You should not use this medication if you are allergic to tetrabenazine, or if you have severe or untreated depression, suicidal thoughts, liver disease, or past or present breast cancer.
Do not use tetrabenazine if you have taken reserpine within the past 20 days, or if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), and tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days.
Before you take tetrabenazine, tell your doctor if you have heart disease, a personal or family history of "Long QT syndrome," or a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or actions.
Tetrabenazine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.
You may feel depressed or have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking this medication. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits during treatment.
Stop taking tetrabenazine and call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behavior changes, confusion, trouble swallowing, uncontrolled muscle movements, extreme drowsiness, or if you feel restless, agitated, hyperactive (mentally or physically), depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to tetrabenazine, or if you have:
severe or untreated depression;
suicidal thoughts;
liver disease; or
past or present breast cancer.
Do not use tetrabenazine if you have taken reserpine within the past 20 days, or if you have used an MAO inhibitor within the past 14 days. Examples of MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), and tranylcypromine (Parnate).
If you have certain conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use this medication. Before you take tetrabenazine, tell your doctor if you have:
heart disease;
a personal or family history of "Long QT syndrome"; or
a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or actions.
You may feel depressed or have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking this medication. Tell your doctor if you have worsening depression or suicidal thoughts while taking tetrabenazine.
Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits while you are taking tetrabenazine.
FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether tetrabenazine is harmful to an unborn baby. Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.
It is not known whether tetrabenazine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take it in larger amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.
Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results from this medication.
Call your doctor if your chorea symptoms do not improve, or if they get worse while taking tetrabenazine.
You may need frequent eye exams while you are taking tetrabenazine. Follow your doctor's instructions.
Store tetrabenazine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.
Overdose symptoms may include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, confusion, hallucinations, tremors, and restless muscle movements in your eyes, tongue, jaw, or neck.
Tetrabenazine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.
Avoid drinking alcohol. It can increase some of the side effects of tetrabenazine.
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using tetrabenazine and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:
mood or behavior changes;
extreme drowsiness, feeling like you might pass out;
feeling restless, agitated, or hyperactive (mentally or physically);
thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
restless muscle movements in your eyes, tongue, jaw, or neck;
trouble swallowing;
tremor (uncontrolled shaking);
dizziness, fainting, fast or pounding heartbeat; or
high fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, rapid breathing.
Less serious side effects may include:
sleep problems (insomnia);
mild drowsiness, tired feeling;
nausea; or
breast swelling or discharge.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Tell your doctor about all other medications you use, especially:
arsenic trioxide (Trisenox);
droperidol (Inapsine);
celecoxib (Celebrex);
cimetidine (Tagamet);
darifenacin (Enablex);
ropinirole (Requip);
terbinafine (Lamisil);
ADHD medications (Adderall, Ritalin, Strattera);
an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E.E.S., EryPed, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), or pentamidine (NebuPent, Pentam);
an antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), duloxetine (Cymbalta), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), imipramine (Tofranil), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft);
anti-malaria medication;
cancer medications such as gefitinib (Iressa), imatinib (Gleevec), or nilotinib (Tasigna);
a heart rhythm medication;
HIV or AIDS medicine such as delavirdine (Rescriptor) or ritonavir (Norvir);
medicine to treat or prevent nausea and vomiting, such as dolasetron (Anzemet), metoclopramide (Reglan), ondansetron (Zofran), or promethazine (Phenergan, Promacot);
medicine to treat psychiatric disorders, such as aripiprazole (Abilify), chlorpromazine (Thorazine), clozapine (FazaClo, Clozaril), haloperidol (Haldol), perphenazine (Trilafon), thioridazine (Mellaril), ziprasidone (Geodon), and others;
migraine headache medicine such as sumatriptan (Imitrex) or zolmitriptan (Zomig); or
a narcotic such as levomethadyl (Orlaam), methadone (Methadose, Diskets, Dolophine) or propoxyphene (Daron, Darvocet).
This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with tetrabenazine. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.
Your pharmacist can provide more information about tetrabenazine.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Your use of the content provided in this service indicates that you have read, understood and agree to the End-User License Agreement. Access the agreement.
