niacin vs pravastatin
Side-by-side comparison of niacin and pravastatin. 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 DRUG INTERACTIONS For the concurrent therapy of either cyclosporine, fibrates, niacin (nicotinic acid), or erythromycin, the risk of myopathy increases [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. Concomitant lipid-lowering therapies: use with fibrates or lipid-modifying doses (≥1 g/day) of niacin increases the risk of adverse skeletal muscle effects. 7.6 Niacin The risk of skeletal muscle effects may be enhanced when pravastatin is used in combination with niacin; a reduction in Pravastatin Sodium dosage should be considered in this setting [see Warnings and...
Recommendation: Your doctor may need to consider lowering your dose of pravastatin if you are also taking niacin.
Niaspan, Slo-Niacin
Pravachol
This medicine is a multivitamin with fluoride. It helps prevent tooth decay and provides essential vitamins.
Pravastatin is a drug that lowers cholesterol. It belongs to a class of drugs called statins.
This medicine is for children ages 4 and up who don't get enough fluoride in their drinking water. It helps prevent tooth decay. It also gives you ten important vitamins to avoid vitamin deficiencies.
Pravastatin helps lower bad cholesterol and fats (like triglycerides) in your blood, while raising good cholesterol. It can help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and the need for procedures to open blocked arteries. It is used along with a healthy diet to treat high cholesterol and other fat disorders in adults and children 8 years and older.
The fluoride in this medicine strengthens your teeth to protect them from decay. The vitamins help your body work properly and stay healthy.
Pravastatin works by blocking a substance your body needs to make cholesterol. This helps to lower the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Lowering cholesterol helps to prevent heart disease and stroke.
No common side effects listed.
- • Muscle pain
- • Nausea
- • Vomiting
- • Diarrhea
- • Headache
- Feeling tired 749
- Feeling sick to your stomach 671
- Loose stools 630
- Feeling lightheaded 546
- Difficulty breathing 529
- Tiredness 1,261
- Diarrhea 1,095
- Feeling sick to your stomach 954
- Shortness of breath 928
- Headache 842
There are no serious warnings listed for this medication.
Pravastatin can sometimes cause muscle problems, including muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness. In rare cases, this can lead to serious muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis, which can cause kidney failure. 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 pravastatin and if you have any symptoms of liver problems.
This medication is for children. Consult a doctor for information about vitamin and fluoride supplements during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
You should not take pravastatin if you are pregnant. It can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking pravastatin, stop taking it right away and tell your doctor.
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How to Read This niacin vs pravastatin Comparison
niacin is classified in the Vitamin B3 (Lipid-Modifying) drug class, while pravastatin sits within the HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor (Statin) class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are split between OTC and prescription status, which affects access and supervision.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, niacin has 3,125 submissions while pravastatin has 5,080. 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 combining these drugs can increase the risk of harmful effects on your skeletal muscles. using them together makes it more likely for the pravastatin to cause muscle problems.. 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 niacin and pravastatin - 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.