Advicor Precautions and Warnings

Specific Precautions and Warnings With Advicor

Some precautions and warnings to be aware of prior to taking Advicor include the following:

Advicor can potentially interact with a number of other medications (see Advicor Drug Interactions).

If you are an alcoholic or drink alcohol frequently, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to starting Advicor. Alcohol can affect the way the liver works, indirectly affecting Advicor.
Statins (such as lovastatin, one of the components of Advicor) have been known to cause an increase in liver enzymes. Therefore, you should have a blood test that looks at your liver function before starting Advicor and several months after treatment has started. These tests may also be recommended if the Advicor dosage is changed (see Advicor and Liver Problems).
Rhabdomyolysis (the severe breakdown of muscles) and other serious muscle problems have rarely been reported with Advicor and other statins. You are at greater risk for developing muscle problems with Advicor if:

You are taking certain medications, such as fibrates (Lopid^®), cyclosporine, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, HIV protease inhibitors, or antifungal medicines (see Advicor Drug Interactions for more medicines)

You drink grapefruit juice or use grapefruit products (see Grapefruit and Advicor).

Make sure to contact your healthcare provider immediately if you experience any muscle pain, weakness, or tenderness, especially if it is with a fever or if you feel ill (see Advicor and Muscle Pain).

If you have chest pain or any other form of coronary artery disease, check with your healthcare provide before taking Advicor. Serious side effects could occur, due to the niacin component of the drug.
Advicor can increase blood sugar in people with diabetes. If you have diabetes, check with your healthcare provider before taking this medication.
This medication can increase the level of uric acid in the blood, which can worsen (and possibly even cause) gout.
Advicor must be started at a low dose and increased gradually in order to avoid intolerable flushing due to the niacin component (see Advicor Dosage and Niacin Flush for more information).
This medication may increase the risk of bleeding, possibly due to decreased blood platelets.

Advicor is a pregnancy Category X medicine, meaning that it could potentially cause harm to your unborn child. The safety of this drug in pregnant women has not been established. If you are pregnant and taking Advicor, talk to your healthcare provider immediately (see Advicor and Pregnancy).
If you are nursing, it is not known whether Advicor passes through your milk. Ask your healthcare provider whether to stop nursing or stop taking the drug.

(Advicor Precautions and Warnings Continued: Page 3)
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