Reliable contraception is essential if a person is capable of becoming pregnant. There is insufficient information to know whether males taking leflunomide pass on an increased risk for fetal damage or death to their unborn child. Therefore, males planning a family should take the same precautions as potential mothers. Under certain circumstances, treatment to eliminate leflunomide from the body may be important. This is done with a drug called cholestyramine.
Blood tests can determine that leflunomide has been eliminated from the body.
Without cholestyramine therapy, it may take 2 years for the body to eliminate leflunomide. Potential side-effects include irritation of the liver. This was usually reversible. Liver blood tests are checked before starting leflunomide and then monthly. After a patient has been on a stable dose of leflunomide, some physicians decrease the frequency of liver blood testing.