fluvastatin vs gemfibrozil
Side-by-side comparison of fluvastatin and gemfibrozil. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
moderate Known Drug Interaction
7.3 Gemfibrozil Due to an increased risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis when HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are coadministered with gemfibrozil, concomitant administration of fluvastatin sodium with gemfibrozil should be avoided.
Recommendation: You should avoid taking these two medications together.
Lescol
Lopid
Fluvastatin (Lescol) is a medicine that helps lower cholesterol levels in your blood. It belongs to a group of drugs called statins.
Gemfibrozil is a medicine that helps lower high triglyceride levels in your blood. It can also help reduce the risk of heart disease in some people.
This medicine is used to lower high cholesterol and triglycerides (fats) in adults and children (10-16 years old) with certain inherited cholesterol problems. It can also lower the risk of needing procedures to improve blood flow to the heart in adults with heart disease. Fluvastatin can also slow down the hardening of arteries in people with heart disease.
This medicine is used to treat very high triglyceride levels in adults when diet alone doesn't work. High triglycerides can increase your risk of pancreatitis. Gemfibrozil can also lower the risk of heart disease in some people with specific cholesterol problems.
Fluvastatin works by blocking a substance your body needs to make cholesterol. This helps to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides while raising good cholesterol (HDL). By lowering cholesterol, it helps prevent heart disease and stroke.
Gemfibrozil belongs to a class of drugs called fibrates. It works by decreasing the amount of triglycerides your body makes. It also helps to increase HDL (good) cholesterol.
- • Headache
- • Upset stomach
- • Muscle pain
- • Abdominal pain
- • Nausea
- • Upset stomach
- • Indigestion
- • Abdominal pain
- Muscle pain 669
- Diarrhea 371
- Feeling lightheaded 361
- Shortness of breath 340
- Feeling sick to your stomach 337
- Feeling sick to your stomach 882
- Feeling tired 826
- Loose stools 726
- Aches 692
- Feeling lightheaded 617
This medicine can sometimes cause muscle problems, including rhabdomyolysis (a serious muscle breakdown that can lead to kidney damage). Tell your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, especially if you also have a fever or feel sick. This medicine can also cause liver problems. Your doctor should do blood tests to check your liver before you start taking fluvastatin and while you are taking it.
This medicine may increase your risk of gallbladder problems, including the need for surgery. Before taking gemfibrozil, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems. You should not take this medicine with simvastatin, repaglinide, dasabuvir, or selexipag.
You should not take fluvastatin if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. This medicine can harm an unborn baby. If you are a woman who could become pregnant, use effective birth control while taking fluvastatin.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if gemfibrozil can harm your unborn baby. It is also not known if gemfibrozil passes into breast milk.
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How to Read This fluvastatin vs gemfibrozil Comparison
fluvastatin is classified in the HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor (Statin) drug class, while gemfibrozil sits within the Fibrate class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, fluvastatin has 2,078 submissions while gemfibrozil has 3,743. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known moderate interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to taking these two cholesterol medicines together can cause a dangerous breakdown of muscle tissue.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between fluvastatin and gemfibrozil - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.
Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.