{"id":6695,"date":"2021-01-12T10:33:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T10:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/?p=6695"},"modified":"2021-06-09T07:48:18","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T07:48:18","slug":"cholestagel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/medicines\/cholestagel\/","title":{"rendered":"Cholestagel &#8211; Colesevelam uses, dose and side effects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\n\n625 mg&nbsp;Film-coated tablets&nbsp;<br>Colesevelam<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. What Cholestagel is and what it is used for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholestagel contains the active substance colesevelam (as hydrochloride).&nbsp;Cholestagel is a drug that helps lower the level of&nbsp;cholesterol&nbsp;in your blood.&nbsp;Your doctor should only give you Cholestagel if a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet alone is not enough.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholestagel acts in the intestinal tract by binding bile acids produced by the liver.&nbsp;Cholestagel transports bile acids out of the body with the feces.&nbsp;This prevents the body from reusing the bile acids from the intestines in the normal way.&nbsp;Without the reuse process, the liver must produce extra bile acids.&nbsp;The liver then uses&nbsp;cholesterolfrom the blood to do this, which lowers the cholesterol level in the blood.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholestagel is usually prescribed to treat a condition called primary&nbsp;hypercholesterolemia&nbsp;(&nbsp;high blood&nbsp;cholesterol&nbsp;) in adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Cholestagel can be prescribed alone as a supplement to a low fat and cholesterol diet when treatment with a statin (a type of cholesterol-lowering drug that works in the liver) is inappropriate or not well tolerated.<\/li><li>Cholestagel can be used with a statin and the low fat and cholesterol diet when patients do not get enough effect with the statin alone.<\/li><li>Cholestagel can also be used with ezetimibe (a cholesterol-lowering drug that works by reducing cholesterol uptake from the gut) with or without a statin.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. What you need to know before you take Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do not take Cholestagel:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>if you are allergic to colesevelam or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6.1)<\/li><li>if you have an intestinal or bile duct obstruction<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are being prescribed Cholestagel with other medicines, you must also read the patient information that comes with these medicines before you start taking your medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Warnings and cautions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Cholestagel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>if your&nbsp;triglyceride levels&nbsp;(a blood fat) are higher than 3.4 mmol \/ l<\/li><li>if you have difficulty swallowing, or have a more severe gastrointestinal upset<\/li><li>if you suffer from constipation as Cholestagel may cause or worsen this condition.&nbsp;This is especially important for patients with coronary heart disease and angina<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you think any of these apply to you, you must tell your doctor or pharmacist before taking Cholestagel.<\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before starting treatment with Cholestagel, your doctor should make sure that certain conditions do not contribute to your elevated cholesterol levels.&nbsp;These may include poorly controlled&nbsp;diabetes&nbsp;, untreated&nbsp;hypothyroidism&nbsp;(low levels of&nbsp;untreated&nbsp;thyroid hormone),&nbsp;protein&nbsp;in the urine (&nbsp;nephrotic syndrome&nbsp;), altered protein levels in the blood (dysproteinemia) and obstruction of bile transport to your gallbladder (certain type of liver disease).<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Children and young people<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safety and efficacy in children (under 18 years of age) have not been studied.&nbsp;Cholestagel is therefore not recommended in this patient group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other medicines and Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your doctor suspects that Cholestagel may affect the&nbsp;absorption of&nbsp;one of the other medicines, you may be instructed to take Cholestagel at least four hours before or at least 4 hours after taking the other medicine.&nbsp;Although the other medicine should be taken several times a day, you only need to take the Cholestagel tablets once a day.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Cholestagel may affect the way the following medicines work:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Anticoagulation therapy (medicines, such as&nbsp;warfarin&nbsp;, used to thin the blood).&nbsp;If you are being treated with anticoagulants, you should ask your doctor to closely monitor anticoagulant levels, as Cholestagel may affect the&nbsp;absorption&nbsp;of&nbsp;vitaminK and therefore interfere with the activity of&nbsp;warfarin&nbsp;.<\/li><li>Drugs, e.g.&nbsp;thyroxine&nbsp;or levothyroxine, used to treat low thyroid hormone levels<\/li><li>Birth control pills&nbsp;(medicines to prevent pregnancy)&nbsp;<br>It is important that you take Cholestagel at least four hours after taking the birth control pill to ensure that the effectiveness of the birth control pill is not affected.<\/li><li>Verapamil (or olmesartan (medicine used to treat high&nbsp;blood pressure&nbsp;) It is important that you take olmesartan at least 4 hours before taking Cholestagel.<\/li><li>Diabetes medicines (medicines used to treat&nbsp;diabetes&nbsp;such as&nbsp;metforminprolonged-release tablets&nbsp;, glimepiride, glipizide, pioglitazone, repaglinide or glyburide).&nbsp;If you are taking medicines for&nbsp;diabetes&nbsp;, you should ask your doctor to monitor your treatment closely.&nbsp;It is important that you take glimepiride and glipizide at least four hours before taking Cholestagel.<\/li><li>Epilepsy drugs (eg&nbsp;phenytoin&nbsp;, used to treat&nbsp;epilepsy&nbsp;).<\/li><li>Ciclosporin (a medicine used to suppress the immune system).<\/li><li>Ursodeoxycholic acid (a drug used to dissolve&nbsp;gallstones&nbsp;or to treat certain&nbsp;chronicliver diseases).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are taking Cholestagel plus one of these medicines, your doctor may need to perform tests to make sure that Cholestagel is not affected by these medicines.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a disease that could cause a deficiency of vitamin A, D, E or K, your doctor may also want to check your vitamin levels regularly while you are taking Cholestagel.&nbsp;If necessary, your doctor may advise you to take vitamin supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pregnancy and breastfeeding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are prescribed Cholestagel and a statin together, it is important that you tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, as statins should not be used during pregnancy.&nbsp;Read the patient information that comes with the statin.&nbsp;Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding.&nbsp;Your doctor may want to discontinue your medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Driving and using machines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your ability to drive or use machines is not affected by taking Cholestagel tablets.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to take Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before starting treatment with Cholestagel, you should be advised to follow a cholesterol-lowering diet and you should continue with this diet during treatment.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always take Cholestagel exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you.&nbsp;Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure.&nbsp;If you need to take Cholestagel while taking another medicine, your doctor may advise you to take Cholestagel at least 4 hours before or at least 4 hours after taking other medicines, as described in section 2.&nbsp;<br>If you are taking a medicines called either Neoral&nbsp;<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>&nbsp;or ciclosporin, make sure you take it with Cholestagel on a regular basis throughout the day;&nbsp;either always together, or always separated by a certain number of hours.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholestagel should be taken with food and drink.&nbsp;The tablets should be swallowed whole.&nbsp;You must not break, crush or chew the tablets.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Combination therapy: The<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>recommended&nbsp;dose&nbsp;for Cholestagel, when used with a statin or with ezetimibe or both together, is 4 to 6 tablets a day by mouth.&nbsp;Your doctor may&nbsp;prescribe&nbsp;you to take the Cholestagel dose either once or twice a day;&nbsp;in both cases, Cholestagel should be taken with a meal.&nbsp;Dosage&nbsp;one of the statin and ezetimibe should be done according to the instructions for each medicine.&nbsp;The medicines can be taken at the same time or at different times depending on what the doctor has prescribed.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cholestagel treatment alone: \u200b\u200bThe<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>recommended&nbsp;dose&nbsp;for Cholestagel is 3 tablets twice a day with meals or 6 tablets once a day with meals.&nbsp;Your doctor may want to increase the&nbsp;dose&nbsp;one to 7 tablets per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you take more Cholestagel than you should<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact your doctor.&nbsp;Constipation or flatulence may occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you forget to take Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can take your&nbsp;dose&nbsp;with a later meal but never take more than the total number of tablets that your doctor has prescribed you to take in one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you stop taking Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your&nbsp;cholesterol&nbsp;may rise to the level it was before starting treatment.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Possible side effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Like all medicines, this medicine can cause&nbsp;side effects&nbsp;, although not everybody gets them.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following&nbsp;side effects&nbsp;have been reported in patients taking Cholestagel:&nbsp;<br><strong>Very common<\/strong>&nbsp;(may&nbsp;affect&nbsp;more than 1 in 10 people):&nbsp;flatulence&nbsp;(&nbsp;flatulence&nbsp;), constipation.&nbsp;<br><strong>Common<\/strong>&nbsp;(may affect up to 1 in 10 people): vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, abdominal pain, abnormal stools, nausea, distended stomach, headache, elevated levels of&nbsp;triglycerides&nbsp;(fats) in the blood.&nbsp;<br><strong>Uncommon<\/strong>&nbsp;(may affect up to 1 in 100 people): muscle aches, high levels of liver enzymes in the blood, difficulty swallowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Very rare<\/strong>&nbsp;(may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):&nbsp;inflammation&nbsp;of the pancreas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Has been reported<\/strong>&nbsp;(occurs in an unknown number of users): intestinal obstruction (which may increase in patients who have previously had intestinal obstruction or had part of the intestine removed).<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Reporting of side effects<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse.&nbsp;This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.&nbsp;You can also report side effects directly to the Medical Products Agency,&nbsp;www.lakemedelsverket.se.&nbsp;By reporting side effects, you can help increase drug safety information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. How to store Cholestagel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and can label after \u201cEXP\u201d.&nbsp;The expiration date is the last day of the specified month.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Close the jar tightly.&nbsp;Moisture sensitive.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste.&nbsp;Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required.&nbsp;These measures will help to protect the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Contents of the packaging and other information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Content declaration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The active substance is colesevelam (as hydrochloride).&nbsp;Each tablet contains 625 mg of colesevelam.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other ingredients (excipients) are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Tablet core:<\/em><\/li><li>Microcrystalline cellulose (E460)<\/li><li>Anhydrous&nbsp;colloidal&nbsp;silica<\/li><li>Magnesium stearate<\/li><li>Purified water<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Film coating:<\/em><\/li><li>Hypromellos (E464)<\/li><li>Diacetylated&nbsp;monoglyceride&nbsp;you<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Printing ink:<\/em><\/li><li>Black iron oxide (E172)<\/li><li>Hypromellose (E464)<\/li><li>Propylene glycol<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the medicine looks like and the contents of the pack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholestagel tablets are off-white, oval, film-coated tablets and marked with \u201cC625\u201d on one side.&nbsp;The tablets are packaged in plastic jars with a childproof seal.&nbsp;The pack sizes are 24 (1 x 24), 100 (2 x 50) and 180 (1 x 180) tablets.&nbsp;Not all pack sizes may be marketed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Marketing Authorization Holder and Manufacturer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Marketing Authorization Holder<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Genzyme Europe BV, Paasheuvelweg 25, 1105 BC Amsterdam, The Netherlands<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Genzyme Ireland Ltd., IDA Industrial Park, Old Kilmeaden Road, Waterford, Ireland<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact the representative of the marketing authorization holder to find out more about this medicine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Belgium \/ Belgium \/ Belgium \/&nbsp;<br><\/strong><strong>Luxembourg \/ Luxembourg<\/strong>Sanofi BelgiumTel: + 32 (0) 2 710 54 00<\/td><td><strong>Lithuania<\/strong>UAB &#8220;SANOFI-AVENTIS LIETUVA&#8221;Tel.&nbsp;+370 5 275 5224<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Bulgaria<\/strong>SANOFI BULGARIA EOODPhone: +359 (0) 2 970 53 00<\/td><td><strong>Hungary<\/strong>SANOFI-AVENTIS Zrt.Tel: +36 1 505 0050<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Czech Republic<\/strong>sanofi-aventis, sroTel: +420 233 086 111<\/td><td><strong>Malta<\/strong>Sanofi SpA&nbsp;<br>Tel: +39 02 39394275<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Denmark<\/strong>Sanofi A \/ STel: +45 45 16 70 00<\/td><td><strong>The Netherlands<\/strong>Genzyme Europe BVTel: +31 20 245 4000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Germany<\/strong>Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbHTel .: 0800 52 52 010Tel.&nbsp;from abroad: +49 69 305 21 131<\/td><td><strong>Norway<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Norge ASTel: + 47 67 10 71 00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Eesti<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Estonia O\u00dcTel.&nbsp;+3726 27 34 88<\/td><td><strong>Austria<\/strong>sanofi-aventis GmbHTel: + 43 1 80 185 &#8211; 0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Greece<\/strong>sanofi-aventis AEBE:\u0397\u03bb: +30 210 900 16 00<\/td><td><strong>Poland<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Sp.&nbsp;z ooTel .: +48 22 280 00 00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Spain<\/strong>sanofi-aventis, SATel: +34 93 485 94 00<\/td><td><strong>Portugal<\/strong>Sanofi &#8211; Pharmaceutical Products, Lda.Tel: +351 21 35 89 400<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>France<\/strong>sanofi-aventis FranceTel: 0 800 222 555Call from abroad: +33 1 57 63 23 23<\/td><td><strong>Romania<\/strong>Sanofi Romania SRLTel: +40 (0) 21 317 31 36<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Croatia<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Croatia dooTel: +385 1 600 34 00<\/td><td><strong>Slovenia<\/strong>sanofi-aventis dooTel: +386 1 560 4800<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Ireland<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Ireland Ltd.&nbsp;T \/ A SANOFITel: +353 (0) 1 403 56 00<\/td><td><strong>Slovak Republic<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Pharma Slovakia sroTel .: +421 2 33 100 100<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Iceland<\/strong>Vistor hf.Phone: +354 535 7000<\/td><td><strong>Suom&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>i \/ Finland<\/strong>Sanofi OyPuh \/ Tel: + 358 (0) 201 200 300<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Italy<\/strong>Sanofi SpATel: 800.536 389<br><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>\u039a\u03cd\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Cyprus Ltd.:\u0397\u03bb: +357 22 871600<\/td><td><strong>United Kingdom<\/strong>SanofiTel: +44 (0) 845 372 7101<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Latvia<\/strong>sanofi-aventis Latvia SIATel: +371 67 33 24 51<\/td><td><br><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cholestagel contains the active substance colesevelam (as hydrochloride). Cholestagel is a drug that helps lower the level of cholesterol in your blood. Your doctor should only give you Cholestagel if a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet alone is not enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2203,2200],"tags":[7310,7312,7313,7306,7308,7309,2212,2211,7311,7307],"class_list":["post-6695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c","category-medicines","tag-cholestagel","tag-cholestagel-side-effects","tag-cholestagel-tablet","tag-colesevelam","tag-colesevelam-side-effects","tag-colesevelam-tablet","tag-medicine","tag-tablets","tag-what-is-cholestagel","tag-what-is-colesevelam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6695"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11475,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695\/revisions\/11475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeepedia.com\/medical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}