Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

Grapefruit Interacts With Tegretol and Lipitor

Q. With grapefruit in season, I am worried that my son’s anticonvulsant medicine may interact since he loves it. Paradoxically, too much Tegretol caused him to have seizures last summer. Once the dose was lowered from 800 mg to 600 mg, he did much better. Would grapefruit affect his medication and cause a problem?

A. Grapefruit can boost blood levels of Tegretol (carbamazepine) significantly. This would be comparable to a higher dose and might put him at risk of seizures once again.

It is not always necessary for patients to give up on grapefruit completely. We received the following inquiry:

“My wife and I are both on Lipitor. We live in central Florida and have a good-sized grapefruit tree in the back yard. It yields bushels of very delicious pink grapefruit each year that are so sweet they don’t require sugar.

“Last week I asked my doctor if there was another medication that I could take for cholesterol that would not react with grapefruit. She said, ‘I don’t know, ask your pharmacist.’ I did and his answer was, ‘I don’t know.’ Do you know?”

Unlike Lipitor, Pravachol is a cholesterol-lowering drug that does not interact with grapefruit. There are also some anti-seizure medicines that are safe with grapefruit. Discuss alternatives with your doctor.

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
0- 0 ratings
About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.