Why Is Zocor A Prescription Drug

Fundamentally, Zocor is a drug that is used to lessen the total amount of cholesterol in a person’s bloodstream. Zocor is a prescription medication and it is used for the treatment of high cholesterol and certain fatty substances in a patient’s blood, particularly since these cholesterols and fatty substance tend to decrease the blood flow. Zocor is used for heart diseases, strokes and/or peripheral vascular disease. It controls cholesterol levels through implementing changes of diet that should be integrated before starting Zocor therapy. Zocor is a very effective drug, especially in concern to it capability of lowering unhealthy LDL (low –density lipoprotein). The chemical name for Zocor is Simvastatin, and it comes in 5mg, 10mg, 20mg, 40mg and 80mg tablets. One of the more generic factors due to which Zocor could be perceived to conform to the basic characteristics of a prescription drug is that it is often prescribed for use once a day, usually at bedtime.

Furthermore, it is a cholesterol drug that requires a physician’s prescription so as to ensure an effective dose and prevent kidney damage. In addition to this, it must be used in specific accordance to the directions given by the respective doctor (s); it is essential to avoid taking more or less than the recommended dose. A physician is usually of great help in as much as instructing you as to the quantity and frequency according to which the medicine must be taken. Furthermore, while Zocor can be taken with as well as without food patient, this is something that efficiently adhered to when following the orders of the respective doctor’s instructions. It is extremely important to keep contact with your doctor and he will check your progress. This is something that is further emphasized when considering it in light of the fact that you cannot stop using Zocor of your own accord; it is of utmost importance to consult your doctor. It is essential, moreover, to keep in mind the relevancies of things such as the immediate ingestion of a dose in the case of missing or forgetting to take a particular dose. And considering that it is unwise to take two doses close together, it is also essential to keep in mind that it is better to skip one dose in the case of remembering about the missed dose at a time too near the ascribed time of the second dose.

Zocor (oral) can be stored at room temperature and must be kept away from sunlight and moisture. Furthermore, it is important that alcohol and grapefruit are strictly avoided while taking medicine. This is due to the fact that recent studies have espoused that certain cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Zocor/Simvastatine and Lipitor/Atorvastatin yield the capacity to interact with grapefruit juice and increase the risk of side effects. Another important factor to be mindful of is that taking Zocor with other blood thinning drugs and heart medications such as lanoxin increases the possibility for internal muscular damage. This, moreover, further underscores the need to inform your doctors about any such practices. Zocor/Simvastatine is commonly prescribed only if diet, weight loss and exercise are not effectual in regard to bringing cholesterol levels under control. Thus, it is important to be mindful of the fact that Zocor is strictly a supplement and certainly not a substitute. In order to take full advantages of the medicine, moreover, it is essential for patients to chalk out programs for exercise and diet, especially as this helps keep cholesterol levels normal.

Zocor should be strictly avoided in patients who have had an allergy. It is also not good for pregnant women, specifically as it can be harmful for unborn children due to the reduction of cholesterol, which is needed for the proper development of the fetus. Breastfeeding women and liver disease patients also avoid this as well as other similar medicines such as atorvastatin cervastatine, fluvastatin, lovastatine pravastatin. And while it is important to follow a standard, cholesterol lowering diet, all doses of Zocor should be adjusted to the particularly individualistic needs of a patient. For instance, while the standard dose for adults is 20 milligrams per day, doctors usually start with dose of 40 milligrams in the case of the cholesterol level (s) being severely high. Doctors prescribe according to the condition of the patients as doses depend on the cholesterol levels. In the case of adults with kidney diseases, however, Zocor is to be used with extreme caution, something that is made clear when considering that the recommended dosage for such individuals usually starts off with 5 milligrams per day.

It is quite apparent, thus speaking, that while Zocor is a drug that is used to control high cholesterol when diet and exercise are not bringing forth results, it is also a prescription medicine used to control the risk of heart attacks and strokes via controlling cholesterol.