Drug Safety Information for WELCHOL (Colesevelam hydrochloride)

FDA Safety-related Labeling Changes for WELCHOL (COLESEVELAM HYDROCHLORIDE) Rx Drug: Safety Information Link

Adverse Drug Reactions for WELCHOL* (Colesevelam hydrochloride)

These charts and graphs are based on reports received through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) program (see below).

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with WELCHOL
(reported in FDA Medwatch/FAERS Reports)

  Side Effect # of FDA Reports
1Diarrhoea284
2Nausea*264
3Fatigue233
4Flushing224
5Drug ineffective194
6Headache191
7Weight decreased170
8Myalgia169
9Pain*159
10Dyspnoea158
11Dizziness156
12Pruritus156
13Arthralgia137
14Asthenia135
15Constipation*132
16Vomiting131
17Pain in extremity126
18Abdominal pain118
19Back pain118
20Muscle spasms*117

* This side effect also appears in "Top 10 Side Effects of WELCHOL " in the drug's Review Summary based on AskaPatient reviews.

Top 10 Reasons for Taking WELCHOL
(associated with FDA Medwatch/FAERS Reports)

Reason # of FDA Reports
1Product used for unknown indication2703
2Blood cholesterol increased*1508
3Blood cholesterol*713
4Diarrhoea528
5Hyperlipidaemia460
6Hypercholesterolaemia423
7Blood cholesterol abnormal203
8Crohn's disease165
9Irritable bowel syndrome91
10Dyslipidaemia82

*Also a top-10 reason in AskaPatient Review Summary.


Types of Adverse Events for WELCHOL

Total Reports Filed with FDA: 16216


Number of FDA Adverse Event Reports by Patient Age for WELCHOL

Total Reports Filed with FDA: 16216*


* Reports for drugs with the same active ingredients have been aggregated in this analysis: Colesevelam hydrochloride (Colesevelam, Cholestagel, Welchol)

Charts are based on 16216 reports filed with the FDA between 2004 and June 2015.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FDA by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers), health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and by patients themselves (voluntary reporting). More Information on FDA MedWatch (FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program)Voluntary reporting takes place under the FDA's MedWatch program, where health care professionals and consumers submit reports to FDA when they find a problem with a drug, medical device, biologic, or other FDA-regulated product. An adverse event is any undesirable experience or extreme side effect associated with the use of a medical product. Adverse events include: death, life threatening event, hospitalization, disability or permanent damage, congenital anomaly or birth defect, medical product use requiring a surgical or other intervention, or other serious medical situation believed to be caused by the drug.

Click to go back to search results and WELCHOL Reviews and Review Summary .

Historical Analytics of FDA Adverse Event Reports Provided by Druginformer.com. FDA Drug Safety Information, including safety-related labeling updates, required post-approval safety studies, risk evaluation management strategies (REMS), alerts, and recalls are compiled by AskaPatient.com from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.