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What is nelfinavir?

Nelfinavir is an antiviral medication in a group of HIV medicines called protease (PRO-tee-ayz) inhibitors. Nelfinavir prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.

Nelfinavir is used to treat HIV, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Nelfinavir is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

Nelfinavir may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Precautions

Instructions

Side-effects

Interactions

Precautions

Do not take this medication if you are allergic to nelfinavir.

Some other medications can cause life-threatening side effects if you use them while you are taking nelfinavir. Do not take nelfinavir with amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex), cisapride (Propulsid), pimozide (Orap), midazolam (Versed), triazolam (Halcion), or an ergot medicine such as Ergomar, Cafergot, Wigraine, D.H.E. 45, Migranal, or Methergine.

Before taking nelfinavir, 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 need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take nelfinavir.

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.

Nelfinavir can make birth control pills 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 nelfinavir.

If you are pregnant, your name may need to be listed on an antiviral pregnancy registry when you start using this medication.

Do not give this medication to a child younger than 2 years old.

You should not breast-feed while you are using nelfinavir. 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.

The powder form of nelfinavir may contain phenylalanine. Talk to your doctor before using this form of nelfinavir if you have phenylketonuria (PKU).

If you also take didanosine, take it 1 hour before or 2 hours after you take nelfinavir.

Taking nelfinavir will not prevent you from passing HIV to other people through unprotected sex or sharing of needles. Talk with your doctor about safe methods of preventing HIV transmission during sex, such as using a condom and spermicide. Sharing drug or medicine needles is never safe, even for a healthy person.

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Instructions

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Symptoms of a nelfinavir overdose are not known.

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.

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Side-effects

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 nelfinavir and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• increased urination or extreme thirst;
• easy bruising or bleeding; or
• signs of a new infection, such as fever or chills, cough, or flu symptoms.

Less serious side effects may include:

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, bloating, loss of appetite;
• tired feeling;
• headache, mood changes; or
• changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and trunk).

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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Interactions

Before taking nelfinavir, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:

• fluticasone (Advair, Flonase, Flovent);
• lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra);
• methadone (Dolophine, Methadose);
• omeprazole (Prilosec);
• St. John's wort;
• antibiotics such as itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), rifabutin (Mycobutin), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater);
• antidepressants such as trazodone (Desyrel) and others;
• 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), or simvastatin (Zocor);
• drugs that weaken the immune system, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), sirolimus (Rapamune), or tacrolimus (Prograf);
• insulin or diabetes medication you take by mouth;
• medicines to treat erectile dysfunction, such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra); or
• seizure medications such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), or phenytoin (Dilantin).

This list is not complete and there are many other medicines that can interact with nelfinavir. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

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