I Am Taking Colesevelam 625 For High Colesteral And Getting

Posted on Sat, 13 Oct 2018

Question: I am taking Colesevelam 625 for high colesteral and getting diarea and bowel pain
with it! Is this a Statin that I am taking? I've taken Wehlcol for several years and never had a pain from it but my Dr. had me change to Colesevelam now because of the price of Welchol. Thank you for any help that you can give me!
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Boynton Beach Fl

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's not a Statin, please see the detailed answer below...

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service...
I've gone through your query in details...
I can understand your concern...

Firstly, please note that Colesevelam is the generic name of the drug, which is marketed under the brand name of Welchol only. The other alternative available brands of Colesevelam are Cholestagel and Lodalis (you can get it in Canada). But these other two brands aren't available in the US due to international distributorship and different company policies.

These are not the Statin group of drugs. They are actually resins which tend to bind to certain components of bile acids inside our GI-tract which in turn decreases the cholesterol levels.

Diarrhea and abdominal cramp/pain, in fact, one of the most common side effects of taking this group of drugs. Please discuss this with your doctor, as since you've started getting these symptoms, perhaps, s/he may consider switching over to Statins instead.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take Care
Kind Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee