Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Fenofibrate as follows:
- Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
- Take the medication dose with a glass of water at the same time, every day, to avoid forgetting the intake of medication.
- This medication can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Take the tablet/capsule as a whole. Do not cut, crush, or chew the Fenofibrate tablet/capsule, which can result in rapid absorption of the medication into the blood stream and compromise the therapeutic benefit of Fenofibrate intake. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole tablet/capsule, contact your physician for a change in plan of care to be considered.
- Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
- Avoid drinking alcohol with Fenofibrate. Alcohol, by itself, carries the risk of elevating the bad cholesterol and triglycerides, thus compromising the therapeutic benefit of Fenofibrate intake. In addition, alcohol with Fenofibrate can increase the risk for hepatitis and damage to the liver function.
- When used as part of combination therapy for lowering the blood cholesterol, Fenofibrate could be taken at the same time with some lipid lowering medications and should be avoided taking at the same time with some other lipid lowering medications.
- Fenofibrate could be taken at the same time with statins and zetia, but should be avoided from being taken at the same time with bile acid sequestrants or binders, such as, cholestyramine and colestipol. Bile acid binders not only bind the bile acids, but also bind with the Fenofibrate, if taken together. This binding inhibits the absorption of Fenofibrate in the intestines, thus compromising the therapeutic benefit of Fenofibrate intake. If both bile acid binders and Fenofibrate are prescribed for lowering blood cholesterol, space them out by atleast 4 hours, to avoid compromising the therapeutic benefit of Fenofibrate.
- Observe compliance with other measures for reducing blood cholesterol levels, to derive optimum benefit from the medication, such as, low fat diet and smoking cessation. Also, consider life-style changes, such as, physical exercise based on endurance, and weight loss, if obese.
- It takes about a month or two and may be even longer, before the cholesterol levels are lowered and the benefits of medication are noted. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Your physician could change the dose of Fenofibrate, based on the lab results obtained for blood lipid levels. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and lab draws ordered. Be accommodative to the plan of frequent dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Continue taking Fenofibrate as ordered, even if your lab results show the cholesterol and triglyceride levels under control. Abrupt discontinuation on Fenofibrate intake can elevate the lipid levels back again. Discontinuing the medication should only be on your physician’s recommendation.
