Always take pravastatin as instructed by your doctor and follow the instructions that come with your medicine.
Dosage
In adults, the usual dose is 10mg to 40mg once a day. Your dose depends on why you need the medicine, your cholesterol levels and other medicines you may already be taking.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice if you're unsure how much to take. Do not reduce your dose without talking to your doctor first.
Doses for children
The doctor will work out the dose that is right for your child. This will depend on their age and why they need pravastatin.
The usual starting dose of pravastatin in children is 10mg taken in the evening. This dose may be increased to a maximum of 40mg taken in the evening depending on your child’s age.
How to take it
Take pravastatin once a day in the evening. It's better to take pravastatin at night because this is when your body makes most of its cholesterol. There is some evidence that pravastatin works better at lowering cholesterol if you take it in the evening rather than in the morning.
Pravastatin does not upset the stomach, so you can take it with or without food. Swallow pravastatin tablets whole with a glass of water.
How long to take it
Usually, treatment with a statin such as pravastatin is for life. The benefits will only continue for as long as you take it. If you stop taking pravastatin without starting a different treatment, your cholesterol level may rise again.
If you forget to take it
If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember it. If you do not remember until the following day, skip the missed dose and take your tablet at the usual time.
Never take 2 doses at the same time. Do not take extra doses.
If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine.
Stopping pravastatin
You may want to stop pravastatin if you think you're having side effects. Talk to your doctor first to see if it really is a side effect of pravastatin or something else. Your doctor may decide to lower your dose or change your medicine.
You will not get any withdrawal symptoms, however, stopping pravastatin may cause your cholesterol to rise. This increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
If you want to stop taking your medicine, it's important to find another way to lower your cholesterol.
If you take too much
Taking an extra dose of pravastatin is unlikely to harm you.
Talk to your pharmacist or doctor if you're worried or if you take more than 1 extra dose.