Is 20 mg of atorvastatin a lot?

Adults—At first, 10 or 20 milligrams (mg) once a day. Some patients may need to start at 40 mg per day. Your doctor may increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 80 mg per day.

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Is atorvastatin 20 mg bad for you?

There are many risks associated with taking atorvastatin, so the drug is not as commonly prescribed as it once was. Memory loss, liver damage, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease are all serious side effects associated with atorvastatin.

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What does 20mg of atorvastatin do?

Atorvastatin is used together with a proper diet to lower cholesterol and triglyceride (fats) levels in the blood. This medicine may help prevent medical problems (eg, chest pain, heart attack, or stroke) that are caused by fats clogging the blood vessels.

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What are the most common side effects of atorvastatin 20 mg?

Common side effects
  • Feeling sick (nausea) or indigestion. Stick to simple meals and do not eat rich or spicy food. ...
  • Headaches. Make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. ...
  • Nosebleeds. ...
  • Sore throat. ...
  • Cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, blocked nose or sneezing. ...
  • Constipation or farting (flatulence) ...
  • Diarrhoea.

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Is 20 mg of atorvastatin better than 40 mg?

Atorvastatin lowered LDL by 23% as well as improved HDL by 6,3%. The reductions of lipid profile with atorvastatin were large with both doses (20 and 40 mg). Furthermore there is no difference between the two doses. Therefore it is recommended to start with the lower dose.

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Doctor explains how to take cholesterol lowering drug ATORVASTATIN (Lipitor) + doses, side effects!

42 related questions found

Is weight gain a side effect of atorvastatin 20 mg?

Does atorvastatin cause weight gain? Atorvastatin does not cause weight gain as a side effect. However, some researchers have noted a link between statin medications and weight gain. While there are many potential reasons for this, one belief is that this association is due to moral hazard.

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What happens if you stop taking atorvastatin 20 mg?

You will not get any withdrawal symptoms. However, stopping atorvastatin may cause your cholesterol to rise. This increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes. If you want to stop taking your medicine, it's important to find another way to lower your cholesterol.

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Can you get off statins once you start?

If you've made lifestyle changes through diet and exercise that have lowered your cholesterol levels, you may not need to continue taking a statin. These changes can help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, or blocked arteries while allowing you to take one less medication.

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Will 20 mg of atorvastatin lower cholesterol?

Experts consider simvastatin and atorvastatin to be similarly effective for lowering cholesterol when dosed at a moderate intensity. In terms of doses, 20 mg to 40 mg of simvastatin should provide similar results as 10 mg to 20 mg of atorvastatin.

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What should I avoid when taking atorvastatin?

Some medicines can affect the way atorvastatin works and can increase the chances of you having serious side effects, such as muscle damage. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of the following medicines: antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin, rifampicin or fusidic acid.

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What foods should be avoided when taking atorvastatin?

Avoid eating foods high in fat or cholesterol, or atorvastatin will not be as effective. Avoid drinking alcohol. It can raise triglyceride levels and may increase your risk of liver damage. Grapefruit may interact with atorvastatin and lead to unwanted side effects.

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Will I be on atorvastatin for life?

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.

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What are the long term effects of taking atorvastatin?

What are statin side effects?
  • Muscle pain and damage. One of the most common complaints of people taking statins is muscle pain. ...
  • Liver damage. Occasionally, statin use could cause an increase in the level of enzymes in the liver. ...
  • Increased blood sugar or type 2 diabetes. ...
  • Neurological side effects.

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How long does atorvastatin 20 mg stay in your system?

Official answer. It takes about 77 hours (3 days) for atorvastatin to be out of your system. The elimination half life of atorvastatin is approximately 14 hours. This is the time it takes for your body to reduce plasma drug levels by half.

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Do statins get rid of existing cholesterol?

Statins can stabilize cholesterol plaque already attached to artery walls, making it less likely to get worse or rupture, causing a heart attack or stroke. "Statins also help remove cholesterol from you blood by causing the liver to express more LDL cholesterol receptors that take cholesterol out of your blood," Dr.

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Will my cholesterol go up if I stop statins?

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.

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Are statins worth the risk?

We have data now from over 20 statin trials of over 135,000 patients that show statins compared with placebo or no medication result in a 23 percent reduction in heart attacks, 17 percent reduction in fatal or non-fatal stroke and 19 percent reduction in death from cardiovascular causes. So, they definitely work.

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Can you skip a day of atorvastatin?

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.

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Can I take atorvastatin 20mg every other day?

Although atorvastatin has a half-life of 14 hours, due to its active metabolites, the half-life of its HMG-CoA reductase inhibition is as long as 20 to 30 hours (2). For that reason, this is an ideal agent for alternate-day dosing.

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When is the best time to take atorvastatin?

Because atorvastatin is prescribed to block the production of excess cholesterol, it's often recommended to be taken at night - though it will generally work if you take it during the day, too.

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Should I take atorvastatin 20 mg in the morning or night?

While it is typically recommended to take short-acting statins at night, long-acting statins like atorvastatin can be taken at any time of the day.

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Is sleep a side effect of atorvastatin?

The top-selling statins are atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor). How they can cause insomnia: The most common side effect of all types of statins is muscle pain, which can keep people who take them awake at night and unable to rest.

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Which muscles are most affected by statins?

Within a month of starting statin therapy, they may feel aches or weakness in the large muscles of their arms, shoulders, thighs or buttocks on both sides of the body. About 5 to 10% of people who try statins are affected. It's more common in the elderly, in women and in those taking the more potent statins.

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