Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is very important that your doctor check you or your child's progress at regular visits. This is to make sure the medicine is working properly and to allow for changes in your dose. Blood tests will also be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while using this medicine. Your doctor may need you to be monitored carefully during your pregnancy and after giving birth.

Hyponatremia (low sodium in the blood) may occur while you are using this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child develop confusion, decreased urine output, dizziness, fast or irregular heartbeat, headache, muscle pain or cramps, nausea or vomiting, weakness, or swelling of the face, ankles, or hands while using this medicine.

This medicine may cause serious types of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you or your child have itching, hives, hoarseness, trouble breathing or swallowing, or any swelling of your face, eyes, lips, tongue, arms, or legs while you are using this medicine.

This medicine may cause drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). It is a serious allergic reaction that may affect several parts of the body (eg, liver, kidneys, muscle, joints). Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have more than one of the following symptoms: dark urine, extra fluid around the face, fever, headache, itching, joint swelling, muscle aches, rash, stomach pain, swollen glands, unusual tiredness, or yellow eyes or skin.

Serious skin reactions can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, red skin lesions, severe acne or skin rash, sores or ulcers on the skin, or fever or chills while you are using this medicine.

This medicine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed. Make sure the doctor knows if you have trouble sleeping, get upset easily, have a big increase in energy, or start to act reckless. Also tell the doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. If you or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away.

Do not stop using this medicine suddenly without talking first to your doctor. You may need to slowly decrease your dose before stopping it completely.

This medicine may cause some people to become dizzy, drowsy, lightheaded, clumsy, unsteady, or less alert than they are normally. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.

This medicine can temporarily lower the number of white blood cells in your blood, increasing the chance of getting an infection. If you can, avoid people with infections. Check with your doctor immediately if you think you or your child have a fever or chills, cough or hoarseness, lower back or side pain, or painful or difficult urination.

Check with your doctor before using this medicine with other medicines that affect the central nervous system (CNS). The use of other medicines that affect the CNS with oxcarbazepine may worsen the side effects of this medicine, such as dizziness, poor concentration, drowsiness, unusual dreams, and trouble with sleeping. Some examples of medicines that affect the CNS are antihistamines or medicine for allergies or colds, sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicines, medicine for depression, medicine for anxiety, prescription pain medicine or narcotics, medicine for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, medicine for seizures or barbiturates, muscle relaxants, or anesthetics, including some dental anesthetics.

Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen, ethinyl estradiol, levonorgestrel, or progestin, contraceptive progestin injections (eg, Depo-Provera®), and contraceptive implant forms of progestin (eg, Norplant®) may not work properly if you take them while you are taking oxcarbazepine. Unplanned pregnancies may occur. You should use a different or additional means of birth control while you are taking oxcarbazepine. If you have any questions about this, check with your doctor.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.