Levocarnitine (Systemic)

Brand Names : Carnitor, L-carnitine

Before Using This Medicine

In 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 levocarnitine, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Studies have not been done in humans. However, levocarnitine has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in animal studies.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether levocarnitine passes into the breast milk. Carnitine normally is present in breast milk, even in women not taking supplements of it, because it is obtained from the diet.

Children - Although there is no specific information comparing use of levocarnitine in children with use in other age groups, this dietary supplement is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in children than it does in adults.

Older adults - There is no specific information comparing use of levocarnitine in the elderly with use in other age groups; however, this medicine is not expected 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 they 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 levocarnitine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Seizures - occur more often and are more severe in patients with a history of seizure activity
• Severe renal dysfunction - administration of high doses of oral levocarnitine for long periods of time may build up in the body of patients with severe kidney disease