Triglide

Fenofibrate is a prescription medication used to lower cholesterol and triglycerides (a type of fat), and to increase "good" cholesterol in the blood. It may be used alone or with other cholesterol-lowering medications. Fenofibrate belongs to a group of drugs called fibrates which work by increasing the activity of an enzyme involved in removing triglycerides and cholesterols from the body.

This medication comes in capsule and tablet form and is taken once a day, with or without food.

Common side effects of fenofibrate include headaches, heartburn, nausea, and muscle aches.

Fenofibrate is a prescription medicine used to treat cholesterol in the blood by lowering the total amount of triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and increasing the HDL (good) cholesterol.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take fenofibrate exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. Your doctor will determine the best dose for you. The dosage of fenofibrate must be individualized depending on other medicines you currently take, how you respond to fenofibrate therapy, and other medical conditions, such as renal function, you may have.

The recommended dose range of fenofibrate for the treatment of high cholesterol is 120 mg-160 mg. 

The recommended dose range of fenofibrate for the treatment of high triglycerides is 35 mg- 150 mg.

The recommended dose range of fenofibrate for the treatment of hyperlipidemia is 105-135 mg.

Do not take fenofibrate if you:

• are allergic to fenofibric acid, or any of the ingredients in fenofibrate. 
• have severe kidney disease.
• have liver disease.
• have gallbladder disease.
• are a nursing mother.

Talk to your healthcare provider before you take fenofibrate if you have any of these conditions.

Fenofibrate may cause serious side effects, including:

• muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness. 
• tiredness and fever.
• abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting. These may be signs of inflammation (swelling) of the gallbladder or pancreas.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these serious side effects.

The most common side effects with fenofibrate include:

• headache
• heartburn (indigestion)
• nausea
• muscle aches
• increases in muscle or liver enzymes that are measured by blood tests

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of fenofibrate. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Using fenofibrate with certain other medicines can affect the way these medicines work and other medicines may affect how fenofibrate works. In some cases, using fenofibrate with other medicines can cause serious side effects.

It is especially important to tell your healthcare provider if you take:

• heart medicine
• anticoagulants, also known as blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• bile acid resins

Fenofibrate can be used with other cholesterol-lowering medicines called statins. Other medicines or large amounts of grapefruit juice (more than a quart) may raise the levels of statins in your body, and could then raise the risk of muscle problems. Tell your healthcare provider if you are taking:

• heart medicine
• stomach medicine
• antibiotic
• anti-fungal
• cholesterol-lowering medicine
• hormones
• HIV/AIDS medicine
• antidepressant
• immunosuppressant
• anti-seizure medicine

This is not a complete list of fenofibrate drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if fenofibrate will harm your unborn baby.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if fenofibrate passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will take fenofibrate or breastfeed. You should not do both.

Fenofibrate can be used with other cholesterol-lowering medicines such as statins.

You should be on a low fat and low cholesterol diet while you take fenofibrate.

Your healthcare provider may do blood tests before you start taking fenofibrate and during treatment.

See your healthcare provider regularly to check your cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to check for side effects.