Fluvastatin

Fluvastatin is a prescription medication used, together with diet and exercise, in people with heart disease to lower the chance that heart surgery will be required. It is also used to lower high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Fluvastatin may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Lescol

• Lescol XL

The most common side effects of fluvastatin are headache, upset stomach and stomach pain, diarrhea, flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, sinus infection, tiredness, or trouble sleeping. These side effects are usually mild and may go away. The following additional side effects have been reported with fluvastatin: memory loss, and confusion.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have side effects that bother you or that will not go away.

These are not all the side effects of fluvastatin. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a complete list.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. Fluvastatin and certain other medicines can interact causing serious side effects. Especially tell your doctor if you take medicines for:

• your immune system
• cholesterol
• infections
• heart failure
• seizures
• diabetes
• heartburn or stomach ulcers

Know all the medicines you take. Keep a list of all the medicines you take with you to show your doctor and pharmacist.

When taking fluvastatin, some patients may develop serious side effects, including:

• muscle problems. These serious muscle problems can sometimes lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure. You have a higher chance for muscle problems if you are taking certain other medicines with fluvastatin. Call your doctor right away if you have:
  • muscle problems like weakness, tenderness, or pain that happen without a good reason, especially if you also have a fever or feel more tired than usual 
• liver problems. Your doctor should do blood tests to check your liver before you start taking fluvastatin, and if you have symptoms of liver problems while you take fluvastatin. Call your doctor right away if you have the following symptoms of liver problems:
  • feel tired or weak
  • loss of appetite
  • upper belly pain
  • dark amber colored urine
  • yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes

Statin medications, including fluvastatin, carry a rare but serious risk of:

• liver damage
• memory loss or confusion
• increase in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia)
• type 2 diabetes
• immune-mediated muscle breakdown

Do not take fluvastatin if you:

• are pregnant or breastfeeding
• have liver problems
• are allergic to fluvastatin

Fluvastatin has not been studied in children under 9 years of age.

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of fluvastatin, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking fluvastatin, tell your doctor if you:

• have muscle aches or weakness
• drink more than 2 glasses of alcohol daily
• have diabetes
• have a thyroid problem
• have kidney problems

Some medicines should not be taken with fluvastatin. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. 

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Fluvastatin falls into category X. Cholesterol and cholesterol derivatives are needed for fetal development. Lipid lowering drugs are not recommended during pregnancy. 

Fluvastatin has been detected in human breast milk. Because of the possibility for adverse reactions in nursing infants from fluvastatin, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or to stop use of this medication. The importance of the drug to the mother should be considered.

• Your doctor will prescribe the medicine that is right for you. Take fluvastatin exactly as prescribed.
• Fluvastatin capsules and tablets can be taken daily with or without food as a single dose. Sometimes a second dose is required.
• Fluvastatin comes in extended-release tablets.
• Do not change your dose or stop fluvastatin without talking to your doctor. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your cholesterol levels during treatment with fluvastatin. Your dose of fluvastatin may be changed based on these blood test results.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication
• your age
• your renal function

The recommended dose range of fluvastatin is 20 mg to 80 mg/day.

If you take too much fluvastatin or overdose, call your doctor or Poison Control Center right away or go to the nearest emergency room.

• Store at room temperature, 59° to 86° F (15° to 30° C). Protect from light.
• Do not keep medicine that is out of date or that you no longer need.
• Keep this medication out of the reach of children. Be sure that if you throw medicines away, it is out of the reach of children.