Can I Drink Alcohol if I Take Statins?

There is also interest in using statins to treat alcohol-related cirrhosis. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. Some of the common statins in the UK include atorvastatin (Lipitor), pravastatin (Lipostat), fluvastatin (Lescol), simvastatin (Zocor), and rosuvastatin (Crestor).

Can you drink alcohol when taking statins?

• This dramatic change in thinking means that people who once were not candidates for statins are now prescribed them to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke.
• Moderate and infrequent alcohol consumption may be acceptable if you stay within recommended daily guidelines.
• When people do experience side effects from taking statins, they are typically minor and resolve once a person stops taking the statins or changes their dosage.
• Lipitor and alcohol both affect the liver, and people who drink excessively may need to be extra cautious while taking this medication.
• Following the low-risk drinking guidelines is important for many reasons.
• Both products can affect the level of a chemical called serotonin in your body.

LDL is the “bad cholesterol” that can build up in your blood vessels and form a plaque along the walls. This can lead to peripheral artery disease, heart attack, or stroke. Statins, such as atorvastatin, are prescription drugs that lower the blood’s low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.

Reyvow and other interactions

In extreme cases, it can lead to rhabdomyolysis, a life threatening condition that may cause liver damage, kidney failure, or death. A 2014 Johns Hopkins meta-analysis of 20 years’ worth of published research indicated that the risks of long-term use of statin drugs are low, and the potential benefits are very alcohol and statins high. Statins are crucial for people at risk of heart disease because they can help lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. LDL cholesterol (also known as ‘bad cholesterol’ is a waxy substance that collects inside your arteries, raising the risk of blockages. Experts generally consider it safe to take statins and drink alcohol in moderation.

Your doctor may check your liver enzymes and assess you for liver disease before starting a statin. You should NOT use statins if you have active liver disease or elevated liver enzymes. But alcohol can have side effects, usually due to drinking too much or at the wrong time (before driving, for example). Alcohol can also interact with medications, particularly tranquilizers and sleeping pills. And because high doses of alcohol can damage the liver, your question about statins is a good one since about 2% of people who take these drugs develop chemical evidence of liver inflammation. Fortunately, the inflammation is usually mild; it resolves when statins are stopped, but many doctors believe it’s safe to continue statin therapy even if mild liver test abnormalities develop.

Rhabdomyolysis may also have no symptoms aside from atypical lab values, so keeping appointments for laboratory monitoring is important if you drink and take statins. People who take statins and consume alcohol may experience side effects. That said, having the occasional drink while on Lipitor should not cause harm in people who do not have liver problems and are generally healthy.

Can I drink alcohol with niacin?

• Juxtapid (lomitapide) is a medication used in patients with an inherited (genetic) type of high cholesterol known as homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
• While elevated liver enzymes are often temporary and harmless, the uptick does signal that the liver is working overtime, possibly becoming strained.
• If you have pre-existing liver or kidney damage, or you are pregnant or breastfeeding you should speak with your doctor about whether statins are right for you.
• It can decrease the stress of LDL cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol, which helps remove cholesterol deposits from your arteries and protects against a heart attack.
• Over 7.6 million people live with heart disease, and it is reasonable to presume that almost all of them are on medications.
• Statins work in the liver to reduce cholesterol production, but in rare instances, they can elevate liver enzymes indicating potential inflammation or damage.

Your doctor prescribes drugs such as statins and bile acid sequestrants to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Drinking alcohol while taking these medications can offset their ability to function properly and increase the side effects of the medications. Consuming alcohol in moderation may be OK depending on your situation, but anything more presents legitimate health risks. You should consider moderating or eliminating your alcohol intake with certain cholesterol medicines.

However, what you might not be told are the risks that come with using alcohol alongside medications such as statins. When combined, there’s a potential for liver strain that can get more severe over time. Thus, mixing them can increase the burden on the liver and lead to more serious health complications such as liver damage or disease. This article will discuss how liver function is impacted by statins as well as by alcohol, and who should avoid combining the two. It can be helpful to have an honest conversation with your doctor about your alcohol use if you are considering taking statins to manage your cholesterol levels.

Liver Injury

The men were randomly assigned to take low- or high-dose lovastatin (Mevacor — the first statin drug). Among the 345 men on high doses, there was no effect of alcohol on the risk of liver inflammation, even in the men who averaged more than two drinks a day. The most common side effects of statin use are muscle pain and inflammation.

Symptoms

If you’d like to learn more about eating certain foods during treatment with Reyvow, talk with your doctor. However, that doesn’t mean vitamin interactions won’t occur or be recognized in the future. Because of this, you should talk with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any vitamin product with Reyvow. Before you start treatment with Reyvow, tell your doctor and pharmacist which supplements, herbs, and vitamins you take. By sharing this information with them, you may help prevent possible interactions.

Is it safe to drink alcohol while taking statins?

The drugs are only effective as long as you are taking them so to avoid a spike in cholesterol, consult a healthcare professional before stopping the medication. However, these same polyphenols that are in red wine are also found in grapes. If you would prefer to avoid drinking red wine but want to reap the benefits, you can eat grapes instead. If you take a statin medication, you should keep all appointments for laboratory monitoring of your liver, kidney, and heart function. Drug-induced liver disease is usually an autoimmune condition, in which the drug prompts some people’s bodies to make antibodies that attack their own liver tissue.

A few studies have found that people who drink alcohol in moderation have lower rates of heart disease, and might even live longer than those who abstain. Alcohol has also been tied to a lower risk of blood clots and decreased levels of inflammation markers. It’s essential to consult with your healthcare provider about your specific situation with statins and alcohol use. While moderate alcohol consumption might be okay for some, understanding the potential risks ensures you make informed decisions about your health. For some people taking statins, consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol may be safe. For people with coexisting conditions like liver disease, no amount of alcohol consumption may be safe.