Lescol (fluvastatin)

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

It is important to tell your doctor what medicines you are taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start treatment with this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.

There may be an increased risk of side effects on the muscles (myopathy) if fluvastatin is taken with any of the following medicines:

fibrates for lowering cholesterol, eg bezafibrate, ciprofibrate, gemfibrozil

ciclosporin

colchicine

daptomycin

nicotinic acid (niacin)

erythromycin.

Fluconazole may increase the blood level of fluvastatin. If you are prescribed this antifungal medicine while taking fluvastatin you should let your doctor know if you get any new or increased side effects.

Rifampicin decreases the blood level of fluvastatin. Your doctor may need to increase your fluvastatin dose if you are prescribed this antibiotic for long periods of time, for example to treat tuberculosis.

Colestyramine (Questran) decreases the absorption of fluvastatin from the gut if it is taken at the same time. This could make the fluvastatin less effective. If you are taking both these medicines, your dose of fluvastatin should be taken at least four hours after the colestyramine to prevent this happening.

Fluvastatin may increase the blood level of phenytoin used to treat epilepsy, and this could increase the risk of phenytoin side effects. Phenytoin may also increase the blood level of fluvastatin, and this could increase the risk of fluvastatin side effects on the muscles. If you are taking these medicines together your doctor may want to perform extra monitoring, particularly if your doses are changed, and you should let your doctor know if you experience any new or increased side effects.

The anti-blood-clotting effect of anticoagulant medicines such as warfarin may be increased by fluvastatin. For this reason, if you are taking an anticoagulant your doctor may want to check your blood-clotting time (INR) when you start or stop treatment with fluvastatin, and if your fluvastatin dose is altered.

Fluvastatin may increase the blood level of glibenclamide, used to treat type 2 diabetes. As this may increase the effect of glibenclamide and therefore increase the chance of blood sugar dropping too low (hypoglycaemia), the manufacturer recommends that these medicines should not be used together.

Other medicines containing the same active ingredient

Lescol XL

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