SINVASTATINA by bluepharma - Cholesterol buster?!

SINVASTATINA by bluepharma - Cholesterol buster?

I am working in Angola and have been prescribed cholesterol buster SINVASTATINA but can't find any info on the net re: side effects etc. The info in the pack is in portugese :-(

Simvastatin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

constipation

If you experience the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
lack of energy
fever
yellowing of the skin or eyes
pain in the upper right part of the stomach
nausea
extreme tiredness
unusual bleeding or bruising
loss of appetite
flu-like symptoms
rash
hives
itching
difficulty breathing or swallowing
swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
Simvastatin is used together with lifestyle changes (diet, weight-loss, exercise) to reduce the amount of cholesterol (a fat-like substance) and certain other fatty substances in your blood. Simvastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body.

Buildup of cholesterol and fats along the walls of your arteries (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to your heart, brain, and other parts of your body. Lowering your blood level of cholesterol and fats may help to decrease your chances of getting heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks. In addition to taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, making certain changes in your daily habits can also lower your cholesterol blood levels. You should eat a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol (see SPECIAL DIETARY), exercise 30 minutes on most, if not all days, and lose weight if you are overweight.

Before taking simvastatin,

tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to simvastatin or any other medications.
tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone); antifungal medications such as itraconazole (Sporanox) and ketoconazole (Nizoral); anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin); cholestyramine (Questran), clarithromycin (Biaxin), clofibrate (Atromid-S), cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral), danazol; digoxin (Lanoxin), erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin); HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan), ritonavir (Norvir) and saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase); nefazodone (Serzone); other cholesterol-lowering medications such as fenofibrate (Tricor), gemfibrozil (Lopid), and niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor, Niaspan); nefazodone (Serzone), and telithromycin (Ketek); and verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
tell your doctor if you have liver disease. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take simvastatin.
tell your doctor if you drink large amounts of alcohol, if you have ever had liver disease or if you have or have ever had kidney disease.

tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. If you become pregnant while taking simvastatin, stop taking simvastatin and call your doctor immediately. Simvastatin can harm the fetus.Do not breast-feed while you are taking this medication.
if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking simvastatin.
ask your doctor about the safe use of alcoholic beverages while you are taking simvastatin. Alcohol can increase the risk of serious side effects
Avoid drinking large quantities (more than 1 quart a day) of grapefruit juice while taking simvastatin.

Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.

I take the same .hope this helps