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| Pronunciation |
|
 (al
TRET a
meen) |
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| Brand Names |
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| Hexalen® |
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| Therapeutic
Categories |
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Antineoplastic Agent, Miscellaneous |
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| Reasons not to take this
medicine |
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|
- If you have an allergy to altretamine or any other part of the
medicine.
- If you have any of the following conditions: Severe bone marrow
disease or severe nerve problems.
- If you are pregnant.
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| What is this medicine used
for? |
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|
- This medicine is used to treat ovarian
cancer.
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| How does it work? |
|
|
- Altretamine may kill cells. How it does this is
unknown.
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| How is it best taken? |
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|
- Take with meals and at
bedtime.
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| What do I do if I miss a
dose? |
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|
- Take a missed dose as soon as possible.
- If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed one. Return to
your regular schedule.
- Do not take a double dose or extra
doses.
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|
| What are the precautions when
taking this
medicine? |
|
|
- If you are 65 or older, you may have more side effects especially
dizziness.
- Avoid alcohol (includes wine, beer, and liquor).
- Do not take cimetidine with this medicine.
- Do not use antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. These
include isocarboxazid, phenelzine, and tranylcypromine. Can cause dizziness when
used with this medicine. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Avoid aspirin, aspirin-containing products, ibuprofen or like
products, other blood thinners (warfarin, ticlopidine, clopidogrel), garlic,
ginseng, ginkgo, vitamin E.
- You will bleed easily. Be careful. Avoid injury.
- Tell healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medicine. Make
sure to tell about the allergy and how it affected you. This includes telling
about rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of
face, lips, tongue, throat; or any other symptoms involved.
- Do not use in pregnancy and do not get pregnant. Use birth control
that you can trust while taking this medicine.
- Do not use if you are
breast-feeding.
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| What are the common side effects
of this
medicine? |
|
|
- Nausea or vomiting. Small frequent meals, frequent mouth care, sucking
hard candy, or chewing gum may help. You may need a medicine to decrease this
side effect. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Numbness, tingling, or pain in hands and feet. Usually goes away when
medicine stopped.
- Anemia.
- Dizziness. Avoid driving, doing other tasks or activities that require
you to be alert until you see how this medicine affects
you.
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| What should I monitor? |
|
|
- Check blood work. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Follow up with healthcare
provider.
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| Reasons to call healthcare
provider
immediately |
|
|
- Signs of a life-threatening reaction. These include wheezing;
tightness in the chest; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; fits;
swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.
- Fever and/or chills.
- Severe nausea or vomiting.
- Unusual bruising or bleeding.
- Any rash.
- No improvement in condition or feeling
worse.
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| How should I store this
medicine? |
|
|
- Store in a tight container at room
temperature.
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| General statements |
|
|
- Do not share your medicine with others and do not take anyone else's
medicine.
- Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and pets.
- Keep a list of all your medicines (prescription, herbal/supplements,
vitamins, over-the-counter) with you. Give this list to healthcare provider
(doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physician assistant).
- Talk with healthcare provider before starting any new medicine,
including over-the-counter or natural products (herbs,
vitamins).
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