Guanfacine (Systemic)
Brand Names : Tenex
Before Using This MedicineIn deciding to use a medicine,
the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will
do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For guanfacine, the
following should be considered:
Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or
allergic reaction to guanfacine. Also tell your health care professional if
you are allergic to any other substance, such as foods, preservatives, or
dyes.
Pregnancy - Guanfacine has not been studied in pregnant women.
However, guanfacine has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems
in rats or rabbits given many times the human dose. In rats and rabbits given
extremely high doses (up to 200 times the human dose), there was an increase
in deaths of the animal fetus.
Breast-feeding - It is not known whether guanfacine passes into
breast milk. However, this medicine has not been reported to cause problems
in nursing babies.
Children - Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult
patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of guanfacine
in children with use in other age groups.
Older adults - Dizziness, drowsiness, or faintness may be more likely
to occur in the elderly, who are more sensitive to the effects of guanfacine.
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 taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter
[OTC]) medicine.
Other medical problems - The presence of other medical
problems may affect the use of guanfacine. Make sure you tell your doctor
if you have any other medical problems, especially:
-
Heart disease or
-
Heart attack or stroke (recent) - Lowering blood pressure may
make problems resulting from these conditions worse
-
Liver disease - Effects may be increased because of slower removal
of guanfacine from the body
-
Mental depression - Guanfacine may cause mental depression
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