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Statins and grapefruit warning

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leonard08537
leonard08537

I find the warning on the pharmacy label and the patient information leaflet "Avoid drinking grapefruit juice" while taking simvastatin to be rather ambiguous, as it could be interpreted as "Try not to drink grapefruit juice ..." If it is an absolute prohibition, would it not be better expressed as "Do not drink grapefruit juice ..." ?

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • susan40017
    susan40017 leonard08537

    Posted

    Probably, but I don't think it harms you to have grapefruit, it just makes the drug less effective. However, statins are of little use anyway.

    • leonard08537
      leonard08537 susan40017

      Posted

      No, it's the other way round. According to (https://patient.info/medicine/simvastatin-simvador-zocor):

      Do not drink grapefruit juice at any time while you are taking simvastatin. This is because a chemical in grapefruit juice increases the amount of simvastatin in your bloodstream. This makes side-effects more likely and increases the risk of them being more serious.

      This sounds more definite and serious than the usual warning to "avoid grapefruit".

    • susan40017
      susan40017 leonard08537

      Posted

      Good information. I stopped taking mine a year ago after taking them for 9 years. I feel so much better and my angina has improved dramatically (i never had angina until I'd been taking them for 5 years, so they didn't prevent my cardiovascular disease, but, they may have caused it.)

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