Prezista

Drug name: Prezista

Active Ingredients: darunavir

Therapeutic actions: Darunavir is an antiviral medication in a group of HIV medicines called protease (PRO-tee-ayz) inhibitors. Darunavir prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.
Indications: Darunavir is used to treat HIV, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Darunavir is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.
Contraindications and cautions: Do not take this medication if you are allergic to darunavir.
Do not take darunavir with astemizole (Hismanal), cisapride (Propulsid), pimozide (Orap), midazolam (Versed), triazolam (Halcion), terfenadine (Seldane), or ergot medicines such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal Nasal Spray), ergonovine (Ergotrate), or methylergonovine (Methergine). These drugs can cause life-threatening side effects if you use them while you are taking darunavir.
Before taking darunavir, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

• liver disease;
• diabetes;
• a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia; or
• high Cholesterol or triglycerides.

If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use darunavir, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment.
FDA pregnancy category B. This medication is not expected to be harmful to an unborn baby, but HIV can be passed to the baby if the mother is not properly treated during pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection while you are pregnant.
Your name may need to be listed on an antiviral pregnancy registry when you start using this medication.
Taking darunavir together with birth control pills can make the darunavir less effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking fosamprenavir. You should not breast-feed while you are using darunavir. Women with HIV or AIDS should not breast-feed at all. Even if your baby is born without HIV, you may still pass the virus to the baby in your breast milk.
Adverse effects: Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop taking darunavir and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;
• increased urination or extreme thirst;
• easy bruising or bleeding;
• signs of a new infection, such as fever or chills, cough, or flu symptoms; or
• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

Keep taking the medication and talk with your doctor if you have any of these less serious side effects:

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, bloating, loss of appetite;
• numbness or tingling, especially around your mouth;
• muscle or joint pain;
• sleepiness;
• headache, mood changes; or
• changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and waist).

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

Interactions: It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start treatment with this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.
Special care must be taken if you are using:

• bepridil (Vascor);
• St. John's wort;
• antibiotics such as itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), rifabutin (Mycobutin), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater);
• antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), trazodone (Desyrel), and others;
• a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin);
• a calcium channel blocker such as amlodipine (Caduet, Lotrel, Norvasc), diltiazem (Tiazac, Cartia, Dilacor), felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), or verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan);
• cholesterol-lowering medicine such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor), pravastatin (Pravachol), or simvastatin (Zocor);
• drugs that weaken the immune system, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), sirolimus (Rapamune), or tacrolimus (Prograf);
• heart rhythm medications such as amiodarone (Cordarone) or quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex);
• insulin or Diabetes medication you take by mouth;
• medicines to treat erectile dysfunction, such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra);
• other HIV /AIDS medicine such as efavirenz (Sustiva), lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra), or saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase);
• seizure medications such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), or phenytoin (Dilantin); or
• a steroid medication such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Hexadrol) or fluticasone(Advair, Flonase, Flovent).

If you are using any of these drugs, you may not be able to take darunavir, or you may need dosage adjustments or special tests during treatment.
Additional Information: DO NOT SHARE THIS MEDICINE with others. DO NOT USE THIS MEDICINE for other health conditions. KEEP THIS PRODUCT, as well as syringes and needles, if needed during treatment, out of the reach of children. Do not reuse needles, syringes, or other materials.