TIZANIDINE

(tye ZAN i deen) Brand: Zanaflex

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

• Tizanidine is a short-acting medicine that must be taken only for daily activities that require relief from muscle spasticity.

• Do not take tizanidine if you are also taking the antidepressant fluvoxamine (Luvox), or the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (Cipro).

• Do not use tizanidine at a time when muscle tone is needed to assure safety balance and movement for determined activities. In some situations, it may endanger your physical safe to be in a state of reduced muscle tone.

• Switching between tizanidine tablets and capsules, or changing the way you take it with regard to eating, can reason an magnify in side effects or a decrease in therapeutic effect. Follow your doctor's instructions carefully. After making any changes in how you take tizanidine, contact your doctor if you announcement any change in how well the medication works or if it causes heighten side effects.

• Do not take more than three doses (36 mg) of tizanidine in a 24-hour period. Too many of this medicine can hurt your liver.

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

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

What is tizanidine?

• Tizanidine is a short-acting muscle relaxer. It works by blocking nerve impulses (pain sensations) that are sent to your brain.

• Tizanidine is used to treat spasticity by temporarily relaxing muscle tone.

• Tizanidine may also be used for purposes another than those listed in this medicine guide.

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

• Do not use this medicine if you are allergic to tizanidine, or if you are also taking the antidepressant fluvoxamine (Luvox), or the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (Cipro).

• Till using tizanidine, speak your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

· liver disease;

· kidney disease;

· tall or low blood pressure; or

· a history of "Long QT syndrome."

• If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use tizanidine, or you may need a dosage adjustment or particular trials during treatment.

• FDA pregnancy category C. This medicine may be deleterious to an unborn child. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

• It is not known whether tizanidine 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.

• In older adults, tizanidine may take many longer to clear from the body. Follow your doctor's instructions about your specific dosage and medicine schedule.

How must I take tizanidine?

• 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.

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

• Take this medicine with a full glass of water.

• Tizanidine is a short-acting medicine, and its effects will be most noticeable between 1 and 6 hours after you take it. This medicine must be taken only for daily activities that require relief from muscle spasticity.

• In most cases, you may take up to three doses in one day if needed. Let 6 to 8 hours to pass between doses.

• Carefully follow your doctor's instructions about taking this medicine with or without food. Taking tizanidine tablets with food can magnify the levels of tizanidine in your blood stream, but taking tizanidine capsules with food can decrease the levels.

• Do not take more than three doses (36 mg) in a 24-hour period. Too many of this medicine can hurt your liver.

• To be certain this medicine is not causing deleterious effects, your liver function will need to be tested on a regular basis. Do not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor.

• You may have withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness, quick heart course, tremors, anxiety, and heighten spasticity when you stop using tizanidine after using it over a long period of time. Do not stop using this medicine suddenly without first talking to your doctor. You may need to use smaller and smaller till you stop the medicine completely.

• Store tizanidine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

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 your following regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention if you think you have used too many of this medicine.

• Overdose symptoms may include drowsiness, confusion, slow heart course, shallow breathing, feeling light-headed, fainting, or coma.

What must I avoid while taking tizanidine?

• Tizanidine can reason side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Dizziness is most likely to occur when you rise from a sitting or lying position. Get up slowly to prevent dizziness and a possible fall.

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

What are the possible side effects of tizanidine?

• 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.

• Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

· feeling light-headed, fainting, slow heart rate;

· hallucinations, confusion, unusual thoughts or behavior;

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

· burning or pain when you urinate.

• Smaller serious side effects may be more likely to occur, such as:

· drowsiness or dizziness;

· feeling anxious or nervous;

· numbness or tingling;

· stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting;

· fever;

· dry mouth;

· muscle weakness, back pain;

· heighten muscle tone or spasms; or

· sweating or skin rash.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Speak your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect tizanidine?

• Till taking tizanidine, speak your doctor if you are using any of the next drugs:

· acyclovir (Zovirax);

· cimetidine (Tagamet);

· famotidine (Pepcid);

· ticlopidine (Ticlid),

· zileuton (Zyflo);

· birth control pills;

· antibiotics such as enoxacin (Penetrex), gatifloxacin (Tequin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), lomefloxacin (Maxaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), ofloxacin (Floxin), sparfloxacin (Zagam), trovafloxacin (Trovan), or norfloxacin (Noroxin);

· blood pressure medications such as clonidine (Catapres), guanabenz (Wytensin), guanfacine (Tenex), or methyldopa (Aldomet); or

· heart rhythm medications such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), mexiletine (Mexitil), propafenone (Rhythmol), and verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin).

• This list is not complete and there may be another drugs that can interact with tizanidine. Speak your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal commodity, and drugs predesigned by another doctors. Do not start using a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about tizanidine.

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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