Cholestyramine Powder

Cholestyramine Powder is used for:

Lowering blood cholesterol levels. It is used along with changes in diet. It is used to relieve itching caused by partial biliary obstruction. It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Cholestyramine Powder is a bile acid sequestrant/anion-exchange resin. It works 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 bile acids. This causes the blood level of cholesterol to decrease.

Do NOT use Cholestyramine Powder if:

• you are allergic to any ingredient in Cholestyramine Powder
• you have a complete obstruction of your biliary tract, severe constipation (eg, impacted feces), high blood chloride levels, or certain types of elevated blood lipid levels (type III, IV, or V hyperlipidemia)
• if you are taking mycophenolate

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

Before using Cholestyramine Powder:

Some medical conditions may interact with Cholestyramine Powder. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:

• if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding
• if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
• if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
• if you have heart disease; constipation; hemorrhoids; gallbladder problems; blood, bleeding, or clotting problems; high blood levels of triglycerides; poor absorption from the intestinal tract or other intestinal problems; kidney problems; or phenylketonuria (PKU)
• if you are dehydrated

Some MEDICINES MAY INTERACT with Cholestyramine Powder. Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

• Anticoagulants (eg, warfarin), beta-blockers (eg, propranolol), digoxin, digitoxin, estrogens, hormonal contraceptives (eg, birth control pills), mycophenolate, penicillins (eg, amoxicillin), phenobarbital, phenylbutazone, phosphate supplements, progestins (eg, medroxyprogesterone), tetracyclines (eg, doxycycline), thiazide diuretics (eg, hydrochlorothiazide), or thyroid hormones (eg, levothyroxine) because their effectiveness may be decreased by Cholestyramine Powder
• Spironolactone because the risk of high blood chloride levels may be increased

This may not be a complete list of all interactions that may occur. Ask your health care provider if Cholestyramine Powder may interact with other medicines that you take. Check with your health care provider before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.