Is It Safe to Mix Alcohol With Lipitor?

In many cases, the benefits of statin therapy outweigh the risk of adverse effects. However, in some people, the side effects may be severe enough to drive healthcare providers to permit the discontinuation of statin drugs. The real risk of developing muscle pain as a result of taking statins is about 5% or less compared with taking a pill that doesn’t contain medicine, called a placebo. However, kratom abuse symptoms: signs and dangers to watch for studies have found that nearly 30% of people stopped taking the pills because of muscle aches even when they were taking a placebo. A few studies have found that people who drink alcohol in moderation have lower rates of heart disease, and might even live longer than those who abstain. Alcohol has also been tied to a lower risk of blood clots and decreased levels of inflammation markers.

Drinking alcohol while on statins

There have been rare reports of hospitalizations and fatalities due to liver problems from statin drugs. Taking Lipitor with certain antifungal medications may raise your risk of side effects from Lipitor. Azole antifungals can decrease your body’s ability to break down Lipitor.

The Dangers of Mixing Alcohol and Lipitor

Unfortunately, drinking and using Lipitor can cause some dangerous side effects. While light to moderate alcohol intake isn’t usually harmful, heavy alcohol use can cause severe effects. In fact, heavy alcohol use is one of the leading risk factors for disease burden worldwide, increasing the risk of certain cancers, liver disease, and heart disease (3). Instead, the organization advises watching your weight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly to keep your cholesterol levels in check. Light to moderate alcohol intake is unlikely to harm cholesterol levels, but heavy drinking can. If you’re concerned that your drinking is damaging your health, consult a healthcare professional.

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1. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.
2. Your cholesterol levels should drop within 4 weeks, if you take your medicine regularly, as prescribed.
3. If you already have a liver problem, taking Lipitor could worsen it.

You may see colored stickers on the label that describe interactions. And the paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may have other details about interactions. (If you did not get paperwork with Lipitor, ask your pharmacist to print a copy for you.) If you need help understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help. Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with Lipitor. Before taking Lipitor, talk with your doctor about your health history.

Excessive drinking also can lead to heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), and stroke. Eventually, heavy alcohol use can leave the heart too weak to pump efficiently, a condition called congestive heart failure. Have there been studies showing the potential benefits of a glass of red wine or a hoppy brew? But she cautions against thinking you’re boosting your health by tipping back an alcoholic beverage. In a recent review, Wakabayashi investigated the relationship between platelet count and alcohol intake in 6508 middle-aged men who were either non-drinkers or drank less than 66 g/day.

There are options for managing side effects if they become bothersome. Even if your side effects are frustrating, don’t stop taking your statin medicine without talking to your health care professional first. Your care team may be able make a different treatment plan that can help you lower your cholesterol without uncomfortable side effects. Current drinking is defined as the intake of one or more drinks in the past 12 months [8]. In 2016, 32.5% of people worldwide were current drinkers, and the mean amount of alcohol consumed was 0.73 standard drinks daily for women and 1.7 for men [9]. The same year, the prevalence of current drinking was 72% and per capita alcohol consumption among adults in Europe (EU) was 11.3 liters of pure alcohol [1].

You won’t need any further liver enzyme tests unless you begin to have symptoms of trouble with your liver. One of the most common complaints of people taking statins is muscle pain. You may feel this pain as a soreness, tiredness or weakness in your muscles. The pain can be a mild discomfort, or it can be serious enough to make it hard to do your daily activities. The more you drink, the more your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides rise. As you might imagine, high levels of either type of this waxy fat are not exactly desirable for managing cholesterol or optimal health.

While occasional changes in liver enzymes tests are normal, persistent elevations in liver enzymes can indicate serious liver problems. Although rare, there have alcohol and seizures can alcohol or withdrawal trigger a seizure been reports of liver injury caused by Lipitor. It’s not rare for some people to experience a sore throat and a stuffy nose after a night of drinking alcohol.

Your doctor may suggest that you lower your dose or change your medicine. Atorvastatin works by stopping the liver from making cholesterol. Occasionally, statin use could cause an increase in the level of enzymes in the liver.

This is even the case when consumption is at levels considered moderate. Elevated triglycerides may cause a thickening in the blood vessels, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease or stroke. If you’re currently consuming multiple drinks per day or feel that your alcohol intake is harming your physical and mental health, there are ways to get help. People who drink alcohol regularly should discuss their consumption habits with a doctor before taking statins to reduce the risk of complications. The most common side effects of statin use are muscle pain and inflammation.

If you already experience occasional cold symptoms while taking Lipitor, you might experience worsened cold symptoms while mixing Lipitor with alcohol. In one study looking at people with severe alcoholic liver disease, the use of statins cut the risk of death from alcoholic cirrhosis in half. Certain medical conditions and other factors may increase the risk of interactions with Lipitor. Before you take Lipitor, be sure to talk with your doctor about your health history.

Statins are oral medicines that are available as single agents or in combination with other medicines. Statins work by reducing how much cholesterol the liver produces and increasing its clearance from the blood. It is intended for general informational purposes and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

The factors responsible for the apparent cardiovascular benefits of light-to-moderate alcohol intake are uncertain. The inverse association between red wine consumption and mortality by CVD was initially published in 1979 [26]. While light to moderate alcohol intake may improve HDL cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease risk, heavy drinking elevates multiple heart disease risk factors, including LDL and total cholesterol. Alcohol intake benefits not only healthy individuals, but also patients with established CVD [3,5]. Evidence from epidemiological studies has been corroborated by intervention studies in humans.

This is because the body breaks alcohol down into triglycerides that can increase levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol. In addition, mixed drinks — such as cocktails — may have high amounts of sugar that can affect cholesterol levels. Depending on your intake, alcohol may either positively or negatively affect cholesterol levels and other measures of heart health.

By Ayesha Gulzar, PharmDAyesha Gulzar is a clinical pharmacist interested in medical research, pharmacy practice, and medication therapy management. Dr. Gulzar has been working in medical communications, writing medical and clinical research for patients and health professionals in the United Kingdom. The benefits of ecstasy mdma or molly taking statins generally outweigh the side effects, but they can still be bothersome for some people. In most cases, they are reversible but sometimes require stopping therapy for a while. Statins lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in the blood.