Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly. Blood and urine tests are needed to check for unwanted effects.

Do not use this medicine if you are also using alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), amiodarone (Pacerone®) with ritonavir, apalutamide (Erleada®), carbamazepine (Tegretol®), cisapride (Propulsid®), elbasvir/grazoprevir (Zepatier®), encorafenib (Braftovi®), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (Mavyret®), indinavir (Crixivan®), irinotecan (Camptosar®), ivosidenib (Tibsovo®), lomitapide (Juxtapid®), lovastatin (Altocor®, Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®) with ritonavir, nevirapine (Viramune®), oral midazolam (Versed®), phenobarbital (Solfoton®), phenytoin (Dilantin®), pimozide (Orap®), quinidine (Cardioquin®) with ritonavir, rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®), salmeterol (Advair®, Serevent®), sildenafil (Revatio®), simvastatin (Zocor®), triazolam (Halcion®), or ergot medicines (eg, dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, Cafergot®, D.H.E. 45®, Ergomar®, Ergostat®, Ergotrate®, Methergine®, Migranal®, or Wigraine®).

This medicine may cause heart rhythm problems. Tell your doctor right away if you get dizzy or lightheaded, have a fast or irregular heartbeat, or feel like fainting.

Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

This medicine may cause serious kidney problems, including chronic kidney disease. Your doctor may want your urine tested before and during treatment with this medicine. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

This medicine may increase your risk of having kidney stones. Check with your doctor right away if you have blood in your urine, nausea and vomiting, pain in the groin or genitals, or sharp back pain just below the ribs.

This medicine may increase blood sugar levels. Check with your doctor if you notice a change in the results of your blood or urine sugar tests.

Birth control pills may not work as well while you are using atazanavir. To keep from getting pregnant, use an additional form of birth control along with your pills. Other forms of birth control include condoms, a diaphragm, or contraceptive foam or jelly.

Your immune system may get stronger when you start taking HIV medicines. Tell your doctor right away if you notice any changes in your health. Sometimes the immune system will start to fight infections that were hidden in your body, including pneumonia or tuberculosis, or may result in a flare-up of a hidden autoimmune disorder (eg, Graves disease, polymyositis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, or autoimmune hepatitis).

Serious skin reactions (eg, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, toxic skin eruptions) can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, skin rash, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may cause you to have excess body fat. Tell your doctor if you notice changes in your body shape, including an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck, or around the chest and stomach area. You might also lose fat from the legs, arms, and face.

This medicine will not keep you from giving HIV to your partner during sex. Make sure you understand this and practice safe sex, even if your partner also has HIV, by using a latex condom or other barrier method. This medicine will also not keep you from giving HIV to other people if they are exposed to your blood. Do not re-use or share needles with anyone.

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

Portions of this document last updated: May 01, 2024

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