ZIDOVUDINE (ORAL)

(zye DOE vyoo deen) Brand: Retrovir

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

• Do not take this medicine if you have ever had an allergic reaction to Retrovir or any medication that contains zidovudine, including Combivir or Trizivir.

• Some people develop lactic acidosis while taking zidovudine. 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, slow or uneven heart course, dizziness, or feeling very weak or tired.

• This medicine can also reason severe or life-threatening effects on your liver. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these symptoms while taking zidovudine: pain in your upper stomach, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

• Zidovudine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections and help your blood clot. 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.

• Do not take Retrovir with any another medication that contains zidovudine or stavudine, including: Combivir, Trizivir, or Zerit.

What is zidovudine?

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

• Zidovudine is used to treat HIV, which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Zidovudine is also given during pregnancy to prevent an HIV-infected woman from passing the virus to her child. Zidovudine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

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

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

• Do not take this medicine if you have ever had an allergic reaction to Retrovir or any medication that contains zidovudine, including Combivir or Trizivir.

• Do not take Retrovir with any another medication that contains zidovudine or stavudine, including: Combivir, Trizivir, or Zerit.

• Some people develop a life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis while taking zidovudine. 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 HIV or AIDS medications for a long time. Conversation with your doctor about your individual risk.

• Zidovudine can also reason severe or life-threatening effects on your liver. Speak your doctor if you have liver malady, especially hepatitis C.

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

· kidney disease;

· anemia (low red blood cell count);

· an active infection;

· bone marrow suppression; or

· if you have used an HIV medicine in the past, such as abacavir (Ziagen), didanosine (Videx), emtricitabine (Atripla, Complera, Emtriva, Truvada), lamivudine (Combivir, Epivir, Epzicom, Trizivir), stavudine (Zerit), tenofovir (Viread), or zidovudine (Retrovir).

• 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 zidovudine on the baby.

• FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether zidovudine will harm an unborn child. HIV can be passed to your child if you are not properly treated during pregnancy. 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.

• You must not breast-feed while you are using zidovudine. 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.

How must I take zidovudine?

• 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.

• Zidovudine can be taken with or without food.

• If a baby is taking this medicine, speak your doctor if the baby has any changes in weight. Zidovudine doses are based on weight in children.

• 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.

• Zidovudine can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections and help your blood clot. This can create it easier for you to bleed from an injury or get sick from being near others who are ill. Your blood may need to be tested often. Visit your doctor regularly.

• 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 nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, headache, or weakness.

What must I avoid while taking zidovudine?

• Avoid drinking alcohol. It may magnify your risk of liver damage.

• 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 zidovudine?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult 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, stomach pain, nausea with vomiting, quick or uneven heart course, dizziness, or feeling very weak or tired.

• Stop taking zidovudine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these another serious side effects:

· severe muscle pain;

· signs of a new infection such as fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, sores in your mouth and throat;

· pale skin, feeling light-headed, rapid heart course, trouble concentrating;

· light bruising, unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum), purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin;

· 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 (goiter);

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

· weakness or prickly feeling in your fingers or toes;

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

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

· pancreatitis--severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, quick heart course; or

· severe skin reaction -- fever, sore throat, swelling in your person or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain, followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the person or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· sleep problems (insomnia);

· mild nausea, constipation;

· joint pain;

· headache; 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 zidovudine?

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

· doxorubicin (Adriamycin);

· ganciclovir (Cytovene);

· interferon alfa (Alferon, Intron, Rebetron);

· phenytoin (Dilantin);

· ribavirin (Rebetol, Ribasphere, Copegus Virazole); or

· drugs that weaken your immune system, such as cancer medication, steroids, and medicines to prevent rejection of an organ transplant.

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

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.