Rosuvastatin Dosing: An Introduction
The dose of
rosuvastatin calcium your healthcare provider recommends will vary depending on a number of factors, including:
- Your age
- The medical condition you are being treated for
- Other existing medical conditions you may have
- Other medications you may be currently taking.
As always, do not adjust your rosuvastatin dose unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.
Strengths of Rosuvastatin
There are several strengths of rosuvastatin available. These strengths (sold under the brand name
Crestor®) include:
-
Rosuvastatin 5 mg
-
Rosuvastatin 10 mg
-
Rosuvastatin 20 mg
-
Rosuvastatin 40 mg.
Dosing for Rosuvastatin and High Cholesterol
The recommended starting dose of rosuvastatin for people with
high cholesterol is rosuvastatin 10 mg once a day. After several weeks, your healthcare provider will recommend that you return to have your
cholesterol levels rechecked. If you have not reached your
cholesterol goal at this time, your healthcare provider may choose to increase your rosuvastatin dose. The rosuvastatin dose can also be decreased if side effects of rosuvastatin occur. The average daily dose for people taking rosuvastatin is rosuvastatin 20 mg to rosuvastatin 40 mg once a day.
Your healthcare provider may recommend a lower Crestor dose (5 mg per day) if you:
- Are 65 years of age or older
- Are of Asian decent
- Take gemfibrozil (Lopid®)
- Take cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®)
- Take protease inhibitor medications for HIV (see Drug Interactions With Rosuvastatin for more information)
- Have severe kidney disease, your healthcare provider may choose to start you on a lower dose, such as rosuvastatin 5 mg daily.