Ardeparin (Systemic)

Brand Names : Normiflo

Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For ardeparin, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to ardeparin or heparin. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, especially pork or pork products, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Ardeparin has not been studied in pregnant women. However, it has been found to cause birth defects in animals. Discuss these possible effects with your doctor.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether this medicine passes into breast milk. Although most medicines pass into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely while breast-feeding. Mothers who are using this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor.

Children - Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of ardeparin in children with use in other age groups.

Older adults - This medicine has been tested 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. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of ardeparin. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Bleeding problems or
• Eye problems caused by diabetes or high blood pressure or
• Heart infection or
• High blood pressure (hypertension) or
• Kidney disease or
• Liver disease or
• Stomach or intestinal ulcer (active) or
• Stroke - The risk of bleeding may be increased

Also, tell your doctor if you have received ardeparin or heparin before and had a reaction to either of them called thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count in the blood), or if new blood clots formed while you were receiving the medicine.

In addition, tell your doctor if you have recently had medical surgery . This may increase the risk of serious bleeding when you are taking ardeparin.