{"id":1192,"date":"2023-08-10T15:36:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T15:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2023-09-08T14:22:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:22:41","slug":"pravastatin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/cholesterol-medications\/pravastatin\/","title":{"rendered":"About Pravastatin (Pravachol): A Patient&#8217;s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pravastatin is part of the statin class of drugs and used to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pravastatin slows down both overall cholesterol production and LDL cholesterol production.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pravastatin is usually combined with lifestyle changes and other interventions for maximum effectiveness.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>In rare cases, pravastatin can cause liver damage and kidney problems, but most people who take pravastatin do not experience any problems.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pravastatin has dangerous interactions with several other medications, including niacin-based drugs, fibric acid-derived medications, and others.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the CDC, 86 million Americans, or 1 in 3 adults, have high cholesterol. For those most at risk of heart disease, this can be extremely dangerous as high cholesterol can aggravate heart disease symptoms, yet it shows few if any outward symptoms until it\u2019s too late. Fortunately, pravastatin can be combined with other interventions to reduce your risk. Learn how pravastatin works, why it\u2019s beneficial for heart disease, who can and shouldn\u2019t use it, and how to get the lowest price for pravastatin.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Is Pravastatin and What Is It Used For?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/medicine_details\/pravastatin-sodium-40-mg-tab\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, sold under the brand name Pravachol, is a statin used to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. It\u2019s used to help people at high risk of heart disease reduce the associated illnesses and lower the odds of mortality due to heart disease.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin is generally one piece of a larger approach to treating heart disease. Lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and getting regular cholesterol checks, are the most important part of treating high cholesterol. Pravastatin and other medications can help to lower cholesterol levels, but they are not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Does Pravastatin Work?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin works <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK551621\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by blocking the production of HMG-CoA reductase<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an enzyme that\u2019s needed to make cholesterol. This results in a decrease in the total amount of cholesterol produced by the body, including LDL, or bad, cholesterol.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Formulas Are Available for Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin is available in tablet form, and is sometimes formulated with aspirin in a medication called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/pravigard_pac.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravigard Pac<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Pravastatin Dosage and Administration<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1193\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2.jpeg-3-min.jpg\" alt=\"old couple at farmer's market\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin is available in doses of 10, 20, 40 and 80 milligrams. Starting doses vary and are dependent on age, body weight, cholesterol levels, and other factors. Your doctor may change your dosage according to blood test results.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Should I Take Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin should be taken at the same time every day. It can be taken with or without food, so choose a time that\u2019s most convenient for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Are the Potential Side Effects of Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin\u2019s most common side effects include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pain in the joints or muscles<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea and diarrhea<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headaches<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cold-like symptoms including stuffy nose and sore throat<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In extremely rare cases, pravastatin can have more serious side effects. Seek medical attention right away if you experience any of the following while taking pravastatin:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Signs of kidney failure<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unusual muscle weakness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fever<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fatigue<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dark colored urine<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sudden muscle weakness in the hips, back, shoulders, and neck<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Difficulty raising your arms\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Difficulty climbing or standing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Signs of liver damage\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of appetite<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pain in the upper right side of the stomach<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A yellowing of the skin or eyes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1196\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/3.jpeg-min.jpg\" alt=\"family running on the beach\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>What Should I Avoid When Taking Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fatty and high-cholesterol foods can inhibit pravastatin\u2019s effects. Your doctor may put you on a specific diet while you\u2019re on pravastatin, which will make it more effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch your alcohol intake while using pravastatin, as it may raise the risk of liver damage. Inform your doctor if you have more than two drinks a day.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Should I Do If I Miss a Dose of Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember, as long as it\u2019s not almost time for your next dose. If you\u2019re within a few hours of your next dose, take that instead and continue with your normal dosing schedule. Don\u2019t take two doses of pravastatin at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Should I Do If I Overdose on Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you believe you\u2019ve overdosed on pravastatin, contact the Poison Control Center and follow their guidance, or seek emergency medical attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Who Should Not Take Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have any of the following, or have experienced them in the past, be sure your prescribing provider knows about it before you begin pravastatin.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Active liver disease.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Due to its impacts on the liver, pravastatin elevates the risk of liver disease.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Kidney disease.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pravastatin can cause muscle tissue breakdown in rare cases, raising the risk of kidney failure. Review the possible signs of kidney failure with your doctor before taking pravastatin.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The possibility of becoming pregnant or breastfeeding.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you\u2019re pregnant, or might become pregnant, do not take pravastatin. If you find you\u2019re pregnant while taking it, stop taking it immediately. Pravastatin is also potentially passed through breastmilk, so breastfeeding should be avoided.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1197\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4.jpeg-min.jpg\" alt=\"woman cooking at home\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Are There Any Potential Drug Interactions With Pravastatin?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin has several major drug interactions, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Niacin and niacin-containing medications.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The combination of these two can cause unexplained muscle weakness. If you need to take niacin, review your risks with your doctor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cyclosporine.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Cyclosporine significantly slows the processing of pravastatin, raising the total amount in your blood and keeping it in your system for a longer period of time. This increases the risk of side effects, including serious side effects.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fibric acid based medications, including gemfibrozil, fenofibric acid, fenofibrate.<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK538508\/#:~:text=Fibric%20acids%20are%20FDA%20indicated,cholesterol%20(HDL%2DC).\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fibric acid drugs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are also used to manage high cholesterol. In combination with pravastatin, they can make serious side effects, including kidney and liver damage, more likely.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Colchicine.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pravastatin interferes with the removal of colchicine from the body, putting you at risk of muscle and kidney damage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Macrolide antibiotics, including clarithromycin, erythromycin, and azithromycin.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These interact to make muscle tissue breakdown more likely.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This list of drugs that can interact with pravastatin is not complete. For a full list of 165 medications that can interact with pravastatin, see <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/drug-interactions\/pravastatin-index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pravastatin Drug Interactions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Get the Lowest Price for Pravastatin With BidRx<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re working to lower your cholesterol, you have enough to manage without also dealing with comparison shopping to stay within your budget. BidRx helps you get the lowest price for pravastatin by bringing pharmacists to you. They bid for your business, you choose the price that works for you, and your medication is shipped straight to your door.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit our medications page to get started and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/Contents\/customers\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to create your bid today<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please note that this information is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or medication.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how pravastatin works, why it\u2019s beneficial for high cholesterol, who can and shouldn\u2019t use it, and how to get the lowest price for pravastatin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cholesterol-medications"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}