Precautions
Consult your doctor regarding these precautions:
- Allergic reaction to this medication.
- Patients with medical history of:
- liver disease
- kidney disease
- lung/breathing problems (e.g., COPD, sleep apnea)
- blood disorder (porphyria)
- drug or alcohol abuse
- Do not drive, use machinery, or do any activity that requires alertness or clear vision until you are sure you can perform such activities safely.
- Older adults may be more sensitive to drowsiness.
- This medication is not recommended for use during pregnancy.
- Breast-feeding while using this medication is not recommended.
Interactions
This drug should not be used with sodium oxybate because a very serious interaction may occur.
If you are currently using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist before starting chlordiazepoxide.
Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription/herbal products you may use, especially of:
- Antacids
- cimetidine
- clozapine
- digoxin
- disulfiram
- kava
- certain anti-depressants (e.g., fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, nefazodone)
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you also take drugs that cause drowsiness such as:
- antihistamines that cause drowsiness (e.g., diphenhydramine)
- anti-seizure drugs (e.g., carbamazepine)
- medicine for sleep (e.g., sedatives)
- muscle relaxants
- narcotic pain relievers (e.g., codeine)
- psychiatric medicines (e.g., phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine, or tricyclics such as amitriptyline)
- tranquilizers
Check the labels on all your medicines (e.g., cough-and-cold products) because they may contain drowsiness-causing ingredients.
This product can affect the results of certain lab tests.
Smoking can decrease the effectiveness of this drug (through liver enzyme induction).
This document does not contain all possible interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share the list with your doctor and pharmacist.
