Sodium Phenylbutyrate (Systemic)

Brand Names : Buphenyl

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 sodium phenylbutyrate, the following should be considered:

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

Pregnancy - Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether sodium phenylbutyrate passes into breast milk.

Children - This medicine has been reported to cause unwanted side effects in children. Also, nerve problems and brain damage associated with your condition may continue to worsen despite treatment.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing the use of sodium phenylbutyrate in the elderly with use in other age groups.

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. When you are taking sodium phenylbutyrate, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking the following:

• Probenecid - Probenecid may increase the effects of sodium phenylbutyrate

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

• Edema (swelling) or
• Heart disease or
• Kidney disease, severe - Increased retention of water may make these conditions worse

• Kidney disease or
• Liver disease - Higher blood levels of sodium phenylbutyrate may result and increase the risk of side effects