MERCAPTOPURINE
(mer KAP toe PURE een) Brand: Purinethol
What is the most significant information I must know about mercaptopurine?
• Do not use mercaptopurine if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn baby.
• You must not use mercaptopurine if you are allergic to it, or if you have ever used mercaptopurine or thioguanine (Tabloid) and they were not effective in treating your condition.
• Some people using mercaptopurine have developed a rare fast-growing type of lymphoma (cancer). This condition affects the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, and it can be fatal. This has occurred mainly in teenagers and young adults using mercaptopurine or similar medicines to treat Crohn's malady or ulcerative colitis.
• Call your doctor at once if you have any of the next symptoms: fever, night sweats, itching, loss of appetite, weight loss, tiredness, feeling full after eating only a little amount, pain in your upper stomach that may spread to your shoulder, nausea, light bruising or bleeding, pale skin, feeling light-headed or short of breath, rapid heart course, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).
• Mercaptopurine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. Your blood may need to be tested often. Avoid being around people who are sick or have infections. Avoid activities that may magnify your risk of bleeding injury. Speak your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.
What is mercaptopurine?
• Mercaptopurine is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.
• Mercaptopurine is used to treat determined types of leukemia. Mercaptopurine is sometimes given with another cancer medications.
• Mercaptopurine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.
What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking mercaptopurine?
• You must not use mercaptopurine if you are allergic to it, or if you have ever used mercaptopurine or thioguanine (Tabloid) and they were not effective in treating your condition.
• Some people using mercaptopurine have developed a rare fast-growing type of lymphoma (cancer). This condition affects the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, and it can be fatal. This has occurred mainly in teenagers and young adults using mercaptopurine or similar medicines to treat Crohn's malady or ulcerative colitis.
• However, people with autoimmune disorders (including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's malady, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis) may have a higher risk of lymphoma. Conversation to your doctor about your individual risk.
• To create certain you can safely take mercaptopurine, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:
· liver disease;
· kidney malady; or
· any type of viral, bacterial, or fungal infection.
• FDA pregnancy category D. Do not use mercaptopurine if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn child. Use effective birth control, and speak your doctor if you become pregnant during treatment.
• It is not known whether mercaptopurine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. You must not breast-feed while taking mercaptopurine.
How must I take mercaptopurine?
• 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.
• Mercaptopurine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. Your blood cells, kidney function, and liver function may need to be tested often. Your cancer treatments may be delayed based on the results of these trials. Do not miss any follow up visits to your doctor for blood or urine tests.
• 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 some of the serious side effects listed in this medicine guide.
What must I avoid while taking mercaptopurine?
• Avoid being around people who are sick or have infections. Speak your doctor at once if you develop signs of infection.
• This medication can pass into body fluids (including urine, feces, vomit, semen, vaginal fluid). For at least 48 hours after you receive a doze, avoid allowing your body fluids to come into contact with your hands or another surfaces. Patients and caregivers must wear rubber gloves while cleaning up body fluids, handling contaminated trash or laundry or changing diapers. Wash hands till and after removing gloves. Wash soiled clothing and linens apart from another laundry.
• Body fluids must not be handled by a woman who is pregnant or who may become pregnant. Use condoms during sexual activity to avoid exposure to body fluids.
• Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using mercaptopurine. The vaccine may not work as well during this time, and may not fully protect you from malady. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), oral polio, rotavirus, typhoid, varicella (chickenpox), H1N1 influenza, and nasal flu vaccine.
What are the possible side effects of mercaptopurine?
• 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 mercaptopurine and call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms of lymphoma:
· fever, night sweats, weight loss, tiredness;
· feeling full after eating only a little amount;
· pain in your upper stomach that may spread to your shoulder;
· light bruising or bleeding, pale skin, feeling light-headed or short of breath, rapid heart course; or
· nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).
• Stop using mercaptopurine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these another serious side effects:
· signs of infection (fever, chills, sore throat, body aches, weakness, muscle pain, flu symptoms);
· severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
· bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds;
· pain or burning with urination; or
· white patches or sores internal your mouth or on your lips.
• Smaller serious side effects may include:
· vomiting, mild diarrhea;
· hair loss;
· mild itching or skin rash; or
· darkened skin color.
• 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 mercaptopurine?
• Speak your doctor about all another cancer treatments you are receiving. Also speak your doctor about all another medicines you use, especially:
· allopurinol;
· auranofin;
· azathioprine;
· cyclosporine;
· methotrexate;
· olsalazine, mesalamine, or sulfasalazine;
· sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim;
· thioguanine;
· birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy;
· a blood thinner such as warfarin;
· an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, diclofenac, indomethacin, meloxicam, and others; or
· an ACE inhibitor such as benazepril, enalapril, lisinopril, quinapril, ramipril, and others;
· an antibiotic such as dapsone, erythromycin, or rifampin;
· tuberculosis medications;
· cholesterol medications such as niacin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and others;
· HIV/AIDS medications such as abacavir/lamivudine/zidovudine, lamivudine, nevirapine, tenofovir, or zidovudine;
· antifungal medicine such as fluconazole, itraconazole, or ketoconazole; or
· seizure medications such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, felbamate, valproic acid.
• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with mercaptopurine. 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 doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about mercaptopurine.
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.