Pitavastatin

Conditions Treated

Pitavastatin is used together with lifestyle changes (diet, weight-loss, exercise) to reduce the amount of fatty substances in your blood such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ('bad cholesterol') and to increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ('good cholesterol'). Pitavastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body. Buildup of cholesterol and other fats along the walls of the blood vessels (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body. Lowering blood levels of cholesterol and fats may help to decrease your chances of getting heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks. In addition to taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, making certain changes in your daily habits can also lower your cholesterol blood levels. You should eat a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol (see SPECIAL DIETARY), exercise 30 minutes on most, if not all, days and lose weight if you are overweight.

Possible Side Effects

What Side Effects Can This Cause?

Pitavastatin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• back pain
• constipation
• diarrhea

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

• muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
• fever
• nausea
• extreme tiredness
• unusual bleeding or bruising
• lack of energy
• loss of appetite
• pain in the upper right part of the stomach
• yellowing of the skin or eyes
• flu-like symptoms
• rash
• itching
• hives

Pitavastatin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].

Usage Instructions

How Should This Medication Be Used

Pitavastatin comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day with or without food. Take pitavastatin at around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take pitavastatin exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. Your doctor may start you on a low dose of pitavastatin and gradually increase your dose, not more than once every 4 weeks. Continue to take pitavastatin even if you feel well. Do not stop taking pitavastatin without talking to your doctor.

What Dietary Instructions Should I Follow

Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet, which includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish, vegetables, poultry, and egg whites and increase the amount of soluble fiber in your diet with foods such as oatmeal, kidney beans, and apples. Use monounsaturated oils such as olive, peanut, and canola oils or polyunsaturated oils such as corn, safflower, soy, sunflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils. Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.

Are There Any Special Instructions

Before taking pitavastatin, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to pitavastatin, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in pitavastatin tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients. tell your doctor if you are taking cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune). Your doctor will probably tell you not to take pitavastatin if you are taking this medication. tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin); other cholesterol-lowering medications such as fenofibrate (Tricor), gemfibrozil (Lopid), and niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor, Niaspan); rifampin (Rifadin, in Rifamate, in Rifater, Rimactane); ritonavir and lopinavir (Kaletra);or warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. tell your doctor if you have liver disease. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take pitavastatin. tell your doctor if you drink large amounts of alcohol, if you have ever had liver disease, or if you have or have ever had thyroid or kidney disease. if you are having surgery, tell the doctor that you are taking pitavastatin. ask your doctor about the safe use of alcoholic beverages while you are taking pitavastatin. Alcohol can increase the risk of serious side effects.