Simvastatin Viatris
Simvastatin Viatris is a medicine that lowers 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood and increases 'good' cholesterol.
Form
tabletti, kalvopäällysteinen
Strength
20 mg
Active Ingredient
Simvastatin
Manufacturer
Viatris Limited
How to Use
Dosage
For adults, the usual starting dose is 10 mg, 20 mg, or sometimes 40 mg, taken once daily. For children aged 10-17, the recommended starting dose is 10 mg daily.
Method
Take one tablet orally once a day in the evening, with or without food. If you take another cholesterol medicine (bile acid binding agent), take Simvastatin Viatris at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after it.
Important
Do not take more than 80 mg in a single day.
Possible Side Effects
RARE
- •Muscle pain, tenderness, weakness, rupture, or cramps. These can be serious and lead to muscle breakdown and kidney damage, and in very rare cases, death.
- •Allergic reactions, including swelling of the face, tongue, and throat, which can cause difficulty breathing (angioedema).
- •Severe muscle pain, typically in the shoulders and hips.
- •Rash with weakness in arm, leg, and neck muscles.
- •Joint pain or inflammation (polymyalgia rheumatica).
- •Blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis).
- •Unusual bruising, rash and swelling (dermatomyositis), hives, sensitivity to sunlight, fever, redness.
- •Shortness of breath and general feeling of unwellness.
- •Lupus-like symptoms, including rash, joint problems, and changes in blood cell counts.
- •Liver inflammation with symptoms like yellowing of skin/eyes, itching, dark urine, pale stools, tiredness, lack of appetite; liver failure (very rare).
- •Pancreatitis, often with severe stomach pain.
- •Rash or sores in the mouth (lichenoid drug eruption).
- •Severe allergic reaction causing breathing difficulties or dizziness (anaphylaxis).
- •Enlargement of breasts in men (gynecomastia).
- •Low red blood cell count (anemia).
- •Numbness or weakness in arms and legs.
- •Headache, tingling sensation, dizziness.
- •Digestive problems (stomach pain, constipation, gas, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting).
- •Rash, itching, and hair loss.
- •Blurred vision and impaired eyesight.
- •Weakness.
- •Insomnia.
- •Memory impairment, memory loss, confusion.
- •Erectile dysfunction.
- •Depression.
- •Lung inflammation causing breathing difficulties, including persistent cough and/or shortness of breath or fever.
- •Tendon problems, sometimes including tendon rupture.
- •Sleep disturbances, including nightmares.
- •Sexual dysfunction.
- •Diabetes, more likely if you have high blood sugar, high blood fats, are overweight, or have high blood pressure. Your doctor will monitor you.
- •Persistent muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness that does not go away after stopping Simvastatin Viatris.
Important Warnings
- Do not take if you are allergic to simvastatin or any other ingredient in this medicine.
- Do not take if you have liver problems.
- Do not take if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Tell your doctor if you take certain other medicines, especially for fungal infections, bacterial infections, HIV, hepatitis C, depression, or medicines affecting cholesterol or organ transplants, as these can interact with Simvastatin Viatris.
- If you need to take fusidic acid for a bacterial infection, you must temporarily stop taking Simvastatin Viatris.
Show 4 more warnings
- Do not take more than 40 mg of Simvastatin Viatris if you are also taking lomitapide for a rare genetic cholesterol condition.
- Contact your doctor immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness.
- Discuss with your doctor if you drink a lot of alcohol, have kidney or thyroid problems, are over 65, are female, have a history of muscle problems with other cholesterol medicines, or have a family history of muscle disease.
- Your doctor will do blood tests to check your liver function before and during treatment.
Use in Elderly Patients
Category C
Suitable for older adults, with specific precautions. Reduce the dose in severe renal impairment. Possible adverse effects include muscle pain and muscular weakness. Consider potential interactions. Avoid grapefruit. (updated 17.4.2023)