Advice to Patients

Pending revision, the material in this section should be considered in light of more recently available information in the MEDWATCH notification at the beginning of this monograph.

• Importance of informing patients about risks, especially rhabdomyolysis, associated with statins alone or combined with other drugs. Importance of patients promptly reporting muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever, brown urine, and flu-like symptoms.
• Importance of adhering to nondrug therapies and measures, including dietary management, weight control, physical activity, and management of potentially contributory disease (e.g., diabetes mellitus).
• Importance of women informing their clinician if they are or plan to become pregnant or plan to breast-feed. Necessity for clinicians to advise women to avoid pregnancy (i.e., using effective and appropriate contraceptive methods) during therapy and to advise pregnant women of risk to the fetus.
• Importance of informing clinicians of existing or contemplated concomitant therapy, including prescription and OTC drugs and dietary or herbal supplements, as well as any concomitant illnesses.
• Importance of informing patients of other important precautionary information. (See Cautions.)

Preparations

Excipients in commercially available drug preparations may have clinically important effects in some individuals; consult specific product labeling for details.

Comparative Pricing

This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. This pricing information was updated 09/2009. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit www.drugstore.com. Actual costs to patients will vary depending on the use of specific retail or mail-order locations and health insurance copays.

AHFS Drug Information. © Copyright, 1959-2009, Selected Revisions October 2008. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc., 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.