Ezetimibe

Common use

Ezetimibe is a medicine used to lower cholesterol in people who have high blood cholesterol. Ezetimibe works by reducing the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from your intestines. High cholesterol can cause fatty deposits to form in your blood vessels which increases your risk of heart disease.

Dosage and direction

Take ezetimibe exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Ezetimibe is usually taken once daily at the same time each day. Usual Adult Dose for Hyperlipidemia: 10 mg orally once a day. Usual Adult Dose for Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia: 10 mg orally once a day. Usual Adult Dose for Sitosterolemia: 10 mg orally once a day.

Precautions

To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have: liver disease; kidney disease; or unexplained muscle pain or weakness.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy while you are using ezetimibe with a statin medicine. Tell your doctor if you plan to become pregnant.
Do not breastfeed if you take ezetimibe with a statin medicine.

Contraindications

You should not use ezetimibe if you are allergic to it, or if you have: moderate to severe liver disease.
Ezetimibe is not approved for use by anyone younger than 10 years old.
You should not use ezetimibe with a "statin" cholesterol medicine (Zocor, Lipitor, Crestor, and others) if: you have active liver disease; you are pregnant; or you are breastfeeding a baby.

Possible side effect

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction to ezetimibe: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Common ezetimibe side effects may include: diarrhea; cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; pain in an arm or leg; joint pain; or muscle pain while taking ezetimibe with a statin.

Drug interaction

If you also take other cholesterol medication: Take ezetimibe 2 hours before or 4 hours after taking cholestyramine, colestipol, or colesevelam.
Tell your doctor about all your other medicines, especially: cyclosporine; fenofibric acid; gemfibrozil; or a blood thinner - warfarin, Coumadin, Jantoven.

Missed dose

Take the medicine as soon as you can, but skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next dose. Do not take two doses at one time.

Overdose

Seek emergency medical attention.

Storage

Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Keep away from children.