Colestipol Hcl
Brand names: Colestid, Colestipol Hcl
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 347,483
- Medicare drug cost
- $26.6M
- Average cost per prescription
- $76.47
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 12,572
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Since no drug is innocuous, strict attention should be paid to the indications and contraindications, particularly when selecting drugs for chronic long-term use. COLESTID Tablets are indicated as adjunctive therapy to diet for the reduction of elevated serum total and LDL-C in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia (elevated LDL-C) who do not respond adequately to diet. Generally, COLESTID Tablets have no clinically significant effect on serum triglycerides, but with their use, triglyceride levels may be raised in some patients. Therapy with lipid-altering agents should be a component of multiple risk factor intervention in those individuals at significantly increased risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease due to hypercholesterolemia. Treatment should begin and continue with dietary therapy (see NCEP guidelines ). A minimum of six months of intensive dietary therapy and counseling should be carried out prior to initiation of drug therapy. Shorter periods may be considered in patients with severe elevations of LDL-C or with definite CHD. According to the NCEP guidelines, the goal of treatment is to lower LDL-C, and LDL-C is to be used to initiate and assess treatment response. Only if LDL-C levels are not available, should the Total-C be used to monitor therapy. The NCEP treatment guidelines are shown below.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated October 2024). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Gastroenterology 29.7%
- Nurse Practitioners 23.7%
- Family Medicine 17.8%
- Internal Medicine 13.6%
- Physician Assistants 10.7%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.8%
- General Surgery 0.6%
- General Practice 0.6%
- Colorectal Surgery 0.5%
- Hematology & Oncology 0.3%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.2%
- Cardiology 0.2%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 37% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Arkansas +66%
- Florida +58%
- Tennessee +56%
- Alabama +55%
- Georgia +51%
- California (smallest change) +5%
- Kansas (smallest change) +19%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 1 maker on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 1 g | yellow oval tablet, 19 mm | U |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.