Alternatives to Advicor

Common alternatives to Advicor include lovastatin, niacin, and other cholesterol medicines. Statins like lovastatin are effective in increasing the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol, increasing HDL cholesterol, and decreasing triglycerides. Other Advicor alternatives, such as rosuvastatin, fluvastatin, or atorvastatin, are often used instead of lovastatin. Three other major classes of cholesterol medications include bile acid sequestrants, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, and fibrates.

Alternatives to Advicor: An Overview

Lifestyle changes are usually the first line of treatment for lowering cholesterol. However, for some people, treating high cholesterol with a low cholesterol diet, weight control, and exercise are not enough. If lifestyle changes alone are not enough, your doctor can prescribe cholesterol medications. One such medicine is Advicor® (niacin extended-release/lovastatin). For most people, Advicor is quite effective in lowering cholesterol. However, Advicor side effects can occur, and people may wish to consider Advicor alternatives, such as statins or other cholesterol medicines.
 

Statins and Niacin as Advicor Alternatives

Advicor is a combination medicine of
 lovastatin (Mevacor®) and niacin extended-release (Niaspan®). Lovastatin is part of a class of drugs called statins. Niacin, or nicotinic acid, is a B vitamin used to improve cholesterol levels.
 
One alternative to Advicor is taking lovastatin by itself. Lovastatin is available as a generic form(Lovastatin tablets) or under the brand names Mevacor® (short-acting) or Altroprev® (long-acting). Lovastatin and other statins work by blocking a particular enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol.
 
Statins also:
 
Besides lovastatin, there are several types of statins available that could be considered alternatives to Advicor. These include:
 
Niacin (nicotinic acid) by itself could also be considered a substitute for Advicor. There are a number of different brand name niacin products, including Niaspan® (extended-release niacin) or Slo-Niacin (slow-release niacin).
 
A combination medication that contains simvastatin and extended-release niacin (Simcor®) is also available.
 

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;
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