What is the most important information I should know about rilpivirine?
Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any you start or stop using. Many drugs can interact, and some drugs should not be used together.
What is rilpivirine?
Rilpivirine is an antiviral medicine that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from multiplying in your body.
Rilpivirine is used to treat HIV, the virus that can cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Rilpivirine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS. Rilpivirine is for use in adults and children who are at least 12 years old weighing at least 77 pounds (35 kilograms).
Rilpivirine must be used in combination with other HIV medicines your doctor has prescribed.
Rilpivirine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking rilpivirine?
You should not use rilpivirine if you are allergic to it.
Some medicines can cause unwanted or dangerous effects when used with rilpivirine. Your doctor may change your treatment plan if you also use:
- carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin;
- rifampin, rifapentine;
- esomeprazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole;
- St John's wort; or
- more than one dose of dexamethasone.
Tell your doctor if you have ever had:
- liver disease (rilpivirine can cause hepatitis B or C to come back or get worse);
- kidney disease;
- depression or mental illness; or
- if you have taken any HIV medication in the past.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, and use your medications properly to control your infection. HIV can be passed to your baby if the virus is not controlled during pregnancy. Your name may be listed on a registry to track any effects of antiviral medicine on the baby.
Women with HIV or AIDS should not breast feed a baby. Even if your baby is born without HIV, the virus may be passed to the baby in your breast milk.
Rilpivirine is not approved for use by anyone younger than 12 years old or weighing less than 77 pounds (35 kilograms).
How should I take rilpivirine?
Follow all directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides or instruction sheets. Use the medicine exactly as directed.
Rilpivirine is usually taken once per day with a meal. Always take the medicine with food.
You may need frequent medical tests while taking this medicine, and for several months after you stop.
Use all HIV medications as directed and read all medication guides you receive. Do not change your dose or dosing schedule without your doctor's advice. Every person with HIV should remain under the care of a doctor.
Store rilpivirine in its original container at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the medicine with food as soon as you can, but skip the missed dose if you are more than 12 hours late for the dose. Do not use two doses at one time.
Get your prescription refilled before you run out of medicine completely.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
What should I avoid while taking rilpivirine?
Using this medicine will not prevent your disease from spreading. Do not have unprotected sex or share razors or toothbrushes. Talk with your doctor about safe ways to prevent HIV transmission during sex. Sharing drug or medicine needles is never safe, even for a healthy person.
What are the possible side effects of rilpivirine?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction (hives, difficult breathing, swelling in your face or throat) or a severe skin reaction (fever, sore throat, burning in your eyes, skin pain, red or purple skin rash that spreads and causes blistering and peeling).
Seek medical treatment if you have a serious drug reaction that can affect many parts of your body. Symptoms may include: skin rash, fever, swollen glands, flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, severe weakness, unusual bruising, or yellowing of your skin or eyes.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- mood changes, anxiety, feeling sad or hopeless, thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself;
-
liver problems --right-sided upper stomach pain, dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
-
symptoms of depression --mood changes, feelings of low self-worth, loss of interest in things you once enjoyed, new sleep problems, thoughts about hurting yourself.
Rilpivirine affects your immune system, which may cause certain side effects (even weeks or months after you've taken this medicine). Tell your doctor if you have:
-
signs of a new infection --fever, night sweats, swollen glands, cold sores, cough, wheezing, diarrhea, weight loss;
- trouble speaking or swallowing, problems with balance or eye movement, weakness or prickly feeling; or
- swelling in your neck or throat (enlarged thyroid), menstrual changes, impotence.
Common side effects may include:
- sleep problems (insomnia);
- depression;
- skin rash;
- headache; or
- changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and waist).
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.
What other drugs will affect rilpivirine?
Some medicines can make rilpivirine much less effective when taken at the same time. If you take any of the following medicines, take them separately from your dose of rilpivirine:
-
An antacid or didanosine (Videx EC): take either of these medicines at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after you take rilpivirine.
-
A stomach acid reducer (such as cimetidine, nizatidine, ranitidine, Pepcid, Tagamet, Zantac): take it at least 12 hours before or 4 hours after you take rilpivirine.
Rilpivirine can cause a serious heart problem. Your risk may be higher if you also use certain other medicines for infections, asthma, heart problems, high blood pressure, depression, mental illness, cancer, malaria, or HIV.
Many drugs can affect rilpivirine, and some drugs should not be used at the same time. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible interactions are listed here.
Where can I get more information?
Your pharmacist can provide more information about rilpivirine.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
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