Precautions and Warnings With Darifenacin

To help ensure a safe treatment process, make sure you are aware of precautions and warnings with darifenacin before starting the drug. Tell your healthcare provider if you have glaucoma, ulcerative colitis, or liver disease. Precautions and warnings with darifenacin also apply to people who have urinary retention, uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma, or a condition that slows the emptying of food from the stomach.

 

Darifenacin: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking darifenacin (Enablex®) if you have:
 
Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
 
  • Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
  • Breastfeeding.
     
Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
 

Specific Precautions and Warnings With Darifenacin

Warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to taking darifenacin include the following:
 
  • This medication may make glaucoma worse. If you have glaucoma and take darifenacin, your healthcare provider may need to monitor you more closely.
     
  • Darifenacin can slow down the digestive system. This can cause problems, especially for people who already have a slow digestive system due to myasthenia gravis, ulcerative colitis, or other problems.
     
  • The liver helps to remove darifenacin from your body. Therefore, if you have liver disease, you may require extra monitoring by your healthcare provider and may need to take a lower darifenacin dosage.
     
  • Darifenacin can cause blurred vision, dizziness, and drowsiness. Be sure that you know how the medication affects you before driving or operating heavy machinery.
     
  • Darifenacin can decrease your ability to sweat, which may increase your risk of heat stroke. Be sure to stay well hydrated in the heat.
     
  • Darifenacin may potentially interact with a number of other medications (see Drug Interactions With Darifenacin).
     
  • Darifenacin is considered a pregnancy Category C medication. This means that it may not be safe for use during pregnancy, although the full risks are not known (see Enablex and Pregnancy).
     
  • It is not known whether darifenacin passes through breast milk. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to taking the drug (see Enablex and Breastfeeding).
     
(Precautions and Warnings With Darifenacin Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;