WELCHOL ORAL SUSPENSION (COLESEVELAM HCL)

Welchol Oral Suspension Description

If diet and exercise alone has not succeeded in lowering your cholesterol levels, talk to your doctor about Welchol Oral Suspension. Colesevelam HCl, the active ingredient in Welchol Oral Suspension, can be taken along with statin drugs to lower bad cholesterol which is known as LDL or low-density lipoproteins.

How the Active Ingredient Helps Lower Cholesterol Levels

Welchol Oral Suspension is a bile acid sequestrant that works in your intestines to bind bile acids and remove some of them from your body. This causes your liver to make more, but in order to do so; it needs to take cholesterol from your bloodstream. These actions all work to lower your LDL.

It has also been found that Welchol Oral Suspension lowers A1C in type 2 diabetics when taken with some of their insulin medications. Most diabetics will be tested every two to three months to have their hemoglobin A1C levels checked to be certain your diabetes is under control.

Information About Cholesterol

Your liver produces approximately 80% of your cholesterol while the rest comes from your diet. Your body needs cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and the substances that your body uses to digest food. If your diet consists of red meat, cheese, shellfish, and fast foods to name a few, you may be at risk for having high cholesterol levels. Unless you start eating healthier and lower your bad cholesterol, it can build up over time as a waxy plaque on the walls of your blood vessels and impede a proper blood flow to your heart or brain and cause a heart attack or stroke.

Welchol Oral Suspension may also be prescribed with statin drugs to lower LDL in boys, as well as girls that have had a menstrual period, aged 10 – 17 to treat heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol levels.

Before You Take Welchol Oral Suspension

Ask your doctor if Welchol Oral Suspension is safe for you to take if you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. Discuss other health conditions and allergies you have and provide your doctor with a list of any over the counter or Rx medications you are taking, including herbal preparations and vitamin or dietary supplements. This will help your doctor decide if Welchol Oral Suspension is the right medication for you.

Welchol Oral Suspension Precautions

You should not take Welchol Oral Suspension if you have a history of bowel obstruction, if you have very high levels of triglycerides, or if you have ever had pancreatitis caused by high triglycerides. Until you know how your body will react to Welchol Oral Suspension, do not drive, operate machinery, or attempt any activity that could be dangerous if you are impaired in any way.

Possible Side Effects of Welchol Oral Suspension

• Constipation
• Heartburn
• Stomach discomfort or upset
• Sour stomach