2-minute questionnaire
Tell us your current lipids, your history with other statins, and every medication you take. We ask the same questions a cardiologist would.
InstalabPravastatin · 10mg · generic Pravachol®
The statin with the fewest drug interactions.
Pravastatin (generic Pravachol®) is water-soluble and is not metabolized by the CYP450 enzyme system, so it has the fewest drug interactions of any statin and the smallest diabetes signal in randomized trials. 10mg is a low-intensity dose, below the label's usual 40mg start, and lowers LDL about 22%. $49 online visit, no Instalab+ needed. Pay your pharmacy directly for the medication.
10mgLow-intensity entry dose
30+ yearsOf outcome-trial data
~22%Avg LDL drop at 10mg
Pravastatin 10mg · once daily · any time, with or without food
Licensed US physician review
12,000+ patients treated
Available in all 50 states
Sent to your pharmacy
How it works
From questionnaire to first dose.
A 2-minute questionnaire, a $49 online visit, and your prescription sent to the pharmacy you choose. The visit is a physician review of your answers: no appointments, no calls, no Instalab+ needed.
$49 online visit
A licensed physician reviews your health history and medication list and determines whether 10mg pravastatin is appropriate for your LDL, risk profile, and prior statin experience, usually within 1 business day. If your numbers or history call for a moderate-intensity dose, the physician will say so.
Sent to your pharmacy
If approved, we send the prescription to your preferred pharmacy. You pay the pharmacy directly, usually just a few dollars a month.
LDL recheck at 4 to 12 weeks
Most of the LDL drop lands within the first two to four weeks. Recheck your lipids to confirm your response and decide whether 10mg is enough.
Pricing
What you'll actually pay.
Two line items: a one-time online visit and the pravastatin itself, dispensed by your pharmacy. No Instalab+ needed.
Online Visit
One-time physician review of your health history, with follow-up support included
$49one-time
Pravastatin 10mg
Generic, dispensed by your pharmacy
Cash price$5–13/monthTypical pharmacy cash price
With insurance$0–10/monthTypical copay, if covered
The online visit is a one-time fee, not a subscription. It covers a physician review of your health history and, if the physician determines treatment is appropriate, a prescription with refills for up to one year, sent to the pharmacy you choose. If no prescription is issued, the $49 fee is refunded. You pay the pharmacy directly for the medication. Renewing after a year takes a new online visit; dose changes require Instalab+, which never charges visit fees.
Need more than 10mg?
Step up to 20mg, 40mg, or 80mg with physician oversight.
If your LDL or ApoB is still above target on 10mg, the next rungs are 20mg (about 32% LDL reduction) and 40mg (about 34%), the moderate-intensity dose used in the landmark pravastatin trials and the FDA label's usual adult start. Instalab+ includes the physician consults and lab follow-up that dose changes require.
Same tablet, same once-daily routine. Your physician adjusts the dose based on your labs, tolerance, and the rest of your medication list, up to the 80mg maximum.
Instalab+ also covers online visits, so dose changes and renewals never cost extra.
Explore Instalab+ →Doses available
10mg is a low-intensity entry point, not the label's starting dose.
The FDA label's usual adult starting dose is 40mg (about 34% LDL reduction), the moderate-intensity dose used in the landmark trials and the one guidelines generally recommend. 10mg lowers LDL about 22%: enough for a modest gap to target and a way to confirm you tolerate a statin, but often not enough to reach guideline LDL goals on its own.
If your labs or your risk call for a higher dose, Instalab+ includes the physician oversight that dose changes require.
10 mg Available to everyone
Low-intensity entry dose · below the label's 40mg start · ~22% avg LDL reduction
$49 online visit
Because the label's usual adult start is 40mg and higher doses call for lab follow-up, choosing your dose belongs in a conversation with a physician. We don't sell the higher doses self-serve. That care belongs inside Instalab+ with physician follow-up.
About the medication
A simple daily routine, backed by three decades of data.
One small tablet, once a day, at any time. Most of the LDL reduction shows up within two to four weeks.
- One pill, once a dayTake it at the same time each day, morning or evening, with or without food.
- No grapefruit rulesPravastatin isn't metabolized by the CYP450 enzyme system, so grapefruit juice and most interacting medications aren't an issue.
- Lab monitoring recommendedWe'll recommend follow-up labs at 4 to 12 weeks so you can see your progress.
- Ongoing supportOur care team is a message away. We check in after you start.
Why pravastatin
The statin that stays out of the way of your other medications.
Pravastatin blocks the same liver enzyme as every other statin, HMG-CoA reductase, but it is water-soluble, is taken up mainly by the liver, and is not metabolized by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system. It sidesteps the drug interactions that complicate simvastatin, atorvastatin, and lovastatin, which is why clinicians often reach for it when a patient takes interacting medications, and why it is a common choice for a supervised re-challenge after muscle symptoms on another statin. What it is not is the most powerful statin: its doses sit at the low-to-moderate end of the intensity scale.
- The fewest drug interactions of any statinBecause pravastatin is not metabolized by CYP450 enzymes, azole antifungals, calcium channel blockers, amiodarone, and grapefruit juice do not meaningfully raise its levels. Only a short list (cyclosporine, clarithromycin, gemfibrozil, other fibrates, niacin, colchicine) needs attention.
- Muscle symptoms: possibly fewer, but the evidence is mixedIn the observational PRIMO survey of 7,924 patients, 10.9% of those on pravastatin 40mg reported muscle symptoms, versus 14.9% on high-dose atorvastatin and 18.2% on high-dose simvastatin. Randomized, blinded trials are more sobering: a 2022 analysis of 19 trials found no clear difference between statins, or between water-soluble and fat-soluble ones, and that fewer than 1 in 15 muscle-symptom reports on a statin are actually caused by it.
- The smallest diabetes signal among statinsStatins as a class modestly raise the risk of new-onset diabetes, about 12% in meta-analyses. In a network meta-analysis of 17 trials and 113,394 patients, pravastatin 40mg had the smallest signal of any statin (odds ratio 1.07 versus placebo, compared with 1.25 for rosuvastatin 20mg and 1.15 for atorvastatin 80mg). That is the least effect among statins, not a protective one.
Thirty years of outcome trials
Pravastatin 40mg is one of the most outcome-tested cholesterol medicines ever made. WOSCOPS (NEJM 1995) cut heart attacks and coronary deaths 31% in 6,595 men without prior heart disease, and 20 years later those men still had 13% fewer deaths. CARE (NEJM 1996) and LIPID (NEJM 1998) reduced coronary events 24% in 13,173 patients with existing heart disease, with LIPID also cutting deaths from any cause 22%. PROSPER (Lancet 2002) showed benefit in 5,804 adults aged 70 to 82, and MEGA (Lancet 2006) showed that even 10 to 20mg reduced coronary heart disease 33% in 7,832 adults. Note that the largest trials used the 40mg dose; the 10mg dose on this page delivers roughly two-thirds of that LDL reduction.
33,000+
Patients across five outcome trials
31%
Fewer heart attacks and coronary deaths in WOSCOPS
33%
Less coronary heart disease on 10 to 20mg in MEGA
Same job. Different profile.
| Pravastatin | Rosuvastatin | Atorvastatin | |
|---|---|---|---|
LDL drop at the dose on this page label figures | ~22% 10 mg, below the label's 40 mg start | ~41% 5 mg | ~37% 10 mg |
LDL drop at the label's usual starting dose | ~34% 40 mg | ~46% 10 mg | ~37–43% 10 to 20 mg |
Metabolized by CYP3A4 | No | Minimal | Yes |
Grapefruit restriction | None | None | Large amounts |
New-onset diabetes signal 17-trial network meta-analysis, vs placebo | Smallest OR 1.07 at 40 mg | Largest OR 1.25 at 20 mg | Intermediate OR 1.15 at 80 mg |
Water-soluble (hydrophilic) | Yes | Yes | No |
What to expect
What 10mg can look like in practice.
Three illustrative patient scenarios, eight to twelve weeks in.
142110LDL mg/dL8 weeks on 10mg
“Atorvastatin gave me leg aches within a month. My physician suggested a low dose of a different statin, and pravastatin 10mg has been a non-event. My LDL still came down more than 30 points.”
12899LDL mg/dL12 weeks on 10mg
“I take a heart-rhythm medication and my cardiologist wanted a statin that would not interact with it. Pravastatin fit, and my LDL is under 100 for the first time.”
136106LDL mg/dL8 weeks on 10mg
“My A1c is in the prediabetes range, so I wanted the statin with the smallest effect on blood sugar. Starting at 10mg felt low-stakes, and it did what it was supposed to.”
Pravastatin is a prescription medicine. Important safety information applies. Common side effects include muscle aches, nausea, and headache.
Ready when you are
Start with the low-interaction statin.
Answer the questionnaire. A physician reviews your case, including whether a low-intensity dose fits your risk. If 10mg pravastatin is appropriate, your prescription goes out.
No commitment to treatment.