What drugs should not be taken with statins?
Mia Lopez
Updated on February 25, 2026
Some drugs that may interact with statins and increase your risk of side effects include:
- Amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), a medication for irregular heart rhythms.
- Gemfibrozil (Lopid), another variety of cholesterol drug.
- HIV treatments called protease inhibitors such as saquinavir (Invirase) and ritonavir (Norvir)
Can you take cholesterol medicine and blood pressure medicine at the same time?
Taking daily doses of two blood pressure drugs (fixed dose candesartan and hydrochlorothiazide) along with a cholesterol-lowering drug (low-dose rosuvastatin), proved to be the most effective, cutting first-time strokes by 44 percent among patients at intermediate risk for heart disease.Do statins interact with anything?
Statins can react unpredictably with certain other substances (known as "interacting"), potentially increasing the risk of serious side effects, such as muscle damage. Medicines that can interact with some types of statin include: certain antibiotics and antifungals. certain HIV medications.Does vitamin D interact with statins?
Each statin may affect vitamin D concentrations differently. Smaller, short-term studies have shown that more lipophilic statins (simvastatin and lovastatin) can cause increases in various metabolites of vitamin D, while less lipophilic statins (pravastatin) provide no improvement in vitamin D [26], [27], [28].Can you take statins with other drugs?
A statin may be prescribed along with other medicines. Combination tablets are also available. They include a statin plus medicine to manage another condition, such as high blood pressure.What to Avoid When Taking Statin Medications | How to Reduce Risk of Statin Side Effects
What pain reliever can I take with statins?
It is fine to take painkillers such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, co-codamol with simvastatin.Which statins must be taken at bedtime?
To maximize the effects of statins with a short half-life, fluvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin should be dosed at bedtime allowing the greatest drug concentration to be present during peak endogenous cholesterol synthesis.What vitamins should you take with statins?
CoQ10 SupplementsCoenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a nutrient produced by the body and used for cellular energy, is often touted as being vital if you're taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol.
What vitamins should not be taken together?
Here are six vitamin combinations you definitely shouldn't take together.
- Magnesium and calcium/multivitamin. ...
- Vitamins D, E and K. ...
- Fish Oil & Gingko Biloba. ...
- Copper and zinc. ...
- Iron and Green tea. ...
- Vitamin C and B12.
What vitamin helps with statins?
Effect of vitamin D on statinsA small 2016 study concluded that people who had low vitamin D levels were more likely to experience the muscle-related side effects of statins. Vitamin D supplementation led to better tolerance of statins.