Question: What adverse effects happen to people who take clofibrate and gemifibrozil? What are the less serious side effects? What people can be prescribed these drugs? How much triglyceride is reduced with these drugs?
Gemfibrozil Adverse Effects
About half the deaths with clofibrate were due to malignancies such as liver cancer. Gall bladder disease or complications from gall bladder surgery were also responsible for some of the deaths. An increase in heart arrhythmia (loss of rhythmic heartbeat), blood clotting and angina have been reported in people taking clofibrate. Gemifibrozil is closely related to clofibrate and so it is considered to have the same potential risk for toxicity, including gall bladder problems and cancer, also an increased risk of death not linked to heart disease.
Clofibrate Side Effects
Nausea, blurred vision, stomach upset, dizziness, rash, weakness, liver function problems, diarrhea and muscle pain are some of the less serious side effects.
Clofibrate and gemifibrozil can be prescribed to people who have high triglyceride level due to genetic disorder say about 2000mg/dL or more. These people are also at the risk of developing pancreatitis, which is a serious, painful inflammation of the pancreas. Gemifibrozil is prescribed more often than clofibrate and it may also be used to prevent the development of heart disease in people with a combination of high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol.
These drugs reduce triglycerides by twenty to fifty percent while increasing HDL cholesterol by ten to fifteen percent. But they lower LDL cholesterol by only about ten to fifteen percent.