Side effects from omacor?

Question:

Answers:
Routes to a healthy heart:
OMACOR®: how it can help you after your heart attack

Nine simple ways to reduce your risk of another heart attack:

Eat a healthy diet
Take more exercise
Loose excess weight
Stop smoking
Drink less alcohol
Reduce high blood pressure
Reduce high cholesterol levels
If diabetic, maintain good control of blood glucose levels
Keep taking your prescribed medication

OMACOR® is a pharmaceutical preparation of highly purified and concentrated omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A 1 g dose of OMACOR® contains 840 mg of the omega-3 PUFAs docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Preparation of OMACOR® involves a meticulous four-stage purification process that eliminates a range of impurities such as heavy metal residues and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and minimizes the content of saturated fats.

OMACOR®, administered at a dose of 1 g/day, has been approved as an adjuvant therapy for prevention of further heart attacks in patients who have already survived at least one heart attack. 'Adjuvant therapy' means that OMACOR® should be used in addition to other drugs indicated for reducing the risk of a repeat heart attack and in conjunction with a healthy, heart-friendly diet that includes plenty of fruit, fish and fibre.

This approved use of OMACOR® to help reduce the risk of heart attack is based on the results of GISSI-Prevenzione, a large multicentre clinical trial conducted in more than 11,000 patients who had all suffered a heart attack within the previous 3 months. These patients received whatever drugs their doctors thought appropriate to reduce their risk of another heart attack. These drugs included aspirin, beta-blockers, other drugs to lower blood pressure, and cholesterol-lowering drugs. In addition, however, doctors treated about half these patients with OMACOR® 1 g per day for an average of 3.5 years. The other patients received either a vitamin supplement or no additional treatment.

In the study, patients who took OMACOR® were one-third less likely to have died from a heart attack than patients who had not taken OMACOR®. Scientists consider this to be an important benefit of OMACOR® and a valuable improvement in the prognosis of patients who survive a first heart attack.

The illustration below depicts the treatment benefit of OMACOR® for patients who have had a heart attack. The upper part of this diagram shows the number of patients (per 100 treated) who died of a heart attack during 3.5 years of observation despite being treated with what their doctors considered to be the most appropriate combination of preventive drugs, such as aspirin, drugs to lower blood pressure and drugs to lower cholesterol. The lower part of the diagram shows the equivalent data for patients who received OMACOR® in addition to the other drugs.

OMACOR® is simple to use: you need to take a single 1 g capsule every day. It is tasteless and odourless and has few side effects. In the GISSI-Prevenzione study the reported side effects were nausea and general disturbance of the digestive tract, which affected fewer than 5% of patients.

It is highly likely that you will use OMACOR® in combination with several other drugs. So it's good news that OMACOR® has not been shown to interact with most of these drugs. So far the only drug interaction reported with OMACOR® occurs with warfarin: OMACOR® makes warfarin act more powerfully and this can have the result of making people more prone to bleeding. Mostly this happens when OMACOR® is used at high dose (4 g/day) to treat hypertriglyceridaemia (a condition in which the levels of a certain type of fat in the blood is increased). For heart attack patients the daily dose of OMACOR® is much lower, so the risk of any problem with warfarin is smaller. However, if you are taking warfarin your doctor will want to monitor you closely during the early weeks of using OMACOR® so that your dose of warfarin can be reduced if necessary.
Before Using This Medicine
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For Omacor, the following should be considered:

Allergies? Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to Omacor. Also tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to any other substances, such as fish, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy? Omacor has not been studied in pregnant women. However, studies in animals have shown that Omacor may cause unwanted effects. Before taking this medicine, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

Breast-feeding? It is not known whether Omacor pass into breast milk. Although most medicines pass into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely while breast-feeding. Mothers who are taking this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor.

Children? Studies on Omacor have been done only in adult patients and there is no specific information comparing use of Omacor in children with use in other age groups.

Older adults? This medicine has been tested in a limited number of patients 65 years of age or older and has not been shown to cause different problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines? Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking Omacor it is especially important that your doctor and pharmacist know if you are taking any of the following:

Anticoagulants? Effects on prolongation of bleeding time may be increased
Beta blockers (e.g., Atenolol, Metoprolol, Propranolol) or
Estrogens (e.g., Estinyl; Estrace; Estraderm; ) or
Thiazides (water pills)? Should be discontinued or changed before beginning therapy with Omacor

------------------------------...

Proper Use of This Medicine
Use this medicine only as directed by your doctor . Do not use more or less of it, and do not use it more often or for a longer time than your doctor ordered.

Remember that this medicine will not cure your condition but it does help control it. Therefore, you must continue to take it as directed if you expect to keep your triglyceride levels down.

Before prescribing medicine for your condition, your doctor will probably try to control your condition by prescribing a personal diet for you. Follow carefully the special diet your doctor gave you . Such a diet may be low in fats, sugars, and/or cholesterol. Many people are able to control their condition by carefully following their doctor's orders for proper diet and exercise. Medicine is prescribed only when additional help is needed and is effective only when a schedule of diet and exercise is properly followed.

Also, this medicine is less effective if you are greatly overweight. It may be very important for you to go on a weight-reducing diet. However, check with your doctor before going on any diet.

This medicine may be taken with meals.

Dosing? The dose of Omacor will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label . The following information includes only the average doses of Omacor. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

For oral dosage form (capsules):
For high triglycerides:
Adults? 4 grams (g) daily.
Children? Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
Missed dose? If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.

Storage? To store this medicine:

Keep out of the reach of children.
Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
Keep the medicine from freezing. Do not refrigerate.
Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your health care professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

------------------------------...

Precautions While Using This Medicine
It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly to lower triglyceride levels and to decide if you should continue to take it.

Compliance with prescribed diet during treatment.

------------------------------...

Side Effects of This Medicine
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

More common

Arm, back or jaw pain; chest pain or discomfort; chest tightness or heaviness; difficult or labored breathing; fast or irregular heartbeat; nausea; shortness of breath; sweating; tightness in chest; wheezing

Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. However, check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome.

Less common

Back pain; bad unusual or unpleasant (after)taste; belching; bloated full feeling; change in taste; chills; cough; diarrhea; excess air or gas in stomach; fever; general feeling of discomfort or illness; headache; hoarseness; joint pain; loss of appetite; lower back or side pain; muscle aches and pains; pain; painful or difficult urination; rash; runny nose; shivering; sore throat; sweating; trouble sleeping; unusual tiredness or weakness; vomiting

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.

Other Answers:
Please see the webpage for more details on Omacor.

Side Effects of This Medicine
Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:
Arm, back or jaw pain; chest pain or discomfort; chest tightness or heaviness; difficult or labored breathing; fast or irregular heartbeat;nausea; shortness of breath; sweating; tightness in chest;wheezing
Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. Theseside effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicineHowever, check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or arebothersome
Back pain; bad unusual or unpleasant (after)taste; belching; full feeling; change in taste; chills; cough; diarrhea; excess air or gas in stomach; fever; general feeling of discomfort or illness; headache; hoarseness; joint pain; loss of appetite; lower back or side pain; muscle aches and pains; pain; painful or difficult urination; rash; runny nose; shivering; sore throat; sweating; trouble sleeping; unusual tiredness or weakness; vomiting

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.

More Questions and Answers

The consumer health information on youqa.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.

Side effects from omacor?

Health Resources