does arava cause lipids to increase

[Guest guest]

Okay I have never had elevated triglcerides..now they are 240 and

normal is below 150...Could it be the arava? My rheumy asked me if I

Had problems with my lipids. I said I never did..So can the arava

cause this? diane

[Guest guest]

Yes, Diane, Arava (leflunomide) can cause hyperlipidemia.

http://www.drugs.com/ppa/leflunomide.html

Not an MD

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 5:51 PM, diane crawford <nuttynurse25@...> wrote:

> Okay I have never had elevated triglcerides..now they are 240 and

> normal is below 150...Could it be the arava? My rheumy asked me if I

> Had problems with my lipids. I said I never did..So can the arava

> cause this? diane

[Guest guest]

gina, I knew you would find it..I thought so..Ill let my family docter

know because i had a health screenin at work . maybe have it repeated

in a few months..I really dont want to go off the arava or add another

medication...thanks diane

[Guest guest]

Diane,

Arava did raise my cholesterol. I told my rheumy, and he said, " Arava

doesn't raise cholesterol. Who told you that? " As I remember, it was

listed way down at the bottom in the fine print on the information

about Arava. So I sent the information to him by email. I don't expect

doctors to remember all of the side effects of every medication. This

is apparently a very rare side effect.

It really didn't bother me, because it raised my cholesterol enough so

that my endocrinologist would finally prescribe a statin for it. At the

time, it was already too high to suit me.

Sue

On Friday, October 10, 2008, at 06:51 PM, diane crawford wrote:

> Okay I have never had elevated triglcerides..now they are 240 and

> normal is below 150...Could it be the arava? My rheumy asked me if I

> Had problems with my lipids. I said I never did..So can the arava

> cause this? diane