Prescription medication · Bile Acid Sequestrant
cholestyramine
Also sold as Questran. This medicine is used with a diet to lower high cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol).
Data updated 2026-05-15
- 11,539
- FDA reportsModerately reported
- 34
- InteractionsSeveral interactions
- In shortage
- FDA status
What the data shows
cholestyramine (Questran) is a prescription Bile Acid Sequestrant, reported less often than most tracked drugs (11,539 FDA reports), with 34 documented drug interactions.
Reporting volume reflects how widely a drug is used and studied, not how dangerous it is, a FAERS report documents a temporal association, never proof of cause.
cholestyramine (Questran) is a prescription Bile Acid Sequestrant. This medicine is used with a diet to lower high cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol).
Cholestyramine is a medicine that helps lower high cholesterol levels in your blood. It works by preventing your body from absorbing cholesterol in the intestines.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Shortage Alert
cholestyramine is currently listed as to be discontinued by the FDA. Affected manufacturer: Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC.
View all drug shortages →Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$0.85/unit
Generic Available
Yes (15 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
NADAC price trail: CHOLESTYRAMINE LIGHT PACKET
Same CMS presentation as the headline generic unit price above (3 effective dates). Adjacent % compares consecutive NADAC releases for this description only, not a patient out-of-pocket quote. Latest step: +2.2% vs prior release.
| Effective | NADAC / unit | vs prior | NDCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 19, 2024 | $0.9360/EA | - | 1 |
| July 17, 2024 | $0.8347/EA | -10.8% | 1 |
| December 18, 2024 | $0.8527/EA | +2.2% | 8 |
What it does
This medicine is used with a diet to lower high cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol).
Common side effects
Constipation
Key warnings
Since cholestyramine can affect how your body absorbs other medicines, take other drugs at least 1 hour before or 4 to 6 hours after taking cholestyramine.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from cholestyramine's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Cholestyramine is a resin that binds to bile acids in your intestines. Bile acids help digest fats, including cholesterol. By binding to bile acids, cholestyramine prevents them from being reabsorbed, so your body uses cholesterol to make more bile acids, which lowers cholesterol levels in your blood.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 11,539 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for cholestyramine, by number of reports
- Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea
1,631 reports
- Fatigue
Fatigue
877 reports
- Nausea
Nausea
783 reports
- Arthralgia 621
Arthralgia
621 reports
- Headache 543
Headache
543 reports
- Abdominal Pain 524
Abdominal Pain
524 reports
- Vomiting 503
Vomiting
503 reports
- Weight Decreased 498
Weight Decreased
498 reports
- Dyspnoea 488
Dyspnoea
488 reports
- Pain 476
Pain
476 reports
What this shows Bars show how often each reaction was reported, not how likely it is to happen, a report records a temporal association, never proof that the drug caused it.
Reports over time
Adverse-event reports filed for cholestyramine each year to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
Year-to-year volume tracks usage, prescribing, and scrutiny, not a change in per-patient risk. Source: FDA FAERS.
Where cholestyramine sits
cholestyramine has more FDA adverse-event reports than 43% of the drugs FAERS tracks. A high position reflects how widely a drug is used and watched, not how dangerous it is.
Percentile across all drugs PlainMeds tracks by FAERS report volume. The dot is cholestyramine; the line is the median (50th percentile).
FDA Adverse Event Report Analysis
Detailed analysis of 11,539 reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports span 2004–2025.
Total Reports
11,539
Reports Mentioning Death
811
7.0% of reports — not proof of cause
Hospitalization Reports
3,888
Top Indication
Product Used For Unknown Indication
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Most Reported Adverse Reactions (FAERS)
| # | Reaction | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIARRHOEA | 1,631 |
| 4 | FATIGUE | 877 |
| 5 | NAUSEA | 783 |
| 6 | ARTHRALGIA | 621 |
| 7 | HEADACHE | 543 |
| 8 | ABDOMINAL PAIN | 524 |
| 9 | VOMITING | 503 |
| 10 | WEIGHT DECREASED | 498 |
| 11 | DYSPNOEA | 488 |
| 12 | PAIN | 476 |
| 13 | ASTHENIA | 456 |
| 14 | CONSTIPATION | 390 |
| 15 | MALAISE | 387 |
| 16 | DIZZINESS | 366 |
| 17 | PNEUMONIA | 365 |
Reactions in Death Reports
Reactions in Hospitalization Reports
Source: FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) Reports are voluntary and do not establish causation
Serious Warnings
Since cholestyramine can affect how your body absorbs other medicines, take other drugs at least 1 hour before or 4 to 6 hours after taking cholestyramine.
Known Drug Interactions
Cholestyramine Clinical Impact: Concomitant administration of cholestyramine can delay the absorption of naproxen. Intervention: Concomitant administration of cholestyramine with naproxen tablets or naproxen sodium tablets is not recommended.
Mechanism: Cholestyramine can slow down the absorption of naproxen into your system.
7 DRUG INTERACTIONS Lithium: Risk of lithium toxicity ( 7.2 ) Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Reduced diuretic, natriuretic and antihypotensive effects; increased risk of renal toxicity ( 7.3 ) Dual inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system: Increased risk of renal impairment, hypotension, and hyperkalemia ( 7.4 ) Colesevelam hydrochloride: Consider administering olmesartan at least 4 hours before colesevelam hydrochloride dose ( 7.5 ) Antidiabetic drugs: Dosage adjustment may be required ( 7.6 ) Cholestyramine and colestipol: Reduced absorption of thiazides ( 7.6 ) 7.1...
Mechanism: Cholestyramine can trap other medicines in your gut, which prevents your body from absorbing them properly. This can make your blood pressure medicine less effective.
7 DRUG INTERACTIONS Cholestyramine : Use with raloxifene hydrochloride is not recommended. (7.3 , 12.3) 7.1 Cholestyramine Concomitant administration of cholestyramine with raloxifene hydrochloride is not recommended.
Mechanism: Cholestyramine can stick to other medicines in your digestive tract and prevent them from being absorbed into your body. This makes the other medicine, like raloxifene, much less effective.
Drug Interactions Cholestyramine resin may delay or reduce the absorption of concomitant oral medication such as phenylbutazone, warfarin, thiazide diuretics (acidic) or propranolol (basic), as well as tetracycline, penicillin G, phenobarbital, thyroid and thyroxine preparations, estrogens and progestins and digitalis.
Mechanism: Cholestyramine can bind to propranolol in your gut and prevent it from entering your bloodstream. This means you might not get the full effect of the propranolol.
Drug Interactions Cholestyramine resin may delay or reduce the absorption of concomitant oral medication such as phenylbutazone, warfarin, thiazide diuretics (acidic) or propranolol (basic), as well as tetracycline, penicillin G, phenobarbital, thyroid and thyroxine preparations, estrogens and progestins and digitalis.
Mechanism: Cholestyramine can trap warfarin in your digestive system, which stops your body from absorbing it. This can make the blood thinner less effective.
This is a plain-language summary of FDA-label interaction records and does not provide individual medication-combination directions.
Common Questions
Can I take cholestyramine with other medications?
What should I do if I get constipated?
How long will it take to see results?
Can I mix cholestyramine with any liquid?
What is the maximum dose I can take?
Do I need to follow a special diet while taking this medicine?
What if I have trouble swallowing the mixture?
Can cholestyramine cause vitamin deficiencies?
Will this medicine cure my high cholesterol?
What should I do if I experience side effects?
What are the common side effects of cholestyramine?
Does cholestyramine interact with other medications?
What drug class is cholestyramine?
What pregnancy or breastfeeding source fields are listed for cholestyramine?
Is cholestyramine currently in shortage?
Related Medications in Bile Acid Sequestrant
Other drugs grouped near cholestyramine - same-class peers and common alternatives.
alirocumab
Praluent
Praluent is a medicine that can lower cholesterol.
Compare with cholestyramine →
atorvastatin
Lipitor
Atorvastatin is a drug that lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart problems and stroke.
Compare with cholestyramine →
bempedoic acid
Nexletol
Compare with cholestyramine →
bempedoic acid/ezetimibe
Nexlizet
Nexlizet is a combination medicine that helps lower cholesterol.
Compare with cholestyramine →
colestipol
Colestid
Colestipol is a drug that helps lower cholesterol levels in your blood.
Compare with cholestyramine →
Compare beyond drug class
Nationwide peers by FAERS volume & death-report share
Two PlainMeds-derived comparison paths for cholestyramine: nearest FDA FAERS report volume and nearest death-report share among drugs with at least 1,000 logged reports, excluding same-class neighbors listed above. Counts reflect reporting volume, not proven individual harm.
Similar FAERS report volume
Nearest drugs by total FAERS reports. This record: 11,539.
Similar death-report share
Nearest drugs by FAERS death-report share. This record: 7.03%.
- hydrochlorothiazide Δ 0.00 pts · 140,497 reports · Thiazide Diuretic 7.03%death share
- brodalumab Δ 0.01 pts · 1,890 reports · Anti-IL-17 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody 7.04%death share
- mupirocin Δ 0.01 pts · 12,758 reports · Topical Antibiotic 7.02%death share
- insulin aspart Δ 0.06 pts · 63,536 reports · Rapid-Acting Insulin 6.96%death share
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FDA bioequivalence and label-record context for narrow therapeutic index medicines
Common Drug Interactions
Dangerous medication combinations and how to protect yourself
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What the FDA Data Shows for cholestyramine
The FDA label for cholestyramine (sold under brand names such as Questran) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Bile Acid Sequestrant class. This medicine is used with a diet to lower high cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol). Official labeling lists 1 commonly reported side effect, including Constipation.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 11,539 voluntary reports. The database also lists 34 documented drug interactions derived from FDA labeling, with the top-flagged interaction rated moderate severity. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $0.85.
Report counts do not establish causation, a FAERS entry documents a temporal association, not proof that the drug produced the outcome. Widely prescribed medications naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies, so raw totals must be interpreted alongside total exposure. Shortage status, recall history, and patent information are separate source-record fields. This page is a public FDA/CMS registry and does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions.
Data Sources
Drug labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL/DailyMed). Adverse events: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Pricing: CMS National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC). Shortage status: FDA Drug Shortages Database.
FAERS reports are voluntary and do not establish causation. Drug interactions are derived from FDA labeling and clinical references. This registry does not provide medication decisions.
Last updated: December 15, 2021
PlainMeds is rendered directly from FDA openFDA/FAERS extracts, DailyMed labels, and CMS drug-pricing files, no number is typed in by an editor. FAERS counts, recalls, shortages, and price figures on this page are queried live from those federal extracts. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-15. Primary sources: openFDA / FAERS, DailyMed and CMS Part B ASP.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled from the source snapshot dated . See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a data issue.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FDA Orange Book - approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence. accessdata.fda.gov/cder/ob
- FDA DailyMed - NIH-hosted drug labeling for FDA-approved meds. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - post-marketing safety surveillance. fda.gov/drugs/faers
- NLM RxNorm - standardized clinical drug nomenclature. nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm
- CMS Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price Files - federal drug pricing data. cms.gov/medicare/part-b-drugs/asp
- FDA Drug Shortages Database - current and resolved drug shortage tracking. accessdata.fda.gov/drugshortages