Lescol

Lescol 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.

• Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

The most common side effects of Lescol 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 Lescol: 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 Lescol. 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. Lescol 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 Lescol, 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 Lescol. 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 Lescol, and if you have symptoms of liver problems while you take Lescol. 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 Lescol, 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 Lescol if you:

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

Lescol 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 Lescol, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking Lescol, 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 Lescol. 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.

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

Lescol has been detected in human breast milk. Because of the possibility for adverse reactions in nursing infants from Lescol, 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 Lescol exactly as prescribed.
• Lescol can be taken daily with or without food as a single dose. Sometimes a second dose is required.
• Do not change your dose or stop Lescol without talking to your doctor. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your cholesterol levels during treatment with Lescol. Your dose of Lescol 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 Lescol is 20 mg to 80 mg/day.

If you take too much Lescol 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.