Crestor now available

My pharmacy told me that the newest statin Crestor is now available.
I'm planning on switching from Lipitor 10 mg to Crestor 5 mg. So far only the 10 mg Crestor is available - I'll split 10's to make 5. I like the idea of low dosage, and I'll see if the 5 mg Crestor works as well as the 10 mg Lipitor. I've decided Crestor is better than the other statins - of course, that's only my opinion. As an investment manager I look into those things and try to figure how much market share Crestor will take from the other statins. No, I don't own stock in the company making Crestor. An ad blitz is coming, in a few months
Crestor will be better known.

Mel, it appears that the data on Crestor 5 mg is not available, however, on the basis of 10 mg comparisons with Lipitor that 5 mg
Crestor is very likely to be more effective that 10 mg Lipitor. In a nutshell, 10 mg Crestor is about twice as effective as 10 mg Lipitor in lowering the total chol to hdl ratio - which best predicts CHD. (note - a earlier press release had incomplete info - hence I thought the 5 mg results were available).

Crestor 10 mg , 52% reduction LDL, HDL + 7.6%
Lipitor 10 mg, 29% reduction LDL, HDL +5.5% (called Atorvastatin)

Crestor 5 mg ?% reduction LDL ? likely to be at least 40%
Crestor 10 mg , 52% reduction LDL
Crestor 20 mg , 55% reduction LDL
Crestor 40 mg , 63% reduction LDL
http://www.lipitor.com/lipitor/default.asp

It appears to me that 10 mg of Crestor is equal to 10 mg of Lipitor and about 20 mg of Zocor.

Your cutting Crestor to 5 mg is most likely the same as taking 5 mg of
Lipitor in terms of it being a statin drug - I am not talking results.

If Crestor reduces LDL and/or raises HDL better than equal amounts of
Lipitor or Zocor (5 mg of Crestor is probably like taking 10 mg of
Zocor), then what about the side effects? Remember Baycol? It might be too early to switch.

Mel, just being cautious.

building. Yes, Crestor 5 mg appears more effective than Lipitor 10 mg. Also, all strengths of Crestor cost the same. I'm getting out my pill splitter! " In a six-week dose-ranging placebo-controlled study using a 5, 10, 20 or 40 mg dose, Crestor lowered LDL- cholesterol by
45 to 63 percent (7 percent for placebo), and increased HDL- cholesterol by 8 to 14 percent (3 percent for placebo). In a comparative clinical trial of more than 2,200 patients, Crestor 10 mg to 40 mg reduced LDL-cholesterol by 46 percent to 55 percent;
atorvastatin 10 mg to 80 mg reduced LDL-cholesterol by 37 percent to
51 percent; simvastatin 10 mg to 80 mg reduced LDL-cholesterol by 28 percent to 46 percent; and pravastatin 10 mg to 40 mg reduced
LDL-cholesterol by 20 percent to 30 percent."

Mel, I've read the prescribing info and side effects on Crestor - very impressive the lack of problems. The 5 mg dose should have even fewer side effects. The evidence is that 5 mg Crestor lowers chol and raise
HDL more than 10 mg Lipitor. It seems to my layman eyes that Crestor is a superior statin than Lipitor.

You make a good point about risks of a new drug. I think I've been

want to reduce my dose of statins as low as possible. I guess I'm saying I'm willing to take the risk of the new drug in order to avoid the risk of the 10 mg statin dose. I still like statins - lower inflammation, possibly prevent alzeimhers - I believe generally the benefit outweigh the risks.

Good point, Mel. I just like taking 5 mg instead of 10 mg. Also,
Astra Zeneca is pricing all size pills the same. I'm going to buy the
10 mg and split them. I'll save $10 a month (on co-pay drug plan).
If I were paying full price I might buy the 40mg and split 8 ways.

Oops, you're correct. That was total chol down 29%, LDL down 39%
Crestor 10 mg: LDL down 52%. The Crestor advantage is less impressive than I stated. I'll still wager that Crestor 5 mg will beat Lipitor
10 mg.

"LIPITOR has been shown, along with diet, to lower total cholesterol by 29% to 45% and "bad" LDL cholesterol by 39% to 60% (average effect depending on dose)." www.lipitor.com

Brad, you want to reduce the 10 mg dose but what are you really accomplishing with 5 mg of Crestor? The 5 mg dose of Crestor is most likely the same as 5 mg of Lipitor in terms of side effects; for example, 10 mg of Zocor is about the same as 5 mg of Lipitor. What are you achieving by taking 5 mg of Crestor instead of 5 mg of Lipitor or
10 mg of Zocor?

Where do you see that 5 mg of Crestor has a better effect on cholesterol than 10 mg of Lipitor, and better side effects?

Can you provide a link?