Zetia

Brand Names

Zetia

What is Zetia

Zetia (ezetimibe) is a prescription medication of a class of drugs called cholesterol absorption inhibitors that treat high cholesterol along with a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. It is sometimes given with other cholesterol-lowering medications. Zetia is manufactured by both Merck and Schering-Plough.

Side effects of Zetia

You should tell your doctor if you have symptoms of allergic reaction to Zetia: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue or throat.

Contact with your doctor immediately if you have such serious side effects as:

• unusual muscle weakness, tenderness or pain
• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice
• chest pain
• pancreatitis (severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, fast heart rate)
• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash
• numbness or tingly feeling
• mild stomach pain, diarrhea
• tired feeling
• headache
• dizziness
• depressed mood
• runny or stuffy nose, cold symptoms

Indication

This medication works to treat high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), it can be used either alone or in combination with other cholesterol medications. Zetia also is used to cure a rare genetic condition called sitosterolemia.

Precautions

It is obligatiry to inform your doctor if you are taking any other medicines such as:

• Fibrates (e.g., fenofibrate, gemfibrozil), because the risk of gallstones may be increased
• Cholestyramine, because it may decrease Zetia's effectiveness
• Anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin) or cyclosporine, because the risk of their side effects may be increased by Zetia

You should not take Zetia if you are allergic to ezetimibe or if you have liver disease, kidney disease and thyroid disorder.

In rare cases, cholesterol-lowering medication can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue. This condition can lead to kidney failure. Call your doctor at once if you have unexplained muscle pain or tenderness, muscle weakness, fever or flu symptoms and dark colored urine.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, because Zetia may cause addiction or withdrawal symptoms during pregnancy. You also should not take Exalgo if you are breast-feeding a baby, because ezetimibe can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby.

Dosage forms

There is only one standard recommended dose of Zetia, regardless of your age, weight or other medical conditions: 10 mg once a day. You can take it with or without food, but you should take it at the same time each day. Factors that can affect your prescribed dosage are the medical condition being treated and other medications you may be taking. Even if you are taking Zetia you still need to make certain lifestyle changes to maintain a good cholesterol level. You should not change your dose unless your doctor tell you to do so.