Talk:Ezetimibe/simvastatin

My question is about the possible side effects. I started taking Vytorin a couple of weeks ago. Within a short period I noticed an increase in the volume of my tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and a seemingly increased problem hearing. I have had the tinnitus for many years and had learned to cope with it but, it has increased a good deal. Has anyone else had a similar experience. My email is daviswd@charter.net.

My question is regarding stopping the drug. After 2 months of taking vitorin everything looks wonderful. What happens if I stop taking? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.15.136.26 (talk • contribs) 20:49, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Has no perminant effects, so if discontinued then the cholesterol/lipid profile reverts back to its pre-treatment level. For the benefits of reduced cholesterol, this, like all other lipid therapies, needs to be continued indefinitely.David Ruben Talk 17:47, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Ezetimibe/simvastatin and psoriasis
My mother has recently prescribed Ezetimibe/simvastatin and has noticed a flair up of her psoriasis I am hoping that some one may be able to through some light on this for me. My mother is 75 and is suffering from this infliction would love to be able to help her:) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.254.80.4 (talk • contribs) 14:20, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is not a forum nor somewhere to seek medical advice. Suggest she asks her doctor. For research see if anything under "psoriasis simvastatin" and "psoriasis ezetimibe" search strings on searching PubMed, for which go to this search page.David Ruben Talk 14:00, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

changes regarding statement on the IMPROVE-IT trial
Vytorin is currently undergoing drug trials on patients with extremely high cardiovascular risk who have been in hospital with cardiac problems in the past 10 days. It is not being tested on the lower risk patients with raised cholesterol even though these represent the overwhelming majority of patients said to benefit from this kind of therapy

I am going to move this to its own section, as it does not belong under contraindications...

Also, I am revising this statement to reflect a more neutral POV.

Some background info: It is true that the IMPROVE-IT trial (which this statement presumably refers to) is testing the drug on patients who have been stabilized for an acute coronary syndrome, and are therefore high-risk. However, I would not say that these subjects represent an overwhelming minority of Vytorin's target base. The "lower risk" patients that this Wikier refers to are not as low risk as they seem, and there is abundant clinical evidence as well as pathogenetic plausibility to support that assessment. While I agree that a trial involving patients without a history of an ACS event would be ideal, I believe that the evidence strongly suggests that the disparity between the risk profiles of the study subjects and the drug's target audience is exaggerated by the above statement.

Additionally the 10-day enrollment period is largely irrelevant to the study's conclusions; the IMPROVE-IT trial design calls for a follow-up period of 30 months. This needs to be clarified.

--shrimppesto (talk) 07:05, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

"Depression" link is invalid
The linked ref for the "depression" side effect points to money.cnn.com, which seems odd. In any case, the page is 404. If depression is an actual side effect, there should be other links available that do not lead to a money site. --Captain Infinity (talk) 18:26, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Price
The price of vytorin has been an issue.

""On average, consumers pay $3.00 per pill for Vytorin compared to a third of that for the six other generic statin drugs on the market. Statins, the world's top-selling class of drugs, are routinely and heavily prescribed to lower 'bad' (LDP-low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Co-manufactured by Merck and Schering-Plough, Vytorin is a composite of Zetia and Zocor, and its excessive price was justified by marketing claims that Vytorin is the best help for lowering cholesterol by blocking its absorption through food. What the pharmaceutical companies hid from the public was a two-year old report that proved the contrary.""

- Vytorin - A Costly Risk 2008

By 2008 it was alleged that Merck and Schering-Plough were being sued in the United States for "fraudulent marketing." According to this 2008 article, a "class action suit was launched in Florida in January 2008 demanding that Merck and Schering-Plough reimburse the proceeds of sales that topped $5 billion last year, paid for mostly by Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance and the taxpayer."

Forbes article 2014
In a 2014 Forbes article Herper described how Zetia and Vytorin from Merck since 2002, had been called expensive placebos by a top cardiologist. By 2014 there were 20 million or more Americans taking cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by 20 million or more Americans.