Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Using this medicine during the later part of a pregnancy may cause problems in your newborn baby (eg, sedation or withdrawal symptoms). Tell your doctor right away if your baby has an abnormal sleep pattern, diarrhea, feeding problems, a high-pitched cry, irritability, low muscle tone, restlessness, shakiness or tremors, sluggishness, trouble breathing, weight loss, vomiting, or fails to gain weight. If you think you have become pregnant while using the medicine, tell your doctor right away.

This medicine may cause respiratory depression, a serious breathing problem that can be life-threatening, when used together with narcotic pain medicines. Check with your doctor right away if you have pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin, difficult or trouble breathing, or irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing.

This medicine may make you drowsy, confused, or less alert than you are normally. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.

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. Also tell your doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, including feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. If you or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away.

Check with your doctor right away if blurred vision, difficulty with reading, or any other change in vision occurs during or after treatment. Your doctor may want your eyes be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).

Check with your doctor before using this medicine with alcohol or medicines that can affect the central nervous system (CNS). The use of alcohol or other medicines that affect the CNS with diazepam 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.

This medicine may be habit-forming. If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose. Call your doctor for instructions.

Symptoms of an overdose include: change or loss of consciousness, confusion, dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position, irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing, lack of coordination, loss of strength or energy, muscle pain or weakness, pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin, shakiness and unsteady walk, unsteadiness, trembling, or other problems with muscle control or coordination, sweating, trouble breathing, unusual drowsiness, dullness, tiredness, weakness or feeling of sluggishness, or unusual weak feeling. Call your doctor right away if you notice these symptoms.

Do not change your dose or suddenly stop using this medicine without first checking with your doctor. Your doctor may want you to gradually reduce the amount you are using before stopping it completely. This may help prevent a possible worsening of your seizures and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms including burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, "pins and needles", or tingling feelings, continuing ringing or buzzing or other unexplained noise in the ears, discouragement, false feeling of insects crawling on the skin, feeling sad or empty, hearing loss, irritability, lack of appetite, loss of interest or pleasure, trouble concentrating, or trouble sleeping.

This medicine contains benzyl alcohol which may cause serious reactions to newborn, premature, or low-birthweight infants. Discuss this with your doctor if you are concerned.

Call your doctor right away:

  • If your seizures still continue after using this medicine.
  • If your seizures are different from your previous episodes.
  • If you are alarmed by the number or severity of your seizure episodes.
  • If you are alarmed by the color or breathing of the patient.

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.

Portions of this document last updated: May 01, 2024

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