CLOZAPINE

(KLOE za peen) Brand: Clozaril, FazaClo

What is the most significant information I must know about clozapine?

• Serious and sometimes fatal infections may occur during treatment with clozapine. Call your doctor right away if you have signs of infection such as: sudden weakness or ill feeling, fever, chills, sore throat, mouth sores, red or swollen gums, and trouble swallowing.

• Clozapine is not for use in psychotic conditions related to dementia. Clozapine may reason heart failure, sudden death, or pneumonia in older adults with dementia-related conditions.

• You must not take clozapine if you have untreated or uncontrolled epilepsy, a bone marrow mess, paralytic ileus or intestinal blockage, a history of infection caused by taking clozapine, or if you are also using drugs that weaken your immune system (such as cancer medication or steroids).

• Clozapine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. This can create it easier for you to develop a serious or life-threatening infection. Your blood will need to be tested often.

• Clozapine may impair your thinking or reactions, and may reason seizures (black-out or convulsions). Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert.

What is clozapine?

• Clozapine is an antipsychotic medicine. It works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain.

• Clozapine is used to treat severe schizophrenia, or to reduce the risk of suicidal behavior in people with schizophrenia or similar disorders.

• Clozapine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking clozapine?

• Clozapine is not for use in psychotic conditions related to dementia. Clozapine may reason heart failure, sudden death, or pneumonia in older adults with dementia-related conditions.

• You must not take clozapine if you are allergic to it, or if you have:

· untreated or uncontrolled epilepsy;

· a bone marrow disorder;

· paralytic ileus or intestinal blockage;

· a history of infection caused by taking clozapine; or

· if you are also using drugs that weaken your immune system (such as cancer medication or steroids).

• To create certain clozapine is safety for you, speak your doctor if you have:

· heart malady or prior heart onslaught, or a private or family history of Long QT syndrome;

· weak immune system (caused by malady or by using determined medicine);

· epilepsy or another seizure mess, or a history of head injury or brain tumor;

· lung disease;

· diabetes, or risk factors such as being overweight or having a family history of diabetes;

· liver or kidney disease;

· tall cholesterol or triglycerides;

· an enlarged prostate or urination problems;

· glaucoma; or

· if you smoke.

• FDA pregnancy category B. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

• Taking antipsychotic medicine during the recent 3 months of pregnancy may reason problems in the newborn, such as withdrawal symptoms, breathing problems, feeding problems, fussiness, tremors, and limp or stiff muscles. However, you may have withdrawal symptoms or another problems if you stop taking your medication during pregnancy. If you become pregnant while taking clozapine, do not stop taking it without your doctor's advice.

• Clozapine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing child. You must not breast-feed while you are taking clozapine.

How must I take clozapine?

• Your doctor will perform blood trials to create certain you do not have conditions that would prevent you from safely using clozapine.

• Follow all directions on your prescription label. Your doctor may occasionally change your doze to create certain you get the excellent results. Do not take this medication in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended.

• Clozapine can be taken with or without food.

• The orally-disintegrating tablet (FazaClo) can be taken without water. Hold the tablet in its blister pack before you are ready to take it. Open the package and peel back the foil. Do not push a tablet through the foil or you may hurt the tablet. Use dry hands to remove the tablet and seat it in your mouth. Do not swallow the tablet intact. Let it to dissolve in your mouth without chewing. If desired, you may drink liquid to help swallow the dissolved tablet.

• If your doctor has predesigned one-half of an orally-disintegrating tablet, you will need to interrupt the tablet in half. Throw the another half away. Do not save it for later use.

• Clozapine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections, especially in women and older adults, and in people who are malnourished or have serious medical problems. This can create it easier for you to develop a serious or life-threatening infection. Your blood will need to be tested often. Your future treatments may be delayed based on the results of these trials.

• If you need surgery, speak the surgeon onward of time that you are using clozapine. You may need to stop using the medication for a short time.

• You must not stop using clozapine suddenly or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Follow your doctor's instructions about tapering your dose.

• If you stop taking clozapine for more than 2 days in a row, call your doctor till you start taking it again.

• Clozapine can have long lasting effects on your body. You may need frequent medical trials for a short time after you stop using this medicine.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. Skip the missed doze if it is nearly time for your following scheduled doze. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.

What must I avoid while taking clozapine?

• Clozapine may impair your thinking or reactions, and may reason seizures (black-out or convulsions). Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert.

• Avoid getting up too quick from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It can magnify some of the side effects of clozapine.

What are the possible side effects of clozapine?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.

• Serious and sometimes fatal infections may occur during treatment with clozapine. Call your doctor right away if you have signs of infection such as:

· sudden weakness or ill feeling;

· fever, chills, sore throat; or

· mouth sores, red or swollen gums, and trouble swallowing.

• Stop using clozapine and call your doctor at once if you have:

· skin rash, light bruising or bleeding, severe tingling, numbness, pain, muscle weakness;

· headache with chest pain and severe dizziness, fainting, quick or pounding heartbeats;

· sudden cough, wheezing, rapid breathing, coughing up blood;

· seizure (black-out or convulsions);

· a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;

· feeling short of breath (even while lying down or with mild exertion), swelling in your hands or feet;

· very stiff (rigid) muscles, tall fever, sweating, confusion, quick or uneven heartbeats, tremors;

· tight feeling in your neck or jaw, twitching or uncontrollable movements of your eyes, lips, tongue, person, arms, or legs;

· few or no urinating;

· tall blood sugar (increased thirst, heighten urination, famine, fruity breath odor, dry skin, weight loss);

· nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or

· slow heart course, weak pulse, slow breathing (breathing may stop).

• General side effects may include:

· weight gain;

· constipation;

· dry mouth, blurred vision;

· drooling, especially at night; or

· drowsiness, dizziness, spinning sensation.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect clozapine?

• Taking clozapine with another drugs that create you sleepy or slow your breathing can worsen these effects. Ask your doctor till taking clozapine with a sleeping pill, narcotic pain medication, muscle relaxer, or medication for anxiety, depression, or seizures.

• Much drugs can interact with clozapine. Not all possible interactions are listed here. Speak your doctor about all your medications and any you start or stop using during treatment with clozapine, especially:

· methadone;

· any another medicines to treat a psychiatric mess, especially chlorpromazine, clozapine, haloperidol, iloperidone, mesoridazine, pimozide, thioridazine, or ziprasidone;

· arsenic trioxide, vandetanib, vemurafenib;

· an antibiotic--azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, pentamidine;

· an antidepressant--amitriptyline, citalopram, clomipramine, desipramine;

· anti-malaria medication--artemether and lumefantrine, chloroquine, halofantrine, mefloquine;

· heart rhythm medicine--amiodarone, dofetilide, disopyramide, dronedarone, flecainide, ibutilide, procainamide, propafenone, quinidine, sotalol;

· medication to prevent or treat nausea and vomiting--dolasetron, droperidol, ondansetron;

· migraine headache medicine--sumatriptan, zolmitriptan; or

· Valium or similar sedatives.

• This list is not complete and much another drugs can interact with clozapine. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal commodity. Give a list of all your medicines to any healthcare provider who treats you.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about clozapine.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.