Contact 1-800-222-1222 (the American Association of Poison Control Centers), your local poison control center, or emergency room immediately.
Proper storage of Hydiphen:
Store Hydiphen at room temperature, between 68 and 77 degrees F (20 and 25 degrees C), in a tightly sealed container. Store away from heat, moisture, and light. Do not store in the bathroom. Keep Hydiphen out of the reach of children and away from pets.
Overdose of Hydiphen in details
When a dose is taken in higher dose than the recommended doses, it is called Overdose. Overdose always needs a clinical supervision. Any medicine or drug when consumed in Overdose produces untoward side effects on one or various organs in the body. A medicine is excreted in the kidney or metabolized in the liver most of the times. This process goes without any hurdles when taken in normal dose, but when taken in an overdose, the body is not able to metabolize it or send it out properly which causes the effects of anoverdose.
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Symptoms: The signs and symptoms of Hydiphen overdosage are similar to those of imipramine which includes dryness of mouth, dilated pupils, coma and convulsions. Tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmias and disturbances in cardiac rate occur. Respiratory depression and alterations in blood pressure are noted.
Treatment: Effort should be made to eliminate the unabsorbed Hydiphen by gastric lavage or emesis. Intensive care monitoring should be done. All serious poisoning cases should be monitored for at least 2-3 days for disturbances in cardiac rate and rhythm. Treatment of arrhythmia should be done on individual basis. Convulsions should be controlled with IV diazepam. Other vital parameters should be continuously monitored. Respiratory support by way of intubation, ventilation and oxygen may be required.
What should I avoid while taking Hydiphen?
Avoid drinking alcohol. It can cause dangerous side effects when taken together with Hydiphen.
This medication may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert.
Hydiphen warnings
Warnings are a mix of Precautions. Contraindications and interactions and serious harmful effects associated with the medicine intake. A diabetic or Hypertensive patient need to be warned about few drug interactions. A known hypersensitivity patient needs to be careful about the reactions or anaphylactic shock. A pregnant woman or a breastfeeding woman should be warned of certain medications. A Hepatitis [liver disease] patient or a cardiac patient should avoid few drugs.
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glaucoma, prostate problems, decreased urine output, thyroid disease, breathing problems, seizure problems, alcohol use, heart disease, mental/emotional problems, liver or kidney disease, drug allergies. This medication can increase sensitivity to sunlight. Avoid prolonged sun exposure. Wear a sunscreen and protective clothing. Limit alcohol while using this drug to avoid excessive drowsiness. Though uncommon, depression itself can lead to thoughts or attempts of suicide. Tell your doctor immediately if you have any suicidal thoughts, or other mental/mood changes. Keep all medical appointments so your doctor can monitor your progress closely. Caution is advised when using this drug in the elderly, because they may be more sensitive to the effects of the drug (e.g., confusion may occur or worsen). This drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. This drug is excreted into breast milk. The effects on the infant are not known at this time. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.
Seizures:
Tricyclic agents are known to lower the convulsive threshold and Hydiphen should, therefore, be used with extreme caution in patients with a history of convulsive disorders and other predisposing factors, e.g., brain damage of varying etiology, alcoholism, and concomitant use with other drugs that lower the seizure threshold. Total daily doses should not exceed the recommended total daily dose. Concurrent administration of ECT and Hydiphen may be hazardous and such treatment should be limited to patints for whom it is essential. Physicians should discuss with patients the risk of taking Hydiphen while engaging in activities in which a sudden loss of consciousness could result in serious injury to the patient or others e.g. the operation of complex machinery, driving, swimming, or climbing.
Cardiovascular:
Tricyclic antidepressants, particularly in high doses, have been reported to produce sinus tachycardia, changes in conduction time and arrhythmias. A few instances of unexpected death have been reported in patients with cardiovascular disorders. Myocardial infarction and stroke have also been reported with drugs of this class. Therefore, Hydiphen should be administered with extreme caution to patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, especially those who have a history of conduction disorders, those with circulatory lability and elderly patients. It also has a hypotensive action which may be detrimental in these circumstances. In such cases, treatment should be initiated at low doses with progressive increases only if required and tolerated, and the patients should be under close surveillance at all dosage levels. Monitoring of cardiac function and the ECG is indicated in such patients.
Use in Concomitant Illness:
Caution should be observed in prescribing Hydiphen in hyperthyroid patients or in patients receiving thyroid medication conjointly. Transient cardiac arrhythmias have occurred in rare instances in patients who have been receiving other tricyclic compounds concomitantly with thyroid medication.
Because of its anticholinergic properties, Hydiphen should be used with caution in patients with increased intraocular pressure or a history of urinary retention, particularly in the presence of prostatic hypertrophy.
Particularly in the elderly and in hospitalized patients the tricyclic antidepressants may give rise to paralytic ileus and, therefore, appropriate measures should be taken if constipation occurs.
Caution is called for when employing Hydiphen in patients with tumours of the adrenal medulla (e.g. pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma) in whom the drug may provoke hypertensive crisis.
Hydiphen should be kept in a safe place, well out of the reach of children.
Pregnancy:
Safe use in pregnant women has not been established. Withdrawal symptoms including tremors, convulsions, and respiratory depression have been reported in neonates whose mothers received tricyclic antidepressants during the third trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, it should not be administered to women of childbearing potential, or during pregnancy, unless, in the opinion of the physician, the expected benefit to the patient outweighs the potential risk to the fetus.
Lactation:
Since Hydiphen passes into breast milk, nursing mothers receiving it should not breast-feed their infants.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking Hydiphen?
You should not take this medicine if you are allergic to Hydiphen or to similar antidepressants such as amitriptyline, amoxapine, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline, protriptyline, or trimipramine. You should not take Hydiphen if you are being treated with methylene blue injection.
Do not use Hydiphen if you have used an MAO inhibitor in the past 14 days. A dangerous drug interaction could occur. MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid, linezolid, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, tranylcypromine, and others.
To make sure Hydiphen is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have any of these conditions:
liver disease;
kidney disease;
bipolar disorder (manic-depression), schizophrenia or other mental illness;
history of alcoholism;
history of seizures or head injury;
heart disease;
low blood pressure;
narrow-angle glaucoma;
overactive thyroid or adrenal gland tumor (pheochromocytoma or neuroblastoma); or
urination problems.
Some young people have thoughts about suicide when first taking an antidepressant. Your doctor will need to check your progress at regular visits while you are using Hydiphen. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms.
FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether Hydiphen will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medicine.
Hydiphen can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while you are using this medicine.
Do not give Hydiphen to anyone younger than 18 years old without the advice of a doctor.
Hydiphen precautions
Certain people who are very sick or very old or who are sensitive show an exacerbation of side effect of the drug which can turn dangerous at times. So, it is very important to remember the precautions while taking the medicine. Pregnancy and Breastfeeding are also special categories wherein extra care or precaution is needed when taking a drug. Few patients may have a hypersensitivity reaction to few medications, and that can be life-threatening rarely. Penicillin hypersensitivity is one example. Diarrhea, rashes are few other symptoms which need a watch. A patient with other co-existing diseases like liver disease, heart disease, kidney disease should take special precautions.
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The use of Hydiphen has been reported to cause modest hypertension with tachycardia, minor and clinically insignificant electrocardiogram (ECG) changes and elevation of liver enzyme. On rare occasions, it has been found to cause delusions, hallucinations, psychotic episodes, confusion, paranoia, hypomania or mania and male sexual dysfunction. On very rare occasions, blood dyscrasias and hyperthermia have been reported with the use of Hydiphen. Patients of obsessive compulsive disorder with depression may have suicidal tendency. The possibility of occurrence of these effects should be kept in mind and necessary precautions should be taken while prescribing Hydiphen.
Hydiphen should be used with caution in patients having hyperthyroidism, patients on thyroid medication and those with elevated intraocular pressure, history of narrow-angle glaucoma, urinary retention, tumors of adrenal medulla and impaired renal function.
Withdrawal Reaction: Abrupt discontinuation of treatment with Hydiphen may lead to withdrawal reaction characterized by dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headache, malaise, sleep disturbance, hyperthermia, irritability and possibly worsening of psychiatric status; therefore, Hydiphen should be gradually tapered and the patient carefully monitored during discontinuation of therapy.
Use in pregnancy: There are no adequate or well-controlled studies of the safety of Hydiphen in pregnant women. Withdrawal symptoms, including jitterness, tremor and seizures have been reported in neonates whose mothers had taken Hydiphen until delivery. Hydiphen should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Use in lactation: Hydiphen has been found to appear in human milk, therefore in view of the potential for adverse reactions, a decision should be made whether to continue nursing or to discontinue Hydiphen, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.
Use in children: Hydiphen is not recommended in children.
What happens if I miss a dose of Hydiphen?
When you miss a dose, you should take it as soon as you remember, but you should take care that it should be well spaced from the next dose. You should not take an extra dose at the time of the second dose as it will become a double dose. The double dose can give unwanted side effects, so be careful. In chronic conditions or when you have a serious health issue, if you miss a dose, you should inform your health care provider and ask his suggestion.
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
