Experiences with
Ezetimibe

Ezetimibe is a type of medicine used to lower cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood that can block your blood vessels if levels become too high. This can make you more likely to have heart problems or a stroke.

Ezetimibe is used to treat high blood cholesterol.

You may also be prescribed ezetimibe if you cannot take cholesterol-lowering medicines called statins, or if a statin medicine does not work for you.

Ezetimibe is available on prescription only. It comes as tablets.

Ezetimibe also comes mixed with other medicines. When it's mixed with simvastatin, a type of statin, it's known by the brand name Inegy. When ezetimibe is mixed with bempedoic acid, it's called nustendi.

Who can take ezetimibe

Most adults and children aged 10 years and over can take ezetimibe.

Who may not be able to take ezetimibe

Ezetimibe is not suitable for some people. To make sure it's safe for you, tell your doctor if you:

have ever had an allergic reaction to ezetimibe or any other medicine
have liver problems
are pregnant, planning to get pregnant or are breastfeeding

Dosage

Ezetimibe comes as tablets.

The dose for adults and children is one 10mg tablet, taken once a day.

How to take it

You can take ezetimibe with or without food.

Swallow the tablet with a drink of water.

How long to take it for

Usually, treatment with ezetimibe is for life. You'll need to keep taking it for it to work.

Do not stop taking your medicine without speaking to a doctor first.

If you stop taking ezetimibe without starting a different treatment, your cholesterol levels may go up again.

If you forget to take it

If you forget to take ezetimibe, take it as soon as you remember, unless you do not remember until the following day. In this case, skip the missed dose and take your next one at the usual time.

Do not take 2 doses to make up for a forgotten dose.

If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask a pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine.

If you take too much

Taking 1 or 2 extra tablets is unlikely to harm you. But the amount of ezetimibe that can lead to overdose is different from person to person.

you take more than your prescribed dose of ezetimibe and you:

have severe stomach pain
have severe diarrhoea

Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111

If you need to go to A&E, do not drive. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Bring the ezetimibe packet or leaflet inside it, any remaining medicine, and any other medicines you take.

Common side effects

These common side effects of ezetimibe happen to more than 1 in 100 people. There are things you can do to help cope with them:

Try to rest and relax. It can help to eat and drink slowly and have smaller and more frequent meals. Putting a heat pad or covered hot water bottle on your stomach may also help. If you're in a lot of pain, speak to a pharmacist or doctor.

Drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Speak to a pharmacist if you have signs of dehydration such as peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee. Do not take any other medicines to treat diarrhoea without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.

If you take the combined contraceptive pill or the progestogen-only pill and you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraception may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet for advice.

Try to not eat too many foods that cause wind (such as lentils, peas, beans and onions). Eat smaller meals, eat and drink slowly, and exercise regularly. There are pharmacy medicines that may also help, such as charcoal tablets or simeticone, so speak to a pharmacist. Peppermint tea may also help.

Try to relax when possible and avoid intense exercise to see if that helps. If these symptoms do not go away after 1 to 2 weeks, ask a pharmacist or doctor for advice.

Keep taking the medicine, but talk to a doctor if the advice on how to cope does not help and these side effects bother you or do not go away.

Serious side effects

Serious side effects are not common and happen in less than 1 in 10,000 people.

Tell a doctor or call 111 straight away if you get:

muscle pain, tenderness, weakness or cramps
yellowing of the whites of your eyes or your skin (this may be less obvious on brown or black skin), pale poo and dark pee – this can be a sign of liver problems
severe stomach pain (just under your ribs) – this can be a sign of pancreas problems

Serious allergic reaction

In rare cases, ezetimibe may cause a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Meds New IA (H4) - serious allergic reaction

These are not all the side effects of ezetimibe. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.

Ezetimibe and pregnancy

Ezetimibe is not usually recommended during pregnancy. This is because there's very little information about its safety. However, it may be prescribed by specialists if you have very high cholesterol and are pregnant.

If you're planning a pregnancy or are currently pregnant and taking ezetimibe, talk to your doctor about treatment. They may want you to continue taking ezetimibe or change you to another medicine.

Ezetimibe and breastfeeding

You may be OK to take ezetimibe while breastfeeding but if not, your doctor or pharmacist may tell you to stop taking it until you're no longer breastfeeding. It's not yet known how much ezetimibe gets into breast milk, but it's likely to be a small amount. It's unlikely to cause any side effects in your baby, or affect their cholesterol.

Talk to your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you have any concerns about your baby. This includes:

not feeding as well as usual
not putting on weight as you would expect

Ezetimibe and fertility

There's no evidence to suggest that taking ezetimibe affects fertility in either men or women.

Meds New IA (H2) - Pregnancy non-urgent care card

Cautions with other medicines

Some medicines can affect the way ezetimibe works and increase the chances of you having side effects.

Tell a doctor if you're taking any of these medicines before you start ezetimibe:

ciclosporin, a medicine used to treat psoriasis or after an organ transplant
medicines used to prevent blood clots, such as warfarin
other medicines used for lowering cholesterol (this does not include statins), such as colestyramine or bezafibrate

Mixing ezetimibe with herbal remedies and supplements

There's not enough information to say that complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with ezetimibe. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.

Meds New IA (H2) - Cautions with other medicines alert