Livalo and Alcohol

Summary

Patients are advised to limit the amount of alcohol they consume while taking Livalo. In addition to raising triglyceride levels, drinking large amounts of alcohol may increase your risk of serious side effects such as liver damage. Livalo is not recommended for individuals who regularly consume more than two alcoholic beverages per day.

Alcohol almost always tops the list when it comes to foods and beverages that must be avoided when taking medications. Consuming large amounts of alcohol along with medications, often results in unwanted side effects. This is also true with statins including Livalo.

Livalo and Alcohol Interaction

For some people, drinking moderate quantities of alcohol while on medication does not cause any problems. This often leads them to think that alcohol warnings from physician are not true at all. But when on Livalo treatment, it is important to take these precautions seriously.

Consuming large amounts of alcohol while on Livalo tends to affect the metabolism of the medication. It predisposes the person to experiencing toxic drug levels in the blood eventually leading to an adverse drug interaction. As a matter of fact, use of Livalo as well as other statins on patients with chronic alcohol problem is not normally recommended. Livalo is only prescribed to these patients only if their alcohol problem has been fully managed or when the perceived benefits are greater. Furthermore, these patients require close monitoring while on Livalo treatment to prevent drug interactions.

Aside from the increasing the risk for drug toxicity, drinking large quantities of alcohol along with Livalo increases the risk for liver problems. Concomitant use of alcohol and Livalo can increase the triglyceride levels of the patient which can eventually lead to liver damage. In patients with underlying liver problems, combining these two substances can cause too much burden on the liver thereby increasing the risk for liver diseases such as alcoholic liver and cirrhosis.

Avoiding alcohol is not only intended to prevent unwanted drug interactions. Usually, patients prescribed with Livalo are those with high cholesterol levels. Therefore, avoiding alcohol also contributes in the reduction of blood cholesterol. Some studies suggest that consuming large amounts of alcohol can increase blood cholesterol of patients. Of course, this is contrary to the desired effect of Livalo which is to decrease total blood cholesterol level.

It is recommended that you talk with your physician about combining Livalo and alcohol. Your physician is in the best position to advice you why alcohol needs to be avoided.