience decreased energy, fatigue upon exertion, or both.
Discussion. Our analysis of current evidence suggests that intermittent statin administration is effective in lowering LDL levels in patients with dyslipidemia. All dosing regimens, including alternate days, 3 to 5 times a week, 2 to 3 times a week, and once a week, were shown to be effective.
Use of rosuvastatin 2.5 to 20 mg once a week has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol by 25% and be tolerated by up to 70% of statin-intolerant patients.
Anyone who wants to stop taking a statin should talk to a doctor. In some cases, coming off these drugs can be dangerous. The doctor may suggest reducing the dosage, combining the statin with another cholesterol lowering drug, or switching to another drug entirely.
Could I be prescribed a dose of 5 mg? The typical Lipitor dosage range is 10 milligrams (mg) to 80 mg taken once per day. Your dose may depend on the severity of your condition and any other medications you're taking along with Lipitor. There's no 5-mg dose of Lipitor dosage available in the United States.
Splitting a pill into two equal halves is sometimes necessary when needing to adjust dosage, or as a means to save money buy purchasing higher-dose pills. However, splitting is not safe for all pills, so a person should always consult a pharmacist or doctor.
Published data have demonstrated that instead of administering rosuvastatin on a daily basis, alternative dosing schedules (every other day, three times a week, and twice a week) for patients with previous adverse events, presumably secondary to statin therapy, have improved patient tolerability and at the same time ...
Statins are drugs that lower your cholesterol. But if you are age 75 or older and you haven't had symptoms of heart disease, statins may be a bad idea. Here's why: Adults age 75 and older may not need statins.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
The most important thing your doctor will keep in mind when thinking about statin treatment is your long-term risk of a heart attack or stroke. If your risk is very low, you probably won't need a statin, unless your LDL is above 190 mg/dL (4.92 mmol/L).
According to a research review people who take simvastatin (Zocor) or pravastatin (Pravachol) may experience fewer side effects.