Archive for the ‘Pain Medication’ Category

SOMA (carisoprodol) Tablets are available as 250 mg and 350 mg round, white tablets. Carisoprodol is a white, crystalline powder, having a mild, characteristic odor and a bitter taste. It is slightly soluble in water; freely soluble in alcohol, in chloroform, and in acetone; and its solubility is practically independent of pH. Carisoprodol is present as a racemic mixture. Chemically, carisoprodol is N-isopropyl-2-methyl-2-propyl-1,3-propanediol dicarbamate and the molecular formula is C12H24N2O4 , with a molecular weight of 260.33. The structural formula is:

carisoprodol

carisoprodol

Other ingredients in the SOMA drug product include alginic acid, magnesium stearate, potassium sorbate, starch, and tribasic calcium phosphate.

This medication is used to treat pain and discomfort from muscle injuries such as strains, sprains, and spasms. It is usually used along with rest, physical therapy, and other treatments (e.g., anti-inflammatory medication).

Carisoprodol is called a centrally acting muscle relaxant. It works on the nerves to relieve muscle pain. It may also relieve pain by calming your nervous system.

Medication Quantity/Description Price(USD) Order
Carisoprodol (Soma Generic) 350 mg 30 Tablets 45 buy Carisoprodol
Carisoprodol (Soma Generic) 350 mg 90 Tablets 70 buy Carisoprodol
Soma (Watson Brand) 350 mg 30 Tablets 50 Carisoprodol
Soma (Watson Brand) 350 mg 90 Tablets 75 Carisoprodol

Carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant used to relieve the pain and stiffness of muscle spasms and discomfort due to strain and sprain.

Carisoprodol is taken orally. The usual adult dosage of Carisoprodol is one 350 mg tablet, three times daily and at bedtime. Usage in patients under age 12 is not recommended. It is recommended that you take Carisoprodol with food, or with milk, to minimize the likelihood that you will suffer an upset stomach as a result of taking the medication.

PRECAUTIONS:
Before taking this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to acetaminophen, caffeine, or butalbital; or to other barbiturates (e.g., phenobarbital) or xanthine derivatives (e.g., theophylline); or if you have any other allergies.

This medication should not be used if you have certain medical conditions. Before using this medicine, consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have: severe breathing problems (e.g., bronchopneumonia), a certain enzyme disorder (porphyria).

Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist your medical history, especially of: liver disease, kidney disease, personal or family history of regular use/abuse of drugs/alcohol, mental/mood disorders, abdominal/stomach problems (e.g., stomach ulcer), heart disease (e.g., irregular heartbeat, recent heart attack).

This drug may make you dizzy or drowsy. Use caution while driving, using machinery, or taking part in any other activity that requires alertness. Avoid alcoholic beverages because they may increase the risk of this drug's side effects.

Before having surgery, tell your doctor or dentist that you are using this medication.

This product contains acetaminophen, which may cause liver damage. Daily use of alcohol, especially when combined with acetaminophen, may increase your risk for liver damage. Check with your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Kidney function declines as you grow older. This medication is removed by the kidneys. Therefore, elderly people may be at greater risk for side effects while using this drug.

During pregnancy, this medication should be used only when clearly needed. Using it for long periods or in high doses near the expected delivery date is not recommended because of possible harm to the unborn baby. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. Infants born to mothers who have used this medication for an extended time may have withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, abnormal/persistent crying, vomiting, seizures, or diarrhea. Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any of these symptoms in your newborn.

This drug passes into breast milk and could have undesirable effects on a nursing infant. Therefore, breast-feeding is not recommended while using this drug. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.

Fioricet may cause you to become drowsy or less alert; therefore, driving or operating dangerous machinery or participating in any hazardous activity that requires full mental alertness is not recommended until you know your response to this drug. If you are being treated for severe depression or have a history of severe depression or drug abuse, consult with your doctor before taking Fioricet. Use this drug with caution if you are elderly or in a weakened condition, if you have liver or kidney problems, or if you have severe abdominal trouble. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, inform your doctor immediately. Fioricet can affect a developing baby. It also appears in breast milk. If this medication is essential to your health, your doctor may advise you to discontinue breastfeeding your baby until your treatment is finished.

General
Butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine tablets should be prescribed with caution in certain special-risk patients, such as the elderly or debilitated, and those with severe impairment of renal or hepatic function, or acute abdominal conditions.

Laboratory Tests
In patients with severe hepatic or renal disease, effects of therapy should be monitored with serial liver and/or renal function tests.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility
No adequate studies have been conducted in animals to determine whether acetaminophen or butalbital have a potential for carcinogenesis, mutagenesis or impairment of fertility.

Pregnancy
Teratogenic Effects
Pregnancy Category C: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with this combination product. It is also not known whether butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. This product should be given to a pregnant woman only when clearly needed.

Nonteratogenic Effects
Withdrawal seizures were reported in a two-day-old male infant whose mother had taken a butalbital-containing drug during the last two months of pregnancy. Butalbital was found in the infant’s serum. The infant was given phenobarbital 5 mg/kg, which was tapered without further seizure or other withdrawal symptoms.

Nursing Mothers
Caffeine, barbiturates, and acetaminophen are excreted in breast milk in small amounts, but the significance of their effects on nursing infants is not known. Because of potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients below the age of 12 have not been established.

Geriatric Use
Clinical studies of Fioricet® (Butalbital, Acetaminophen, and Caffeine Tablets USP) did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients. In general, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function, and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy.

Butalbital is known to be substantially excreted by the kidney, and the risk of toxic reactions to this drug may be greater in patients with impaired renal function. Because elderly patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, care should be taken in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function.

Fioricet® (Butalbital, Acetaminophen, and Caffeine Tablets USP) is supplied in tablet form for oral administration.

This combination medication is used to treat tension headaches. Acetaminophen helps to decrease the pain from the headache. Caffeine helps increase the effects of acetaminophen. Butalbital is a sedative that helps to decrease anxiety and cause sleepiness and relaxation.

Each tablet contains the following active ingredients:
butalbital USP . . . . . . . . . . . .50 mg
acetaminophen USP . . . . . . 325 mg
caffeine USP . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 mg

Inactive Ingredients: crospovidone, FD&C Blue #1, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, pregelatinized starch, and stearic acid.

Butalbital (5-allyl-5-isobutylbarbituric acid), is a short to intermediate-acting barbiturate. It has the following structural formula:

Butalbital APAP Caffeine

Acetaminophen (4´-hydroxyacetanilide), is a non-opiate, non-salicylate analgesic and antipyretic. It has the following structural formula:

Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), is a central nervous system stimulant. It has the following structural formula:

Caffeine

Caffeine

Medication Quantity/Description Price(USD) Order
Butalbital/APAP/Caffeine (Fioricet Generic) 50/325/40 mg 30 Tabs 50 Butal APAP Caff
Butalbital/APAP/Caffeine (Fioricet Generic) 50/325/40 mg 90 Tabs 65 Butal APAP Caff

Fioricet is a barbiturate sedative mixed with a non-aspirin pain medication and caffeine. This non-narcotic pain medication and relaxant is often prescribed for tension headaches caused by contractions of the muscles in the neck and shoulder area, and migraine.

This is a summary and does not contain all possible information about this product. For complete information about this product or your specific health needs, ask your health care professional. Always seek the advice of your health care professional if you have any questions about this product or your medical condition. This information is not intended as individual medical advice and does not substitute for the knowledge and judgment of your health care professional. This information does not contain any assurances that this product is safe, effective, or appropriate for you.

BUTALBITAL/ACETAMINOPHEN/CAFFEINE – ORAL

(uh-seet-uh-MEE-no-fen/KAF-een/byou-TAL-bih-tall)

COMMON BRAND NAME(S): Esgic, Fioricet

Before taking tramadol, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to it; or to other narcotics (e.g., codeine); or if you have any other allergies.

This medication should not be used if you have certain medical conditions. Before using this medicine, consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have: severe breathing problems (e.g., respiratory depression, hypercapnia), intoxication with drugs that depress the nervous system or your breathing (CNS/respiratory depressants such as alcohol or tranquilizers/sedatives).

Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist your medical history, especially of: certain bowel diseases (paralytic ileus), brain disorders (e.g., seizures, increased intracranial pressure), conditions that increase the risk of seizures (e.g., head injury, brain tumors, meningitis, metabolic disorders, alcohol/drug withdrawal), adrenal gland problem (e.g., Addison's disease), difficulty urinating (e.g., enlarged prostate, urethral narrowing), heart problems (e.g., irregular heartbeat), personal or family history of regular use/abuse of drugs/alcohol, kidney disease, liver disease, lung diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-COPD, hypoxia), disease of the pancreas (e.g., pancreatitis), mental/mood conditions (e.g., major depression, toxic psychosis), a certain spinal problem (kyphoscoliosis), stomach/intestinal problems (e.g., gallbladder disease), underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).

This drug may make you dizzy or drowsy. Use caution while driving, using machinery, or doing any activity that requires alertness. Avoid alcoholic beverages because they may increase the risk of this drug's side effects.

To reduce dizziness and lightheadedness, get up slowly when rising from a sitting or lying position.

Caution is advised when using this drug in the elderly because they may be more sensitive to its effects, especially slow/shallow breathing and drowsiness.

During pregnancy, this medication should be used only when clearly needed. It is not recommended for use for long periods or in high doses late in pregnancy because of possible serious harm to your baby. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. Infants born to mothers who have been using this medication for an extended time may have seizures or withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, abnormal/persistent crying, or diarrhea. Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any of these symptoms in your newborn.

This drug passes into breast milk. While there have been no reports of harm to nursing infants, consult your doctor before breast-feeding.

Although tramadol is not classified as a narcotic, it may become habit-forming, causing mental or physical dependence.

CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 Inhibitors
Concomitant administration of CYP2D6 and/or CYP3A4 inhibitors (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Pharmacokinetics), such as quinidine, fluoxetine, paroxetine and amitriptyline (CYP2D6 inhibitors), and ketoconazole and erythromycin (CYP3A4 inhibitors), may reduce metabolic clearance of tramadol increasing the risk for serious adverse events including seizures and serotonin syndrome.

Serotonergic Drugs
There have been postmarketing reports of serotonin syndrome with use of tramadol and SSRIs/SNRIs or MAOIs and ?2-adrenergic blockers. Caution is advised when ULTRAM® is coadministered with other drugs that may affect the serotonergic neurotransmitter systems, such as SSRIs, MAOIs, triptans, linezolid (an antibiotic which is a reversible non-selective MAOI), lithium, or St. John’s Wort. If concomitant treatment of ULTRAM® with a drug affecting the serotonergic neurotransmitter system is clinically warranted, careful observation of the patient is advised, particularly during treatment initiation and dose increases (see WARNINGS, Serotonin Syndrome).

Triptans
Based on the mechanism of action of tramadol and the potential for serotonin syndrome, caution is advised when ULTRAM® is coadministered with a triptan. If concomitant treatment of ULTRAM® with a triptan is clinically warranted, careful observation of the patient is advised, particularly during treatment initiation and dose increases (see WARNINGS, Serotonin Syndrome).

Use With Carbamazepine
Patients taking carbamazepine may have a significantly reduced analgesic effect of ULTRAM®. Because carbamazepine increases tramadol metabolism and because of the seizure risk associated with tramadol, concomitant administration of ULTRAM® and carbamazepine is not recommended.

Use With Quinidine
Tramadol is metabolized to M1 by CYP2D6. Quinidine is a selective inhibitor of that isoenzyme, so that concomitant administration of quinidine and ULTRAM® results in increased concentrations of tramadol and reduced concentrations of M1. The clinical consequences of these findings are unknown. In vitro drug interaction studies in human liver microsomes indicate that tramadol has no effect on quinidine metabolism.

Potential for Other Drugs to Affect Tramadol
In vitro drug interaction studies in human liver microsomes indicate that concomitant administration with inhibitors of CYP2D6 such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, and amitriptyline could result in some inhibition of the metabolism of tramadol. Administration of CYP3A4 inhibitors, such as ketoconazole and erythromycin, or inducers, such as rifampin and St. John’s Wort, with Ultram® may affect the metabolism of tramadol leading to alteted tramadol exposure.

Potential for Tramadol to Affect Other Drugs
In vitro studies indicate that tramadol is unlikely to inhibit the CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of other drugs when tramadol is administered concomitantly at therapeutic doses. Tramadol does not appear to induce its own metabolism in humans, since observed maximal plasma concentrations after multiple oral doses are higher than expected based on single-dose data. Tramadol is a mild inducer of selected drug metabolism pathways measured in animals.

Use With Cimetidine
Concomitant administration of ULTRAM® with cimetidine does not result in clinically significant changes in tramadol pharmacokinetics. Therefore, no alteration of the ULTRAM® dosage regimen is recommended.

Use With Digoxin and Warfarin
Post-marketing surveillance has revealed rare reports of digoxin toxicity and alteration of warfarin effect, including elevation of prothrombin times.