Should I change my medication if I have constipation and high blood sugar on atorvastatin?

As a third-generation statin, atorvastatin has good lipid-lowering effects and is a very good drug in terms of lipid control and cardiovascular prevention. When these adverse reactions occur, is it necessary to change the drug or adjust the drug regimen? Today, we will share and analyze this issue with you.

Atorvastatin has unique advantages in lowering blood lipids

It belongs to the third generation of long-acting statins. Compared with the first and second generation of statins, atorvastatin has its unique advantages in terms of lipid-lowering effect and medication adherence.

The recommended daily dose of atorvastatin in China's hyperlipidemic population is 10mg~40mg. A low dose of atorvastatin can achieve a lipid-lowering effect of 30%~50% on LDL cholesterol, while a high dose of atorvastatin at 40mg daily can achieve a lipid-lowering effect of more than 50% on LDL cholesterol.

Atorvastatin has a long-lasting effect on the body, with a half-life of about 14 hours. Therefore, atorvastatin can achieve a 24-hour lipid control effect, and is more flexible and convenient than short-acting statins in terms of dosing time, as it does not have to be taken at night, but at a fixed time every day.

Atorvastatin is more widely used in patients with renal insufficiency than the fellow third-generation statin, Rosuvastatin. In patients with decreased glomerular filtration rate, the application of atorvastatin usually does not require dose adjustment and reduction.

For patients with high uric acid, atorvastatin not only does not affect uric acid excretion but also has a mildly enhancing effect on uric acid excretion. Therefore, atorvastatin is a more suitable lipid-lowering statin for those who have problems with high uric acid.

What are the main adverse effects I should be aware of when taking atorvastatin to lower blood lipids?

Atorvastatin has a strong lipid-lowering effect and can be used for patients with renal insufficiency, but it is also important to be aware of the risk of adverse drug reactions to atorvastatin during long-term use of the drug. The risk of adverse reactions that need to be paid attention to when taking atorvastatin for a long time can be summarized in 4 aspects.

The first is the risk of some adverse reactions in the central nervous system. Atorvastatin is a lipophilic statin. The lipophilic nature of this drug makes it easier to cross the blood-brain barrier and produce a variety of adverse reactions, such as dizziness, headache, sleep, constipation and decreased sexual function in men, all of which are risks of CNS adverse reactions caused by long-term use of atorvastatin and all of which deserve more attention during the administration of the drug.

The second is the effect on liver function, atorvastatin metabolism all through the liver, and its drug effect is also through the role of the liver to inhibit cholesterol synthesis, therefore, long-term use of statins, should pay attention to may cause transaminase elevation, the risk of impaired liver function, once the transaminase increased to more than 3 times the upper limit, should promptly stop the drug.

The third adverse reaction to being aware is muscle pain. Statins may also cause muscle pain, muscle pain, and elevated creatine kinase, if creatine kinase is severely elevated, it may also lead to muscle weakness, the risk of rhabdomyolysis such as teal urine, etc. If muscle pain occurs while taking the drug, the creatine kinase level should be checked promptly while other causes are being investigated, and if the level is more than 5 times the upper limit, the drug should be discontinued. The drug should be discontinued.

The fourth precaution to be aware of with long-term atorvastatin use is the risk of elevated blood sugar. Long-term use of atorvastatin can indeed lead to abnormalities in blood glucose metabolism, leading to a risk of elevated blood glucose, and this is also worth noting.

Proper understanding of the adverse effects of atorvastatin

Many friends see so many adverse reactions, it is estimated to be scared to take the drug are afraid to eat, but, for adverse drug reactions, its occurrence is often a certain chance, not everyone who took the drug, will occur these adverse reactions, we talk about adverse reactions, is to let you understand the risk of adverse reactions, in the process of long-term use of drugs to pay attention to these adverse reactions risk We are talking about the risk of adverse reactions, not the risk of adverse reactions, but the risk of being scared to use the drug.

Many friends see that atorvastatin causes transaminases to rise more than 3 times, muscle pain creatine kinase to rise more than 5 times when you need to stop or change the drug, and for the adverse reactions that cause constipation, high blood sugar problems, atorvastatin should not change the drug? For this problem, we will briefly analyze it for you.

First of all, the problem of constipation caused by taking the drug should be stopped. Constipation may indeed occur during long-term use of atorvastatin, but whether constipation is caused by taking the drug, sometimes it should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. There are many causes of constipation, such as drinking too little water, too much dietary fiber, being sedentary without exercise, intestinal flora imbalance, intestinal disease lesions, etc. All of them may lead to constipation. Therefore, when constipation occurs during medication, do not just assume that it must be caused by taking medication.

To regulate constipation caused by atorvastatin, first of all, we can pay attention to the low dose of the drug, gradually increase the dosage in combination with the lipid-lowering situation or through the combination of drugs to enhance the intensity of lipid-lowering, and increase the body's tolerance to the drug, in addition, in many aspects of the investigation of the cause, we can also pay attention to life conditioning, through more water, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, more intake of dietary fiber, regulate intestinal flora, etc. The way to regulate and improve constipation.

After talking about the problem of constipation, let's talk about the problem of elevated blood sugar. Patients with hyperlipidemia, many of them are at high risk of abnormal blood glucose metabolism or insulin resistance, but it has not yet been highlighted, therefore, in the process of long-term medication, with the growth of age, the problem of elevated blood glucose, maybe the influence of drugs, but also may be their blood glucose metabolism gradually appear problems, therefore, should still pay attention to Examine the specific cause and do not just blame it on the influence of the drug.

The risk of elevated blood glucose from atorvastatin is usually not great if you choose to take it at a low to medium dose, and if there is a problem with elevated blood glucose, we may first strengthen blood glucose control by strengthening diet and exercise. In case of new onset of diabetes, we can also add glucose-lowering drugs to regulate blood glucose levels based on good life conditioning.

In summary, if constipation and elevated blood glucose occur during atorvastatin use, it is usually not a criterion for stopping the drug or switching to other drugs. Only if the adverse reactions are caused by drugs and are serious and cannot be tolerated through life conditioning, such as severe constipation, which can only be relieved by stopping the drugs, should we consider adjusting the drug regimen and switching to other lipid-lowering drugs to enhance lipid control.