INDEX Page Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Programs - Contact information for pharmaceutical company programs providing free or low-cost medications to consumers needing financial assistance with the costs of treating mental illness.
Physicians and pharmacists recognize that some foods and drugs, when taken during the same period of time, can alter the body's ability to utilize a particular food or drug, or cause serious side effects.
This brochure is designed to help you decide if your diet should be changed in any way to adjust to the effects of medicine you are using. It covers the interactions - that is, what can occur between foods and drugs - of the more commonly used medications, both prescription and nonprescription (or over-the-counter).
Developed jointly by: American Pharmaceutical Association, Food and Drug Administration, Food Marketing Institute,National Consumers League
My Medications http://www.fda.gov/womens/taketimetocare/Meds_Eng.htmlFDA brochure on using medicines wisely
Prescription Medicines Safety http://www.prescriptionforsafety.com/The Merck Manual of Medical Information--Home Edition http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home/contents.htmVitality Inc. - Magazine http://www.vitality.com/===========================
OTHER CONCERNS
A Guide to Pharmaceutical Drugs and the Nutrients They Deplete http://www.integrativephysician.org/PharmaceuticalDrugs.htmThe United States Pharmacopoeia - Children and Medicines http://www.usp.org/body.htmMedWatch http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/index.htmlInternet gateway for timely safety information on the drugs and other medical products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Over-the-Counter Drugs Merck Manual http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home/sec2/13.htmOverview of Drugs-Merck Manual http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home/sec2/5.htmA drug may affect several functions, even though it's targeted at only one. For example, antihistamines can help relieve allergy symptoms such as a stuffy nose, watery eyes, and sneezing. But because most antihistamines affect the nervous system, they can also cause sleepiness, confusion, blurred vision, dry mouth, constipation, and problems with urination. (see box, page 41).
Anyone taking a drug shouldn't hesitate to ask a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist to explain the goals of treatment, the types of adverse drug reactions and other problems that may arise, and the extent to which they can participate in the treatment plan to help ensure the best outcome. (see page 46 in Chapter 11, Compliance With Drug Treatment) People should also keep their health care practitioners well informed about their medical history, current medications, and any other relevant information.
Drug interactions may occur between prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) drugs. (see pages 36 in Chapter 8, Factors Affecting Drug Response and 65 in Chapter 13, Over-the-Counter Drugs)
If someone is receiving care from more than one doctor, each doctor needs to know all of the drugs being taken. Preferably, people should obtain all their prescription drugs from the same pharmacy, one that maintains a complete drug profile for each patient. The pharmacist can then check for the possibility of interactions.
People should also consult their pharmacist when selecting over-the-counter drugs (for example, laxatives, antacids, and cough or cold remedies), particularly when they're also taking prescription drugs
FDA's Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs)
How to Find a Safety-Related Labeling Change
Search by Drug Name -- Brand or Generic: |
Index Of Safety-Related Drug Labeling Change Summaries Approved By FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research - Year 2002
Go to: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2002/index02.htm
For example:
Clozaril (clozapine)
Audience: Psychiatrists, Pharmacists FDA and Novartis have strengthened the BOXED WARNING and WARNINGS sections of the prescribing information (PI) for Clozaril (clozapine) as follows: (1) The previously existing BOXED WARNING has been relocated to the beginning of the PI and revised to advise health care providers of the association of myocarditis with clozapine therapy; (2) A subsection has been added to the WARNINGS section entitled "Myocarditis" to provide data and clozapine treatment guidelines related to this issue.
[Feb 20, 2002 Letter - Novartis] PDF Format [Feb 20, 2002 Revised Package Insert - Novartis] 112 kb PDF Format
Haloperidol
"Clinical studies of haloperidol did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not consistently identified differences between the elderly and younger patients. However, the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia appears to be highest among the elderly, especially elderly women (see WARNINGS, Tardive dyskinesia). Also, the pharmacokinetics of haloperidol in geriatric patients generally warrants the use of lower doses (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
PROZAC (fluoxetine HCl) Pulvules
SERAFEM (fluoxetine HCl) Pulvules
[November 28, 2000: Eli Lilly]
DESCRIPTION:
New text in bolded italics:
Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride) is an antidepressant for oral administration; it is also marketed for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (Sarafem , fluoxetine hydrochloride).
CONTRAINDICATIONS:
New text added to end of section:
ThioridazineThioridazine should not be administered with Prozac or within a minimum of 5 weeks after Prozac has been discontinued (see WARNINGS).
WARNINGS: New text (in bolded italics) added to end of section:
Other patients have had systemic syndromes suggestive of serum sickness. Since the introduction of Prozac, systemic events, possibly related to vasculitis and including lupus-like syndrome, have developed in patients with rash. Although these events are rare, they may be serious, involving the lung, kidney, or liver. Death has been reported to occur in association with these systemic events. Anaphylactoid events, including bronchospasm, angioedema, laryngospasm, and urticaria alone and in combination, have been reported. Pulmonary events, including inflammatory processes of varying histopathology and/or fibrosis, have been reported rarely. These events have occurred with dyspnea as the only preceding symptom. Whether these systemic events and rash have a common underlying cause or are due to different etiologies or pathogenic processes is not known.
Furthermore, a specific underlying immunologic basis for these events has not been identified. Upon the appearance of rash or of other possibly allergic phenomena for which an alternative etiology cannot be identified, Prozac should be discontinued.
ADVERSE REACTIONS: New subsection inserted between - "Associated with Discontinuation in US Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials (excluding data from extensions of trials)-" and "Other Events Observed In All US Clinical Trials-"
Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction with SSRIs--Although changes in sexual desire, sexual performance, and sexual satisfaction often occur as manifestations of a psychiatric disorder, they may also be a consequence of pharmacologic treatment. In particular, some evidence suggests that SSRIs can cause such untoward sexual experiences. Reliable estimates of the incidence and severity of untoward experiences involving sexual desire, performance, and satisfaction are difficult to obtain, however, in part because patients and physicians may be reluctant to discuss them. Accordingly, estimates of the incidence of untoward sexual experience and performance, cited in product labeling, are likely to underestimate their actual incidence.
In patients enrolled in US depression, OCD, and bulimia placebo-controlled clinical trials, decreased libido was the only sexual side effect reported by at least 2% of patients taking fluoxetine (4% fluoxetine, < 1% placebo).
There have been spontaneous reports in women taking fluoxetine of orgasmic dysfunction, including anorgasmia. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies examining sexual dysfunction with fluoxetine treatment.
Priapism has been reported with all SSRIs. While it is difficult to know the precise risk of sexual dysfunction associated with the use of SSRIs, physicians should routinely inquire about such possible side effects.
OVERDOSAGE:
Section substantially revised and replaced with the following:
Human ExperienceWorldwide exposure to fluoxetine hydrochloride is estimated to be over 38 million patients (circa 1999). Of the 1578 cases of overdose involving fluoxetine hydrochloride, alone or with other drugs, reported from this population, there were 195 deaths Among 633 adult patients who overdosed on fluoxetine hydrochloride alone, 34 resulted in a fatal outcome, 378 completely recovered, and 15 patients experienced sequelae after overdosage, including abnormal accommodation, abnormal gait, confusion, unresponsiveness, nervousness, pulmonary dysfunction, vertigo, tremor, elevated blood pressure, impotence, movement disorder, and hypomania. The remaining 206 patients had an unknown outcome. The most common signs and symptoms associated with non-fatal overdosage were seizures, somnolence, nausea, tachycardia, and vomiting. The largest known ingestion of fluoxetine hydrochloride in adult patients was 8 grams in a patient who took fluoxetine alone and who subsequently recovered. However, in an adult patient who took fluoxetine alone, an ingestion as low as 520 mg has been associated with lethal outcome, but causality has not been established.
Among pediatric patients (ages 3 months to 17 years), there were 156 cases of overdose involving fluoxetine alone or in combination with other drugs. Six patients died, 127 patients completely recovered, 1 patient experienced renal failure, and 22 patients had an unknown outcome. One of the six fatalities was a 9-year-old boy who had a history of OCD, Tourettes syndrome with tics, attention deficit disorder, and fetal alcohol syndrome. He had been receiving 100 mg of fluoxetine daily for 6 months in addition to clonidine, methylphenidate, and promethazine. Mixed-drug ingestion or other methods of suicide complicated all six overdoses in children that resulted in fatalities. The largest ingestion in pediatric patients was 3 grams which was non-lethal.
Other important adverse events reported with fluoxetine overdose (single or multiple drugs) include coma, delirium, ECG abnormalities (such as QT interval prolongation and ventricular tachycardia, including torsades de pointes-type arrhythmias), hypotension, mania, neuroleptic malignant syndrome-like events, pyrexia, stupor, and syncope.
And LOTS more......go to above and type in your medication to see ADR's posted by FDA |