Zocor
Zocor (simvastatin) helps lower 'bad' cholesterol and fats in your blood while increasing 'good' cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease.
Form
tabletti, kalvopäällysteinen
Strength
10 mg
Active Ingredient
Simvastatin
Manufacturer
N.V. Organon
How to Use
Dosage
Adults usually start with 10 mg, 20 mg, or sometimes 40 mg once daily. Your doctor might adjust the dose up to 80 mg. For children (10-17 years), the usual starting dose is 10 mg once daily in the evening.
Method
Take your Zocor tablet once daily in the evening, with or without food. Continue taking it as long as your doctor tells you. If you are also taking a bile acid binding medicine, take Zocor at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after that medicine.
Important
Do not take more than 80 mg per day. For children, the maximum recommended dose is 40 mg per day.
Possible Side Effects
RARE
- •Muscle pain, tenderness, weakness, or cramps. In rare and very rare cases, this can be serious, leading to muscle breakdown, kidney damage, or even death.
- •Allergic reactions: Swelling of the face, tongue, and throat (angioedema) causing breathing difficulties; severe muscle pain, often in shoulders and hips; rash with weakness in limbs and neck muscles; joint pain or inflammation; blood vessel inflammation; unusual bruising, skin rash, swelling, sensitivity to sunlight, fever, redness; shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell; lupus-like symptoms (rash, joint pain, blood cell changes). Also, severe allergic reaction causing breathing issues or dizziness (anaphylaxis).
- •Liver problems: Yellowing of skin and eyes, itching, dark urine, pale stools, feeling tired or weak, loss of appetite. In very rare cases, liver failure.
- •Pancreatitis: Severe stomach pain (inflammation of the pancreas).
- •Blood issues: Low red blood cell count (anemia).
- •Nerve issues: Numbness or weakness in arms and legs, headache, tingling sensation, dizziness. Blurred vision, vision impairment. Memory problems (loss, confusion).
- •Digestive problems: Stomach pain, constipation, gas, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting.
- •Skin/Hair issues: Rash, itching, hair loss.
- •General weakness: Feeling weak.
- •Sleep issues: Insomnia, nightmares.
- •Sexual dysfunction: Erectile dysfunction, decreased sexual function.
- •Depression: Feeling sad or low.
- •Lung inflammation: Causing breathing difficulties, persistent cough, and/or fever.
- •Tendon problems: Including tendon rupture.
- •Myasthenia gravis: A disease causing general muscle weakness, sometimes affecting breathing muscles, or ocular myasthenia causing eye muscle weakness.
- •Gynecomastia: Breast enlargement in men.
- •Persistent muscle issues after stopping Zocor: Muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness that does not go away after stopping Zocor.
- •Diabetes: More likely if you have high blood sugar, high blood fat, are overweight, and have high blood pressure.
Important Warnings
- Do not take Zocor if you are allergic to simvastatin or any other ingredients.
- Do not take Zocor if you have liver disease.
- Do not take Zocor if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding.
- Do not take Zocor with certain medicines such as specific antifungals (itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole), antibiotics (erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, fusidic acid), HIV protease inhibitors, hepatitis C antivirals (boceprevir, telaprevir, elbasvir, grazoprevir), nefazodone (for depression), cobicistat, gemfibrozil (for cholesterol), ciclosporin (for transplant patients), or danazol. If you are taking fusidic acid, you must temporarily stop Zocor.
- Contact your doctor immediately if you experience unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness. These symptoms can rarely be serious, leading to muscle breakdown, kidney damage, or even death.
Show 1 more warnings
- Avoid drinking grapefruit juice while taking Zocor, as it can affect how the medicine works.