Created: 2006-10-13 15:34:40.0
Modified: 2010-05-05 14:07:03.0
Lexi-PALS TM © (1977)-(2007) Lexi-Comp, Inc. All rights reserved.
All forms:
• If you have lung disease, talk with healthcare provider. You may be more sensitive to this medicine.
• If you have seizures, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have a slow heartbeat, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have ulcer disease, talk with healthcare provider.
• If you have urinary tract blockage, talk with healthcare provider.
• Check medicines with healthcare provider. This medicine may not mix well with other medicines.
• Avoid alcohol (includes wine, beer, and liquor).
• Tell healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan on getting pregnant.
• Tell healthcare provider if you are breast-feeding.
Skin patch:
• Avoid use of heat sources (such as sunlamps, tanning beds, heating pads, electric blankets, heat lamps, saunas, hot tubs, heated waterbeds). Avoid long, hot baths or sunbathing. Your temperature may rise and cause too much medicine to be released at once.
• Feeling dizzy. Rise slowly over several minutes from sitting or lying position. Be careful climbing.
• Headache.
• Belly pain.
• Nausea or vomiting. Small frequent meals, frequent mouth care, sucking hard, sugar-free candy, or chewing sugar-free gum may help. This may improve once you are on a stable dose of medicine.
• Diarrhea.
• Not hungry.
• If you suspect an overdose, call your local poison control center or emergency department immediately.
• Signs of a life-threatening reaction. These include wheezing; chest tightness; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; fits; or swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Signs or symptoms of depression, suicidal thoughts, nervousness, emotional ups and downs, abnormal thinking, anxiety, or lack of interest in life.
• If medicine is stopped for more than several days, dose will need to be decreased.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Severe dizziness or passing out.
• Severe diarrhea.
• Severe nausea or vomiting.
• Any rash.
• No improvement in condition or feeling worse.
Exelon®; Mylan-Rivastigmine; Novo-Rivastigmine; PMS-Rivastigmine; ratio-Rivastigmine; Sandoz-Rivastigmine
• If this medicine is stopped for more than several days, call healthcare provider. This medicine must be started at a lower dose to prevent vomiting.
• If you have an allergy to rivastigmine or any other part of this medicine.
• Tell healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medicine. Make sure to tell about the allergy and how it affected you. This includes telling about rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat; or any other symptoms involved.
• Rivastigmine increases the amount of a chemical called acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine may be involved in memory, attention, and learning.
Oral:
• Take this medicine at breakfast and dinner.
• Swallow capsule whole. Do not chew, break, or crush.
• A liquid (solution) is available if you cannot swallow pills. Take alone or mix with water, juice, or soda before drinking. See instructions enclosed with the bottle.
• Those who have feeding tubes can also use the liquid. Flush the feeding tube before and after medicine is given.
Skin patch:
• Do not use patches that are damaged or cut.
• Do not apply more than one patch at a time.
• Remove old patch first.
• Wash hands before and after use.
• Apply patch to clean, dry, healthy skin on the upper or lower back. If this is not possible, apply to upper arm or chest.
• Move patch site with each patch. Do not apply to the same site for 14 days.
• If the patch falls off, replace with a new one.
• If patch loosens, apply tape over it to hold in place.
• Take a missed dose as soon as possible, with a meal.
• If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and return to your regular schedule.
• Do not take a double dose or extra doses.
• Do not change dose or stop medicine. Talk with healthcare provider.
• Change in condition being treated. Is it better, worse, or about the same?
• Check weight weekly. Report a weight loss to healthcare provider.
• Follow up with healthcare provider.
• Store capsules and patches at room temperature.
• Protect capsules from moisture. Do not store in a bathroom or kitchen.
• Store solution at room temperature. Do not freeze.
• Protect solution from light.
• Store patches in protective pouch until ready for use.
• If you have a life-threatening allergy, wear allergy identification at all times.
• Do not share your medicine with others and do not take anyone else's medicine.
• Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and pets.
• Most medicines can be thrown away in household trash after mixing with coffee grounds or kitty litter and sealing in a plastic bag.
• Keep a list of all your medicines (prescription, natural products, supplements, vitamins, over-the-counter) with you. Give this list to healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, physician assistant).
• Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or in Canada to Health Canada's Canada Vigilance Program at 1-866-234-2345.
• Talk with healthcare provider before starting any new medicine, including over-the-counter, natural products, or vitamins.
• This medicine is used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
• It may take 3 months to see the full effect.
