SAQUINAVIR

(sa KWIN a veer) Brand: Invirase

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

• Saquinavir should be taken together with other medicine called ritonavir (Norvir).

• You must not take this medicine if you are allergic to saquinavir or ritonavir (Norvir, Kaletra).

• Till you take saquinavir, speak your doctor if you have liver malady, diabetes; hemophilia, or tall cholesterol, heart malady, heart rhythm mess, or a history of Long QT syndrome.

• Life-threatening side effects may occur if you take saquinavir with alfuzosin (Uroxatral), amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), cisapride (Propulsid), dofetilide (Tikosyn), flecainide (Tambocor), lidocaine, lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev, Advicor), midazolam (Versed), pimozide (Orap), propafenone (Rythmol), quinidine (Quin-G), rifampin (Rifater, Rifadin, Rifamate), sildenafil (Revatio, for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension), simvastatin (Zocor, Simcor, Vytorin, Juvisync), trazodone (Desyrel), triazolam (Halcion), or an ergot medication such as Ergomar, Cafergot, Ergotrate, Migranal, or Methergine.

• Many another drugs can interact with saquinavir. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor. Hold a list of all your medicines and show it to any healthcare provider who treats you.

• HIV/AIDS is generally treated with a combination of drugs. Use all medications as directed by your doctor. Do not change your doses or medicine schedule without your doctor's advice. Each face with HIV or AIDS must stay under the care of a doctor.

• Taking this medicine will not prevent you from passing HIV to another people. Avoid having unprotected sex or sharing razors or toothbrushes. Conversation with your doctor about safety ways to prevent HIV transmission during sex. Sharing drug or medication needles is never safety, even for a healthy person.

What is saquinavir?

• Saquinavir is an antiviral medicine that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.

• Saquinavir is used to treat HIV, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Saquinavir is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

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

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

• You must not take this medicine if you are allergic to saquinavir or ritonavir (Norvir, Kaletra).

• Life-threatening side effects may occur if you take saquinavir with:

· amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone);

· cisapride (Propulsid);

· flecainide (Tambocor);

· lovastatin (Mevacor, Altoprev, Advicor) or simvastatin (Zocor, Simcor, Vytorin);

· midazolam (Versed) or triazolam (Halcion);

· pimozide (Orap);

· propafenone (Rythmol);

· quinidine (Quin-G);

· rifampin (Rifater, Rifadin, Rifamate); or

· an ergot medication such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal Nasal Spray), ergonovine (Ergotrate), or methylergonovine (Methergine).

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

· liver disease;

· heart malady, heart rhythm mess, or a history of Long QT syndrome;

· diabetes;

· hemophilia; or

· tall cholesterol or triglycerides.

• FDA pregnancy category B. This medicine is not expected to be deleterious to an unborn child, but HIV can be passed to your child if you are not properly treated during pregnancy. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection.

• Saquinavir can create birth control pills smaller effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking saquinavir.

• Women with HIV or AIDS must not breast-feed a child. Even if your child is born without HIV, the virus may be passed to the child in your breast milk.

• Do not give this medicine to a baby younger than 16 years old without the advice of a doctor.

How must I take saquinavir?

• 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.

• This medicine comes with patient instructions for safety and effective use. Follow these directions carefully. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.

• Saquinavir should be taken together with other medicine called ritonavir (Norvir).

• Take saquinavir and ritonavir with food or within 2 hours after eating a full meal.

• To be certain saquinavir is helping your condition, your blood will need to be tested often. Your liver function may also need to be tested. Visit your doctor regularly.

• Use saquinavir regularly to get the most benefit. Get your prescription refilled till you run out of medication completely.

• HIV/AIDS is generally 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. Each face with HIV or AIDS must stay under the care of a doctor.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Hold the bottle tightly closed when not in use.

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 saquinavir?

What are the possible side effects of saquinavir?

• 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 taking saquinavir and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

· heighten thirst or urination, overweening famine, fruity breath odor;

· cough with yellow or green mucus, stabbing chest pain, wheezing, feeling short of breath;

· fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, mouth and throat ulcers;

· any type of infection, skin infection, or open sores;

· rapid heart course, heighten sweating, tremors in your hands, anxiety, feeling irritable, sleep problems (insomnia);

· diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, menstrual changes, impotence, loss of interest in sex;

· swelling in your neck or throat (enlarged thyroid);

· muscle weakness, weary feeling, trouble speaking or swallowing, joint or muscle pain, feeling short of breath;

· weakness or prickly feeling in your fingers or toes;

· problems with walking, breathing, speech, swallowing, or eye movement; or

· severe lower back pain, loss of bladder or bowel control.

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· mild nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;

· weary feeling; or

· changes in the shape or location of body thick (especially in your arms, legs, person, neck, breasts, and waist).

• 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 saquinavir?

• Much drugs can interact with saquinavir. Adown is just a partial list. Speak your doctor if you are using:

· atorvastatin (Lipitor, Caduet);

· digoxin (digitalis, Lanoxin);

· dexamethasone (DexPak, Cortastat, Dexasone, Solurex) and another steroids;

· fluticasone (Advair, Flonase, Flovent);

· garlic or St. John's wort;

· methadone (Diskets, Dolophine, Methadose);

· omeprazole (Prilosec);

· an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin, Pediazole), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and others;

· antifungal medicine such as itraconazole (Sporanox) or ketoconazole (Nizoral);

· any another HIV/AIDS medication;

· a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven);

· an antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), desipramine (Norpramin), or imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil);

· drugs that weaken the immune system, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), sirolimus (Rapamune), or tacrolimus (Prograf); or

· heart or blood pressure medicine such as amlodipine (Caduet, Lotrel, Norvasc), diltiazem (Cartia, Cardizem), felodipine (Plendil), isradipine (Dynacirc), nicardipine (Cardene), nifedipine (Nifedical, Procardia), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular), or verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan);

· heart rhythm medicine such as disopyramide (Norpace), ibutilide (Corvert), procainamide (Pronestyl), or sotalol (Betapace);

· medicines to treat erectile dysfunction, such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra);

· a sedative such as alprazolam (Xanax), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), or flurazepam (Dalmane); or

· seizure medications such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), or phenytoin (Dilantin).

• This list is not complete and there are much another drugs that can interact with saquinavir. 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. Hold a list of all your medicines and show it to any healthcare provider who treats you.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about saquinavir.

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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