Welchol Alcohol Interaction

Welchol Alcohol

Welchol igeneric name colesevelam given to a family of drugs known as cholesterol, reducers and is used alone or with other drugs. It is often used with other medicines to control blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.

It is a bile acid sequestrant and works to decrease cholesterol by increasing the removal of bile acids from the body. As the body loses bile acids it replaces them by converting cholesterol from the blood to the bile acids. This causes the blood level of cholesterol to decrease.

It is suggested moderate drinking only while using this drug as the drug’s effectiveness may be decreased and the side effects may be increased.

At this time the medical community defines moderate consumption of alcohol as no more than two drinks per day and no more than 14 drinks per week. If anything more than that it is considered an unhealthy dependency on alcohol that may have adverse social, family and health consequences.

If a person drinks only once or twice a week but drinks on the same days each week and more than two drinks this is considered as an alcohol dependency.

If a person binge drinks at any time during the week this is also considered as alcoholism.

Some consider alcoholism as a disease while others consider it an addiction which is the result of personal choice and character fault. This school of thought blames the alcoholism on life style choices.

Personally I consider alcoholism a genetic tendency as I have seen families of alcoholics even when they live far apart. These unfortunate people are probably dependent on alcohol from the first drink.

When alcohol interacts with prescription or over the counter drugs it usually results in negative health effects most especially liver damage as the main organ affected.

Before using this drug advise your doctor if you are allergic to any other drug or substance, if you are using dietary or herbal supplements, are pregnant, plan to be or are breastfeeding, trouble swallowing, hemorrhoids, high triglycerides or stomach or bowel problems, have low levels of certain vitamins A,D,E,K or nutrient absorption problems.r

Side Effects

Less serious side effects are constipation, headache, indigestion, mild stomach pain, muscle aches, nausea, sore throat, stomach discomfort, tired or weak. If these occur call your physician for advice.

Serious side effects are severe allergic reactions such as hives difficult breathing, tight chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips or tongue, choking, difficult swallowing, severe constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, severe dizziness or headache, symptoms of pancreas inflammation such as severe stomach or back psin with or without nausea or vomiting, stomach tenderness or swelling, throat pain or irritation.If these occur get emergency medical help.

This site serves as an information source only and does not dispense medical advice or any other kind of advice. If you are seeking medical advice you are advised to consult your own physician.

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