Product Details

What you need to know before you take Aripiprazole

Do not take Aripiprazole • If you are allergic to aripiprazole or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6). Warnings and precautions Talk to your doctor before taking Aripiprazole Suicidal thoughts and behaviours have been reported during aripiprazole treatment. Tell your doctor immediately if you are having any thoughts or feelings about hurting yourself. Before treatment with Aripiprazole, tell your doctor if you suffer from • High blood sugar (characterised by symptoms such as excessive thirst, passing of large amounts of urine, increase in appetite, and feeling weak) or family history of diabetes • Fits (seizures) since your doctor may want to monitor you more closely • Involuntary, irregular muscle movements, especially in the face • Cardiovascular diseases (diseases of the heart and circulation), family history of cardiovascular disease, stroke or “mini” stroke, abnormal blood pressure • Blood clots, or family history of blood clots, as antipsychotics have been associated with formation of blood clots • Past experience with excessive gambling If you notice you are gaining weight, develop unusual movements, experience somnolence that interferes with normal daily activities, any difficulty in swallowing or allergic symptoms, please tell your doctor. If you are an elderly patient suffering from dementia (loss of memory and other mental abilities), you or your carer/relative should tell your doctor if you have ever had a stroke or “mini” stroke. Tell your doctor immediately if you are having any thoughts or feelings about hurting yourself. Suicidal thoughts and behaviours have been reported during aripiprazole treatment. Tell your doctor immediately if you suffer from muscle stiffness or inflexibility with high fever, sweating, altered mental status, or very rapid or irregular heart beat. Tell your doctor if you or your family/carer notices that you are developing urges or cravings to behave in ways that are unusual for you and you cannot resist the impulse, drive or temptation to carry out certain activities that could harm yourself or others. These are called impulse control disorders and can include behaviours such as addictive gambling, excessive eating or spending, an abnormally high sex drive or preoccupation with an increase in sexual thoughts or feelings. Your doctor may need to adjust or stop your dose. Aripiprazole may cause sleepiness, fall in blood pressure when standing up, dizziness and changes in your ability to move and balance, which may lead to falls. Caution should be taken, particularly if you are an elderly patient or have some debility. Children and adolescents Do not use this medicine in children and adolescents under 13 years of age. It is not known if it is safe and effective in these patients. Other medicines and Aripiprazole Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. Blood pressure-lowering medicines: Aripiprazole may increase the effect of medicines used to lower the blood pressure. Be sure to tell your doctor if you take a medicine to keep your blood pressure under control. Taking Aripiprazole with some medicines may mean the doctor will need to change your dose of Aripiprazole or the other medicines. It is especially important to mention the following to your doctor: • Medicines to correct heart rhythm (such as quinidine, amiodarone, flecainide) • Antidepressants or herbal remedy used to treat depression and anxiety (such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, St. John’s Wort) • Antifungal medicines (such as ketoconazole, itraconazole) • Certain medicines to treat HIV infection (such as efavirenz, nevirapine, an protease inhibitors e.g. indinavir, ritonavir) • Anticonvulsants used to treat epilepsy (such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital) • Certain antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis (rifabutin, rifampicin) These medicines may increase the risk of side effects or reduce the effect of Aripiprazole; if you get any unusual symptom taking any of these medicines together with Aripiprazole you should see your doctor. Medicines that increase the level of serotonin are typically used in conditions including depression, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and social phobia as well as migraine and pain: triptans, tramadol and tryptophan, used for conditions including depression, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and social phobia as well as migraine and pain • SSRIs (such as paroxetine and fluoxetine) used for depression, OCD, panic and anxiety • other anti-depressants (such as venlafaxine and tryptophan) used in major depression • tricyclic’s (such as clomipramine and amitriptyline) used for depressive illness • St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) used as a herbal remedy for mild depression • pain killers (such as tramadol and pethidine) used for pain relief • triptans (such as sumatriptan and zolmitripitan) used for treating migraine These medicines may increase the risk of side effects; if you get any unusual symptom taking any of these medicines together with Aripiprazole, you should see your doctor. Aripiprazole with food, drink and alcohol Aripiprazole can be taken regardless of meals. Alcohol should be avoided . Pregnancy, breast-feeding and fertility If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before taking this medicine. The following symptoms may occur in newborn babies, of mothers that have used Aripiprazole in the last trimester (last three months of their pregnancy): shaking, muscle stiffness and/or weakness, sleepiness, agitation, breathing problems, and difficulty in feeding. If your baby develops any of these symptoms you may need to contact your doctor. If you are taking Aripiprazole, your doctor will discuss with you whether you should breast-feed considering the benefit to you of your therapy and the benefit to your baby of breast-feeding. You should not do both. Talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby if you are taking this medicine. Driving and using machines Dizziness and vision problems may occur during treatment with this medicine (see section 4). This should be considered in cases where full alertness is required, e.g. when driving a car or handling machines. Aripiprazole contains lactose monohydrate. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicine.