Rizatriptan (Systemic)
Brand Names : Maxalt, Maxalt-MLT
Before Using This MedicineIn deciding to use a medicine,
the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will
do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For rizatriptan, the
following should be considered:
Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or
allergic reaction to rizatriptan or aspartame. Also tell your health care
professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives,
or dyes.
Pregnancy - Rizatriptan has not been studied in pregnant women.
However, in some animal studies, rizatriptan caused harmful effects to the
fetus. These unwanted effects usually occurred when rizatriptan was given
in amounts that were large enough to cause harmful effects in the mother.
Rizatriptan crosses the placenta in animals.
Breast-feeding - It is not known whether rizatriptan passes into
human breast milk. However, it has been shown to pass into the milk of nursing
animals.
Children - There is no specific information comparing use of
rizatriptan in children with use in other age groups.
Older adults - Rizatriptan has been tested in elderly patients and
has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in older people
than it does in younger adults.
Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used
together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together
even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to
change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking
rizatriptan, it is especially important that your health care professional
know if you are taking any of the following:
-
Dihydroergotamine
-
Ergotamine
-
Methysergide
-
Other 5-hydroxytryptamine agonists (naratriptan [e.g., Amerge], sumatriptan
[e.g., Imitrex], zolmitriptan [e.g., Zomig]) - Taking these medications
with rizatriptan may increase the effects of rizatriptan
-
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor activity (isocarboxazid [e.g.,
Marplan], phenelzine [e.g., Nardil], procarbazine [e.g., Matulane], selegiline
[e.g., Eldepryl], tranylcypromine [e.g., Parnate]) - Taking
rizatriptan while you are taking or within 2 weeks of taking MAO inhibitors
may cause sudden high body temperature, extremely high blood pressure, and
severe convulsions; at least 14 days should be allowed between stopping treatment
with one medicine and starting treatment with the other.
Other medical problems - The presence of other medical
problems may affect the use of rizatriptan. Make sure you tell your doctor
if you have any other medical problems, especially:
-
Angina (chest pain) or
-
Heart or blood vessel disease or
-
High blood pressure (uncontrolled) or
-
Kidney disease or
-
Liver disease - The chance of side effects may be increased.
Heart or blood vessel disease and high blood pressure sometimes do not cause
any symptoms, so some people do not know that they have these problems. Before
deciding whether you should use rizatriptan, your doctor may need to do some
tests to make sure that you do not have any of these conditions
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