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What is the most important information I should know about thiothixene?

Thiothixene is not for use in psychotic conditions related to dementia. Thiothixene may cause heart failure, sudden death, or pneumonia in older adults with dementia-related conditions.

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to thiothixene, or if you have a blood cell disorder such as anemia or low white blood cells or platelets, or if you have decreased alertness caused by taking certain medications or drinking alcohol.

Call your doctor at once if you have restless muscle movements in your eyes, tongue, jaw, or neck.

Thiothixene can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.

Avoid drinking alcohol. You should not take thiothixene if you are under the effects of alcohol.

Avoid becoming overheated or dehydrated during exercise and in hot weather. Thiothixene can decrease perspiration and you may be more prone to heat stroke.

Warning

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.

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What is thiothixene?

Thiothixene is an antipsychotic medication. It affects the actions of chemicals in your brain.

Thiothixene is used to treat schizophrenia.

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

Precautions

Thiothixene is not for use in psychotic conditions related to dementia. Thiothixene may cause heart failure, sudden death, or pneumonia in older adults with dementia-related conditions.

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to thiothixene, or if you have:

  • a blood cell disorder such as anemia, low white blood cell counts, or low platelets; or
  • drowsiness, slow breathing, weak pulse, or decreased alertness caused by taking certain medications or drinking alcohol.

If you have any of these other conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use thiothixene:

  • epilepsy or other seizure disorder;
  • heart disease;
  • a history of breast cancer; or
  • if you are addicted to alcohol.

Thiothixene may be harmful to an unborn baby. Before taking thiothixene, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

It is not known whether thiothixene passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Thiothixene can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.

Avoid drinking alcohol. You should not take thiothixene if you are under the effects of alcohol.

Avoid becoming overheated or dehydrated during exercise and in hot weather. Thiothixene can decrease perspiration and you may be more prone to heat stroke.

Avoid exposure to sunlight whenever possible.

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Instructions

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.

Overdose symptoms may include drowsiness, dizziness, muscle stiffness or twitching, increased salivation, trouble swallowing, weakness, loss of balance or coordination, and fainting.

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. 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 thiothixene and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

  • restless muscle movements in your eyes, tongue, jaw, or neck;
  • fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, rapid breathing;
  • feeling like you might pass out;
  • vision changes;
  • swelling in your hands or feet;
  • seizure (convulsions); or
  • pale skin, easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness.

Less serious side effects may include:

  • dizziness or drowsiness;
  • feeling restless or agitated;
  • sleep problems (insomnia);
  • breast swelling or discharge;
  • changes in your menstrual periods;
  • nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation;
  • changes in weight or appetite;
  • dry mouth, increased thirst; or
  • impotence, loss of interest in sex.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

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Interactions

Before using thiothixene, tell your doctor if you regularly use other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold or allergy medicine, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression, or anxiety). You should not take thiothixene if you have drowsiness caused by other medications.

Tell your doctor about all other medications you use, especially:

  • carbamazepine (Tegretol);
  • atropine (Donnatal, and others), benztropine (Cogentin), dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), methscopolamine (Pamine), or scopolamine (Transderm-Scop);
  • bronchodilators such as ipratroprium (Atrovent) or tiotropium (Spiriva);
  • glycopyrrolate (Robinul);
  • mepenzolate (Cantil);
  • bladder or urinary medications such as darifenacin (Enablex), flavoxate (Urispas), oxybutynin (Ditropan, Oxytrol), tolterodine (Detrol), or solifenacin (Vesicare); or
  • irritable bowel medications such as dicyclomine (Bentyl), hyoscyamine (Anaspaz, Cystospaz, Levsin, and others), or propantheline (Pro-Banthine).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with thiothixene. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.

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Disclaimer

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 1996-2004 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version 2.05. Revision date 8/23/04