STAVUDINE

(STA vue deen) Brand: Zerit

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

• Stavudine must not be taken together with any HIV combination that includes zidovudine (Combivir, Retrovir, or Trizivir).

• Some people develop lactic acidosis while taking stavudine. Early symptoms may get worse over time and this condition can be fatal. Get abnormal medical help if you have even mild symptoms such as: muscle pain or weakness, numb or cool feeling in your arms and legs, trouble breathing, stomach pain, nausea with vomiting, quick or uneven heart course, dizziness, or feeling very weak or weary.

• Stavudine can also reason severe or life-threatening effects on your liver or pancreas. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these symptoms while taking stavudine: severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, quick heart course, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

• Till taking stavudine, speak your doctor if you have kidney malady, liver malady, a history of pancreatitis, or if you have used a medication similar to stavudine in the past, such as abacavir (Ziagen), didanosine (Videx), emtricitabine (Atripla, Complera, Emtriva, Truvada), lamivudine (Epivir, Combivir, Epzicom, Trizivir), tenofovir (Viread), zalcitabine (Hivid), or zidovudine (Retrovir).

What is stavudine?

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

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

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

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

• You must not take stavudine if you are allergic to it.

• Stavudine must not be taken together with any HIV combination that includes zidovudine (Combivir, Retrovir, or Trizivir).

• Some people have developed a life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis while taking stavudine. You may be more likely to develop lactic acidosis if you are overweight or have liver malady, if you are a woman, or if you have taken determined HIV or AIDS medications for a long time. Conversation with your doctor about your individual risk.

• Stavudine can also reason severe or life-threatening effects on your liver or pancreas. Speak your doctor if you have liver malady or a history of pancreatitis.

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

· kidney malady;

· diabetes (stavudine liquid contains 250 milligrams of sucrose for teaspoon); or

· if you have used a medication similar to stavudine in the past, such as abacavir (Ziagen), didanosine (Videx), emtricitabine (Atripla, Complera, Emtriva, Truvada), lamivudine (Epivir, Combivir, Epzicom, Trizivir), tenofovir (Viread), zalcitabine (Hivid), or zidovudine (Retrovir).

• FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether this medicine is deleterious to an unborn child. HIV can be passed to the child if the mother is not properly treated during pregnancy. Stavudine may also be more likely to reason lactic acidosis in a pregnant woman. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection while you are pregnant.

• If you are pregnant, your name may be listed on a pregnancy registry. This is to track the outcome of the pregnancy and to estimate any effects of stavudine on the baby.

• You must not breast-feed while you are using stavudine. Women with HIV or AIDS must not breast-feed at all. Even if your child is born without HIV, you may still pass the virus to the child in your breast milk.

How must I take stavudine?

• Take this medicine exactly as it was predesigned for you. Do not take the medicine in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Do not take stavudine as your only HIV medicine. 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.

• Stavudine can be taken with or without food. Take your doses at regular intervals to hold a steady amount of the drug in your body at all times. Stavudine is generally given once each 12 hours.

• Tell your doctor if you have any changes in your weight. Stavudine doses are based on weight.

• Measure liquid medication with a particular dose-measuring spoon or medication cup, not with a regular table spoon. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one.

• To be certain this medicine is helping your condition, your blood will need to be tested on a regular basis. Your liver function may also need to be tested. Do not miss any visits to your doctor.

• Store stavudine capsules at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Hold the bottle tightly closed.

• Store the liquid medication in the refrigerator, do not freeze. Throw away any unused liquid after 30 days.

• Throw away any unused or expired stavudine in a closed container or sealed bag. You may also ask your pharmacist where to locate a community pharmaceutical take-back disposal program.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. If it is nearly time for your following doze, skip the missed doze and take the medication at the following regularly scheduled time. 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 numbness, burning, pain, or tingly feeling, nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

What must I avoid while taking stavudine?

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It may magnify your risk of pancreas or liver hurt while you are taking stavudine.

• Taking this medicine will not prevent you from passing HIV to another people. Do not have unprotected sex or share 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 are the possible side effects of stavudine?

• Stop using stavudine and 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.

• This medicine may reason lactic acidosis (a build-up of lactic acid in the body, which can be fatal). Lactic acidosis can start slowly and get worse over time. Get abnormal medical help if you have even mild symptoms of lactic acidosis, such as:

· muscle pain or weakness;

· numb or cool feeling in your arms and legs;

· trouble breathing;

· feeling dizzy, light-headed, weary, or very weak;

· stomach pain, nausea with vomiting; or

· quick or uneven heart rate.

• Stop using stavudine and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

· signs of a new infection such as fever, chills, sore throat, flu symptoms, light bruising or unusual bleeding, loss of appetite, mouth sores;

· severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, quick heart rate;

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

· 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);

· weakness, numbness, pain, or prickly feeling in your hands or feet;

· 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:

· headache;

· mild nausea;

· mild skin rash; or

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

• 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 stavudine?

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

· didanosine (Videx);

· doxorubicin (Adriamycin, Rubex);

· hydroxyurea (Droxia, Hydrea);

· interferon-alfa (Roferon, Intron, Rebetron); or

· ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol, RibaPak, Ribasphere, RibaTab, Virazole).

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

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.