ENTACAPONE

(en TAK a pone) Brand: Comtan

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

• You may have heighten sexual urges, unusual urges to gamble, or another intense urges while taking this medicine. Conversation with your doctor if you believe you have any intense or unusual urges while taking entacapone.

• Avoid drinking alcohol, which can magnify some of the side effects of entacapone.

• Cool or allergy medication, narcotic pain medication, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medication for seizures, depression or anxiety can add to sleepiness caused by entacapone. Speak your doctor if you regularly use any of these another medicines.

• Entacapone may reason hallucinations (the sensation of hearing or seeing something that is not there), most commonly among elderly people. Call your doctor if you experience hallucinations.

• Do not stop using entacapone without first talking to your doctor. You may need to use smaller and smaller till you stop the medicine completely.

• Some people taking Parkinson's malady medications have developed skin cancer (melanoma). However, people with Parkinson's malady may have a higher risk of melanoma. Conversation to your doctor about this risk and what skin symptoms to watch for. You may need to have regular skin exams.

What is entacapone?

• When used with carbidopa and levodopa (Atamet, Parcopa, Sinemet), entacapone increases levels of levodopa in the body.

• Entacapone is used together with carbidopa and levodopa to treat "wearing-off" symptoms of Parkinson's malady, such as stiffness, tremors, muscle spasms, and poor muscle control.

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

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

• You must not use entacapone if you are allergic to it, or if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as furazolidone (Furoxone), isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) in the recent 14 days.

• To create certain you can safely take entacapone, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:

· low blood pressure; or

· liver disease.

• FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether entacapone will harm an unborn child. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.

• It is not known whether entacapone passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. Do not take entacapone without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

• Entacapone may reason hallucinations (the sensation of hearing or seeing something that is not there), most commonly among elderly people. Call your doctor if you experience hallucinations.

How must I take entacapone?

• Take exactly as predesigned by your doctor. Do not take in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Your doctor may occasionally change your doze to create certain you get the excellent results.

• Entacapone should be taken together with carbidopa and levodopa. Entacapone used alone will not treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

• Entacapone can be taken with or without food. Taking the medication with food may help prevent nausea, which is a general side effect of entacapone.

• Drink plenty of liquids while you are taking entacapone.

• Call your doctor if you have ongoing vomiting or diarrhea, or if you are sweating more than normal. You can easily become dehydrated while taking this medicine, which can lead to severely low blood pressure or a serious electrolyte imbalance.

• Do not stop using entacapone without first talking to your doctor. You may need to use smaller and smaller till you stop the medicine completely.

• 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.

• Overdose symptoms may include stomach cramps, diarrhea, loss of coordination, trouble breathing, or seizure (convulsions).

What must I avoid while taking entacapone?

• This medicine may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert.

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

• 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.

What are the possible side effects of entacapone?

• 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.

• Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

· nausea, sweating, feeling like you might pass out;

· fever, stiff muscles, confusion, and sweating (especially when you first start taking entacapone);

· new or worsening cough, fever, trouble breathing;

· hallucinations;

· severe or ongoing diarrhea, extreme thirst, heighten urination, weight loss, leg discomfort, muscle weakness or limp feeling, uneven heart rate;

· worsening symptoms such as tremors, twitching or uncontrollable movements of your eyes, lips, tongue, person, arms, or legs; or

· feeling very thirsty or hot, being unable to urinate, hard sweating, or hot and dry skin

· unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine.

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· mild dizziness;

· constipation;

· back pain;

· feeling tired;

· mild diarrhea; or

· mild nausea or stomach pain.

• You may announcement that your urine appears orange, red, brown, or black in color. This is not a deleterious side effect.

• 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 entacapone?

• Speak your doctor about all another medicines you use, especially:

· apomorphine (Apokyn);

· bitolterol (Tornalate);

· cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran);

· dobutamine (Dobutrex);

· epinephrine (Epi-Pen, and others);

· isoetharine (Bronkosol, Bronkometer);

· isoproterenol (Isuprel, Medihaler-Iso);

· methyldopa (Aldomet);

· probenecid (Benemid); or

· an antibiotic such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole, and others), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate).

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with entacapone. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal commodity. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about entacapone.

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.

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