What is the most important information I should know about hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
|
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to hydrochlorothiazide or valsartan, or if you are unable to urinate. |
|
Do not use hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan if you are pregnant. Stop using this medication and tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant. Hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan can cause injury or death to the unborn baby if you take the medicine during your second or third trimester. Use effective birth control while taking hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan. |
Before using hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan, tell your doctor if you have congestive heart failure, kidney or liver disease, asthma, low or high blood levels of potassium, gout, lupus, diabetes, glaucoma, or an allergy to sulfa drugs or penicillin.
|
Drinking alcohol can further lower your blood pressure and may increase certain side effects of hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan. |
Avoid becoming overheated or dehydrated during exercise and in hot weather. Follow your doctor's instructions about the type and amount of liquids you should drink. In some cases, drinking too much liquid can be as unsafe as not drinking enough.
|
|
Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes while you are taking hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan, unless your doctor has told you to. |
|
In rare cases, hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine. |
What is hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic (water pill) that helps prevent your body from absorbing too much salt, which can cause fluid retention.
Valsartan is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Valsartan keeps blood vessels from narrowing, which lowers blood pressure improves blood flow.
The combination of hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).
Hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
How should I take hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
Take exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.
Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results.
|
Take this medication with a full glass (8 ounces) of water. |
Your blood pressure will need to be checked often. Visit your doctor regularly.
|
|
If you need surgery or medical tests, tell the doctor ahead of time that you are taking medication that contains hydrochlorothiazide. You may need to stop using the medicine for a short time. |
Keep using this medicine as directed, even if you feel well. High blood pressure often has no symptoms. You may need to use blood pressure medication for the rest of your life.
|
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat. |
What happens if I miss a dose?
Back to top
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
What happens if I overdose?
Back to top
|
|
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. |
Overdose symptoms may include fast or slow heartbeat, feeling light-headed, or fainting.
What should I avoid while taking hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
|
|
Drinking alcohol can further lower your blood pressure and may increase certain side effects of hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan. |
Avoid becoming overheated or dehydrated during exercise and in hot weather. Follow your doctor's instructions about the type and amount of liquids you should drink. In some cases, drinking too much liquid can be as unsafe as not drinking enough.
|
|
Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes while you are taking hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan, unless your doctor has told you to. |
What are the possible side effects of hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
|
|
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. |
|
|
In rare cases, hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call your doctor right away if you have unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness especially if you also have fever, unusual tiredness, and dark colored urine. |
|
|
Stop using this medication and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as: |
- eye pain, vision problems;
- feeling light-headed, fainting;
- swelling, rapid weight gain;
- fast or pounding heartbeats;
- urinating less than usual, or not at all;
- jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
- dry mouth, increased thirst, drowsiness, restless feeling, confusion, increased urination, fast heart rate, fainting, or seizure (convulsions).
Less serious side effects may include:
- stomach pain, diarrhea;
- back pain;
- headache, tired feeling, dizziness;
- skin rash;
- stuffy nose, sore throat; or
- dry cough.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
What other drugs will affect hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan?
Back to top
Tell your doctor about all other medicines you use, especially:
- any other blood pressure medications;
- steroids (prednisone and others);
- lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid);
- cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran) or colestipol (Colestid);
- cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune);
- insulin or diabetes medications you take by mouth;
- rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater);
- ritonavir (Norvir, Kaletra);
- a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton);
- any other diuretics, such as amiloride (Midamor), bumetanide (Bumex), chlorthalidone (Hygroton, Thalitone), ethacrynic acid (Edecrin), furosemide (Lasix), hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ, HydroDiuril), indapamide (Lozol), metolazone (Mykrox, Zarxolyn), spironolactone (Aldactone), triamterene (Dyrenium, Maxzide, Dyazide), torsemide (Demadex), and others;
- aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Naprelan, Treximet), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Arthrotec, Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren, Flector Patch, Pennsaid, Solareze), indomethacin (Indocin), meloxicam (Mobic), and others;
- a muscle relaxer such as baclofen (Lioresal), carisoprodol (Soma), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), dantrolene (Dantrium), metaxalone (Skelaxin), or methocarbamol (Robaxin), orphenadrine (Norflex), or tizanidine (Zanaflex);
- a narcotic medication such as hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Palladone), levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin), oxycodone (OxyContin), oxymorphone (Numorphan), or propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet).
This list is not complete and other drugs may interact with hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal products. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.
Where can I get more information?
Back to top
Your pharmacist can provide more information about hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Copyright 1996-2012 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 9.02. Revision date: 3/8/2012.
Your use of the content provided in this service indicates that you have read, understood and agree to the End-User License Agreement, which can be accessed by
clicking on this link.
