ACEBUTOLOL

Serious side effects (inform your doctor immediately)

• Overdose symptoms: anxiety, blurred vision, chest discomfort, chills, cold sweats, coma, confusion, convulsions, cool, pale skin, cough, decreased urine output, depression, dilated neck veins, dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up from a lying or sitting position suddenly, extreme fatigue, headache, increased hunger, irregular breathing, loss of bladder control, muscle spasm or jerking of all extremities, nausea, nervousness, nightmares, noisy breathing, pain in the shoulders, back, neck, or jaw, shakiness, slow, fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat, slurred speech, sudden loss of consciousness, sweating
• Changes in vision, chest pain, difficult or labored breathing, shortness of breath, swelling of face, fingers, feet, or lower legs, tightness in chest, wheezing, troubled breathing, unusual tiredness or weakness, weight gain

Minor side effects (if these symptoms persist or worsen, inform your doctor)

• Acid or sour stomach, belching, bloated, diarrhea, difficulty having a bowel movement (stool), difficulty in moving, discouragement, excess air or gas in stomach or intestines, feeling sad or empty, full feeling, heartburn, indigestion, irritability, lack of appetite, loss of interest or pleasure, muscle aching or cramping, muscle pain or stiffness, pain in joints, passing gas, problems in urination or increase in amount of urine, rash, sleeplessness, stomach discomfort, upset, or pain, swollen joints, tiredness, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, unable to sleep, unusual dreams.

Precautions

• Should only be used when there is a clear need during pregnancy as it may harm an unborn baby. If you are planning to be pregnant or think you may be pregnant, discuss the risks and benefits of use with your doctor.
• Consult your doctor before breast-feeding as this medication passes into breast milk and may cause unwanted effects on your baby.

Interactions

Taking multiple drugs may affect how medications work and/or cause unwanted side effects. List down all the medications you are taking and inform your physician and pharmacist. Do not take, discontinue, or alter any dose of medications without prior approval of your physician.

• Medication that may be interact with this are:
  • Fenoldopam (Corlopam), a drug used to manage severe high blood pressure
    • may result in unexpectedly low blood pressure.
  • Clonidine (Catapres)
    • severe high blood pressure may occur if clonidine is suddenly discontinued; advisable to discontinue beta-adrenergic blocking drugs prior to starting clonidine.
  • Epinephrine (Adrenalin, EpiPen)
    • high blood pressure and a slow heartbeat; best not to use both drugs together or if used together, proper blood pressure monitoring should be done.
  • Reserpine (Harmonyl)
    • may have an additive effect; cause abnormally slow heart beat or low blood pressure, which may lead to dizziness or fainting.

Dosing

Acebutolol can be taken with or without food, usually once or twice daily. The dosage of acebutolol should be reduced in patients with dysfunction of the kidneys or liver since kidney or liver disease reduce the elimination of acebutolol.

Storage: Capsules should be stored at room temperature, 77 F (25 C), away from light and moisture.