LEFLUNOMIDE

(le FLOO noe mide) Brand: Arava

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

• Leflunomide can harm an unborn child or reason birth defects. Do not use leflunomide if you are pregnant. Your doctor may want you to have a pregnancy test to create certain you are not pregnant till you start taking leflunomide.

• Stop taking leflunomide and speak your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. You will need to receive medications to help your body eliminate the drug quickly and reduce the risk of harm to your unborn baby.

• Use effective birth control while you are taking leflunomide, whether you are a man or a woman. After your treatment ends, continue using birth control before you have received the drug elimination medications.

• Till taking leflunomide, speak your doctor if you have a history of liver malady or hepatitis, kidney malady, any type of infection, a history of tuberculosis, a blood cell mess such as anemia or low platelets, a bone marrow mess, or if you are using any drugs that weaken your immune system (such as cancer medication or steroids).

• Leflunomide can create it easier for you to get sick. Avoid being around people who have colds, the flu, or another contagious illnesses. Contact your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.

• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while you are being treated with leflunomide, and avoid coming into contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine. There is a chance that the virus could be passed on to you.

• After you stop taking leflunomide, you may need to be treated with another medications to help your body eliminate leflunomide quickly. Without receiving this drug elimination procedure, leflunomide could remain in your body for up to 2 years. Follow your doctor's instructions.

What is leflunomide?

• Leflunomide affects the immune system and reduces swelling and inflammation in the body.

• Leflunomide is used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Leflunomide also helps reduce joint hurt and improves physical functioning.

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

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

• You must not use this medicine if you are allergic to leflunomide, if you have liver malady, or if you are pregnant or may become pregnant.

• If you have any of these another conditions, you may need a doze adjustment or particular trials to safely take this medication:

· a history of liver malady or hepatitis;

· kidney disease;

· any type of infection;

· a history of tuberculosis;

· a blood cell mess (such as anemia, light bruising or bleeding);

· a weak immune system or bone marrow mess; or

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

• FDA pregnancy category X. This medicine can reason birth defects. Do not use leflunomide if you are pregnant. Your doctor may want you to have a pregnancy test to create certain you are not pregnant till you start taking leflunomide.

• Stop taking leflunomide if you miss a period, and speak your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. If you become pregnant while taking leflunomide, you will need to receive medications to help your body eliminate the drug quickly. This will reduce the risk of harm to your unborn child. You will also need to go through this drug elimination procedure if you plan to become pregnant after you stop taking leflunomide.

• Use effective birth control while you are taking leflunomide. After your treatment ends, continue using birth control before you have received the drug elimination medications.

• If a man fathers a baby during or after leflunomide treatment, the child may have birth defects. Use a condom to prevent pregnancy while you are taking leflunomide. After your treatment ends, continue using condoms before you have received the medications to help your body eliminate leflunomide.

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

How must I take leflunomide?

• 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.

• Till you start taking leflunomide, you may need a skin test to create certain you do not have tuberculosis.

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

• Leflunomide can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. This can create it easier for you to get sick from being near others who are ill. To be certain your blood cells do not get too low, your blood will need to be tested often. Your liver function may also need to be tested. Visit your doctor regularly.

• Rheumatoid arthritis is often treated with a combination of drugs. Use all medications as directed by your doctor. Read the medicine manual or patient instructions provided with every medicine. Do not change your doses or medicine schedule without your doctor's advice.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.

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 diarrhea, stomach pain, light bruising or bleeding, dark urine, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

What must I avoid while taking leflunomide?

• Avoid being around people who have colds, the flu, or another contagious illnesses. Contact your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.

• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using leflunomide, and avoid coming into contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine. There is a chance that the virus could be passed on to you. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), oral polio, typhoid, chickenpox (varicella), BCG (Bacillus Calmette and Guérin), and nasal flu vaccine.

What are the possible side effects of leflunomide?

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

• Stop using leflunomide and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

· fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;

· white patches or sores internal your mouth or on your lips;

· chest pain;

· chest pain, dry cough, wheezing, feeling short of breath (you may also have a fever);

· pain or burning when you urinate;

· pale skin, light bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;

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

· fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash.

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· mild stomach pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite;

· weight loss;

· headache, dizziness;

· back pain;

· numbness or tingling;

· runny or stuffy nose, cool symptoms; or

· mild itching or skin rash.

• 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 leflunomide?

• Till taking leflunomide, speak your doctor if you are taking cholestyramine (Questran, Prevalite, LoCHOLEST) or rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane).

• Also speak your doctor if you are using medications that can weaken your immune system, such as:

· methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall);

· cancer medications;

· cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, Gengraf);

· sirolimus (Rapamune), tacrolimus (Prograf);

· basiliximab (Simulect), muromonab-CD3 (Orthoclone);

· mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept); or

· azathioprine (Imuran), etanercept (Enbrel).

• Leflunomide can harm your liver. This effect is heighten when you also use another medicines deleterious to the liver, such as:

· acetaminophen (Tylenol);

· tuberculosis medications;

· birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy;

· another arthritis medications such as auranofin (Ridaura) or aurothioglucose (Solganol);

· an ACE inhibitor such as benazepril (Lotensin), enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), quinapril (Accupril), ramipril (Altace), and others;

· an antibiotic such as dapsone or erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole);

· an antifungal medicine such as fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), or ketoconazole (Nizoral);

· cholesterol medications such as niacin (Advicor, Niaspan, Niacor, Slo-Niacin, and others), atorvastatin (Lipitor, Caduet), simvastatin (Zocor, Simcor, Vytorin), and others;

· HIV/AIDS medications such as abacavir/lamivudine/zidovudine (Trizivir), lamivudine (Combivir, Epivir), nevirapine (Viramune), tenofovir (Viread), or zidovudine (Retrovir);

· an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Naprelan, Treximet), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Arthrotec, Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren, Flector Patch, Pennsaid, Solareze), indomethacin (Indocin), meloxicam (Mobic), and others; or

· seizure medications such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin), felbamate (Felbatol), valproic acid (Depakene).

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with leflunomide. 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 leflunomide.

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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