Statins (drugs)

Q: My doctor just prescribed atorvastatin (Lipitor) for high cholesterol. The instructions said: "Do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking this medication." I love grapefruit. Do I need to avoid it completely? A: Like you, I love...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A powerful narcotic was the No. 1 prescribed drug among Medicare patients in West Virginia for 2010, and a Charleston neurologist was the top prescriber in the state. State doctors wrote 402,159 hydrocodone-acetaminophen...

Question: I have been on medications for my cholesterol but, so far, the improvement has not been enough. Now, my doctor wants to start me on Niacin. I have read a little about this but am worried about the possible side effects. Can you tell more about...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding a plant-derived compound called a sterol to the cholesterol-lowering agent red yeast rice doesn't make it work any better, according to a new study. "I expected to see a synergistic effect with red yeast rice, and I was...

If your insurance has ever stopped covering a prescription drug or you don’t have coverage at all, you know how quickly costs can mount. Americans spent, on average, $758 out of pocket for medication in 2012, according to a recent Consumer Reports...

(Reuters) - Patent expirations on big-name drugs such as Lipitor and Plavix has resulted in modestly less spending on medicines in the United States for the first time in at least 55 years, according to a report released on Thursday. Overall U.S....

The amount of money Americans spend on prescription drugs fell for the first time in 55 years, according to a report from the IMS Institute of Healthcare Informatic. The expiration of patents on widley used drugs such drugs such as Lipitor and Plaviix...

May 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a Merck & Co cholesterol lowering pill that combines a generic version of Pfizer Inc's Lipitor with its own Zetia, Merck said on Friday. The new combination drug will be sold under the brand...

It started with a search over the Internet: "How to write a pain killer prescription." With information gained from the search and a page from his doctor's prescription pad, Boca Raton Police say Jason Ian Bayne, 44, of Delray Beach, walked into a Boca...

If you take Lipitor, Actos, or Lexapro, new generics of these and other big-name drugs could be a real money saver. But are you saving as much as you should? Consumer Reports has discovered just because you're buying a generic drug doesn't mean you're...

WHY YOU STILL NEED PERTUSSIS VACCINATION You might have assumed that you no longer need to be vaccinated for diseases that normally strike in childhood, including pertussis, or whooping cough. Yet a recent study published in the December 2012 journal...

It’s been known for a long time that eating grapefruit and taking certain prescription oral medications — including the cholesterol drugs atorvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin as well as some cancer and heart drugs — don’t mix. ...