| Some people should not take Atorvastatin. Those with active liver disease or possible liver problems; women who are pregnant, could possibly become pregnant, or are breast-feeding; and people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in LIPITOR. Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat. The production of cholesterol increases when you eat little cholesterol and decreases when you eat much. This explains why the ”prudent” diet cannot lower cholesterol more than on average a few per cent. A high blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose cholesterol is high. Many of these facts have been presented in scientific journals and books for decades but are rarely told to the public by the proponents of the diet-heart idea.The reason why laymen, doctors and most scientists have been misled is because opposing and disagreeing results are systematically ignored or misquoted in the scientific press. If you take Atorvastatin with certain other medicines, they may affect one another. Atorvastatin may interact with certain other cholesterol-lowering drugs, some antibiotics, and antifungal medications. It may also interact with less-frequently prescribed medications as immunosuppressives (given after transplants). Be sure to tell your doctor or pharmacist about all prescription and nonprescription drugs you are taking. Atorvastatin is a very effective medicine for lowering high LDL cholesterol—the main target of cholesterol-lowering therapy. Your doctor will determine how much your LDL cholesterol needs to be lowered, based on your overall risk of heart disease. Atorvastatin also effectively lowers high blood-triglyceride levels. The new cholesterol-lowering drugs, the statins, do prevent cardio-vascular disease, but this is due to other mechanisms than cholesterol-lowering. Unfortunately, they also stimulate cancer in rodents. How long does it take Atorvastatin to work? For information about taking Atorvastatin along with other medicines, see your doctor or pharmacist. If you experience side effects, be sure to tell your doctor or other healthcare professional. The following Information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. What is Atorvastatin? There is no evidence that too much animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes atherosclerosis or heart attacks. For instance, more than twenty studies have shown that people who have had a heart attack haven't eaten more fat of any kind than other people, and degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy is unrelated with the diet. |