Pravastatin - Generic Pravachol

Before taking Pravastatin:

• Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to pravastatin, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in pravastatin tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients
• Tell your doctor and pharmacist what 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: antacids; antifungals such as fluconazole (Diflucan) and ketoconazole (Nizoral); boceprevir (Victrelis); cimetidine (Tagamet); clarithromycin (Biaxin); colchicine (Colcrys); cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); digoxin (Lanoxin); diltiazem (Cardizem, Cartia, Taztia, Tiazac); erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin); other cholesterol-lowering medications such as fenofibrate (Tricor), gemfibrozil (Lopid), and niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor, Niaspan); ritonavir (Norvir) taken with darunavir (Prezista); spironolactone (Aldactone); verapamil (Calan, Covera, Verelan); and warfarin (Coumadin). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. Other medications may also interact with pravastatin, so be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, even those that do not appear on this list
• If you are taking cholestyramine (Questran) or colestipol (Colestid), take them 4 hours before or 1 hour after pravastatin
• Tell your doctor if you have liver disease. Your doctor will order laboratory tests to see how well your liver is working even if you do not think you have liver disease. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take pravastatin if you have liver disease or if the tests show that you may be developing liver disease
• Tell your doctor if you drink more than two alcoholic beverages per day, if you are 65 years of age or older, if you have ever had liver disease or if you have or have ever had low blood pressure, muscle aches or weakness, seizures, or thyroid or kidney disease
• tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. You should not become pregnant while you are taking pravastatin. Talk to your doctor about birth control methods that you can use during your treatment. If you become pregnant while taking pravastatin, stop taking pravastatin and call your doctor immediately. Pravastatin may harm the fetus
• Do not breastfeed while you are taking this medication
• If you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking pravastatin. If you are hospitalized due to serious injury or infection, tell the doctor who treats you that you are taking pravastatin
• Ask your doctor about the safe use of alcoholic beverages while you are taking pravastatin. Alcohol can increase the risk of serious side effects

Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Be sure to follow all exercise and dietary recommendations made by your doctor or dietitian. You can also visit the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) website for additional dietary information at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_tlc.pdf.

What should I do if I forget a dose?
If you forget a dose, Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue the regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

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

• heartburn
• headache
• memory loss or forgetfulness
• confusion

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following side effects, call your doctor immediately or get emergency medical help:

• muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
• lack of energy
• fever
• yellowing of the skin or eyes
• pain in the upper right part of the stomach
• nausea
• extreme tiredness
• weakness
• unusual bleeding or bruising
• dark colored urine
• loss of appetite
• flu-like symptoms
• rash
• hives
• itching
• difficulty breathing or swallowing
• swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs

Pravastatin 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 (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch) or by phone (1-800-332-1088).