Drospirenone/Boceprevir
This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.
Medical warning:
Severe. These medicines may interact and cause very harmful effects and are usually not taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
Boceprevir may slow down how quickly your liver processes drospirenone. Boceprevir may lower the amount of estrogen you receive from your medicine.
What might happen:
The amount of drospirenone in your blood may increase. This may cause your blood levels of potassium to increase and cause breathing difficulties, chest pain, slow or irregular heartbeat, confusion, or muscle weakness.If you are using your medicine for birth control, it may not prevent you from becoming pregnant while you are taking boceprevir. Boceprevir is used with another medicine, ribavirin, which may cause birth defects.
What you should do about this interaction:
Let your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) know right away that you are taking these medicines together. Also let your doctor know if you have any kidney, liver, or adrenal problems or if you are taking potassium supplements, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, or heparin. Your doctor may check the amount of potassium in your blood after you have been taking these medicines together for one cycle. Let your doctor know right away if you have any symptoms of a high potassium level.You should not rely on a hormonal contraceptive agent as your method of birth control while taking boceprevir. Discuss birth control options with the doctor that prescribed boceprevir for you and with your gynecologist (OB/GYN). You should use two other methods of birth control (such as an intrauterine device [IUD] and/or barrier methods) while taking boceprevir and ribavirin and for six months after finishing your therapy. Be sure to undergo a pregnancy test every month. If you think that you may be pregnant, contact your doctor right away.Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.Reference:1.Victrelis (boceprevir) US prescribing information. Schering Corporation February, 2013.
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