Drug Info

Brand Name: Lyrica
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Pregabalin
Generic Ingredient(s):

This is a summary of the most important information about Lyrica. For details, talk to your health care professional.

What is Lyrica?

Lyrica is a prescription medicine used in adults, 18 years and older, to treat:

• pain from damaged nerves (neuropathic pain) that happens with diabetes

• pain from damaged nerves (neuropathic pain) that follows healing of shingles (a painful rash that comes after a herpes zoster infection)

• partial seizures when taken together with other seizure medicines

Lyrica has not been studied in children under the age of 18.

What are The Risks?

• Dizziness and sleepiness. Do not drive a car, work with machines, or do other dangerous activities until you know how Lyrica affects your alertness. Ask your doctor when it is okay to do these activities.
• Eyesight problems, including blurry vision. Call your doctor if you have any changes in your eyesight.
• Weight gain may affect the management of diabetes, Weight gain and swelling can also be a serious problem for people with heart problems.
• Unexplained muscle problems, such as muscle pain, soreness, or weakness. If you develop these symptoms, especially if you also feel sick and have a fever, tell your doctor right away.
• The most common side effects with Lyrica include dizziness, blurry vision, weight gain, sleepiness, trouble concentrating, swelling of the hands and feet and dry mouth.

What Should I Tell My Health Care Professional?

Before you start using Lyrica, tell your health care provider if you:

• have any kidney problems or get kidney dialysis

• have heart problems including heart failure

• have a bleeding problem or a low blood platelet count

• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Lyrica may harm your unborn baby. You and your doctor will have to decide if Lyrica is right for you while you are pregnant.

• are breastfeeding. It is not known if Lyrica passes into breast milk and if it can harm your baby. You and your doctor should decide whether you should take Lyrica or breastfeed, but not both.

• plan to father a child. Animal studies showed that pregablin, the active ingredient in Lyrica, made male animals less fertile. Also, in animal studies, birth defects occurred in the offspring of male animals who were treated with pregablin. It is not known if these effects would happen in people.

• have diabletes. Lyrica caused skin sores in animals. Although skin sores were not seen in studies in people, if you have diabetes, you should pay extra attention to your skin while taking Lyrica and tell your doctor of any sores or skin problems.

• have abused prescription medicines, street drugs, or alcohol in the past. Lyrica may cause some people to feel “high.”

Are There Any Interactions With Drugs or Foods?

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you are taking including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Lyrica and certain other medicines may affect each other in the way they work in your body. Be especially careful about medicines that make you sleepy (such as sleeping pills, anxiety medicines, tranquilizers and some antihistamines, pain relievers and seizure medicines.) Be sure to tell your doctor if you take:

• rosiglitazone (Avandia) or pioglitazone (Actos) for diabetes. You may have a higher chance of weight gain or swelling if these medicines are taken with Lyrica.
• any narcotic pain medicine (such as oxycodone), tranquilizers or medicines for anxiety (such as lorazepam). You may have a higher chance for dizziness and sleepiness if these medicines are taken with Lyrica.
• any medicines that make you sleepy.

How Do I Take Lyrica?

• Take Lyrica exactly as prescribed. Your doctor may adjust your dose during treatment. Do not change your dose without talking to your doctor.
• Do not stop taking Lyrica suddenly without talking to your doctor. If you stop taking Lyrica suddenly, you may have headaches, nausea, diarrhea or trouble sleeping. Talk with your doctor about how to slowly stop Lyrica.
• Lyrica is usually taken 2 or 3 times a day, depending on your medical condition. Your doctor will tell you how much Lyrica to take and when to take it. Take Lyrica at the same times each day.
• Lyrica may be taken with or without food.
• If your miss a dose by a few hours, take it as soon as you remember. If it is close to your next dose, just take Lyrica at your next regular time. Do not take two doses at the same time.
• If you take too much Lyrica, call your healthcare professional or poison control center right away. You may need medical treatment right away.
• Do not drink alcohol while taking Lyrica. Lyrica and alcohol can affect each other and increase side effects such as sleepiness and dizziness.

Brand Name: VESIcare
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Solifenacin
Generic Ingredient(s):

Patient Information Sheet from the US Food and Drug Administration

Solifenacin Succinate (marketed as Vesicare)

This is a summary of the most important information about Vesicare. For details, talk to your health care professional.

What is Vesicare?

Vesicare is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:

• Having to go to the bathroom too often, also called “urinary frequency”

• Having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away, also called “urgency”

• Leaking or wetting accidents, also called “urinary incontinence.”

Vesicare has not been studied in children.

Who Should Not Use Vesicare?

Do not take Vesicare if you:

• are not able to empty your bladder (also called “urinary retention”)

• have delayed or slow emptying of your stomach (also called “gastric retention”)

• have an eye problem called “uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma”

• are allergic to Vesicare or any of its ingredients.

What are The Risks?

The most common side effects with Vesicare are:

• Blurred vision. Use caution while driving or doing dangerous activities until you know how Vesicare affects you.

• Dry mouth

• Constipation. Call your doctor if you get severe stomach area (abdominal) pain or become constipated for 3 or more days.

• Heat prostration due to decreased sweating can occur when drugs such as Vesicare are used in a hot environment.

What Should I Tell My Health Care Professional?

Before you start using Vesicare, tell your health care professional if you:

• have any stomach or intestinal problems or problems with constipation

• have trouble emptying your bladder or you have a weak urine stream

• have an eye problem called narrow angle glaucoma

• have liver problems

• have kidney problems

• are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding

Are There Any Interactions With Drugs or Foods?

Vesicare can interact with other medicines. Know the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Keep a list of them to show your health care professional and pharmacist.

How Do I Take Vesicare?

• Take Vesicare exactly as prescribed. Your doctor may prescribe the lowest dose if you have certain medical conditions such as liver or kidney problems.

• You should take one Vesicare tablet once a day.

• You should take Vesicare with liquid and swallow the tablet whole.

• You can take Vesicare with or without food.

Brand Name: Marinol
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Dronabinol or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Generic Ingredient(s):

Zelnorm was withdrawn from the US market in March 2007.

Brand Name: Zelnorm
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Tegaserod
Generic Ingredient(s):

Patient Information Sheet from the US Food and Drug Administration

Tegaserod Meleate (marketed as Zelnorm)

This is a summary of the most important information about Zelnorm. For details, talk to your healthcare professional.

What is Zelnorm used for?

Zelnorm is used for the short-term treatment of women who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation (not enough or hard bowel movements) as their main bowel problem. Zelnorm has not been shown to work in men with IBS.

Zelnorm is also used for chronic idiopathic constipation (frequent constipation of unknown cause) in both male and female patients less than 65 years of age.

Who should not take Zelnorm?

You should not start taking Zelnorm if you:

• have diarrhea or have diarrhea often
• have bad kidney or liver disease
• have ever had bowel obstruction (intestinal blockage), symptomatic gallbladder disease, or abdominal adhesions causing pain and/or intestinal blockage
• are allergic to Zelnorm or any of its ingredients

What should I tell my doctor or healthcare provider?

Tell your doctor or healthcare provider if you are:

• trying to become pregnant, are already pregnant, or are breast-feeding. Zelnorm is not recommended for use by pregnant women or women who are breast-feeding
• are taking or planning to take any other medicines, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements

What are some possible side effects of Zelnorm? (This is NOT a complete list of side effects reported with Zelnorm. Your healthcare provider can discuss with you a more complete list of side effects.)

The most common side effects are:

• headache
• abdominal pain
• diarrhea
• nausea
• "gas" (flatulance)

Reports of patients’ experience after Zelnorm became available:

Too little blood flow to the colon leading to inflammation (ischemic colitis) and other forms of intestinal blood flow problems have been reported in patients receiving Zelnorm after the drug became available. In some cases, hospitalization was needed and even death occurred. Zelnorm should be stopped immediately in patients who develop symptoms of ischemic colitis, such as rectal bleeding, bloody diarrhea, or new/worsening stomach pain. Treatment with Zelnorm should not be restarted in patients who are determined to have ischemic colitis or other forms of intestinal blood flow problems after taking Zelnorm.

For more detailed information about Zelnorm, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Link to Zelnorm's Approved Labeling and Patient Information

FDA Update: August 22, 2006

Brand Name: Vytorin
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s):
Generic Ingredient(s): Ezetimibe and Simvastatin

Brand Name: Tapazole
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Methimazole
Generic Ingredient(s):

Brand Name: Prandin
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Repaglinide
Generic Ingredient(s):

Brand Name: Dantrium
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Dantrolene
Generic Ingredient(s):

Brand Name: Prevacid
Other brand Name(s):
Generic Name(s): Lansoprazole
Generic Ingredient(s):

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Other brand Name(s):
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Generic Ingredient(s):