Precautions and Warnings With Tolterodine ER

There are many precautions and warnings with tolterodine ER to be aware of before beginning treatment. Tell your healthcare provider if you have liver disease, glaucoma, or an enlarged prostate before taking the drug. Precautions and warnings with tolterodine ER also apply to people who have delayed gastric emptying, uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma, or difficulty passing urine.

 

Tolterodine ER: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking tolterodine ER (Detrol LA®) if you have:
 
  • Kidney disease, such as kidney failure (renal failure)
  • Liver disease, including liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatitis
  • An irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
  • Glaucoma
  • Digestive problems (especially those that involve slow emptying of food from the stomach)
  • Difficulty passing urine
  • An enlarged prostate (also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH)
  • Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.
     
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 Tolterodine ER

Warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to taking tolterodine ER include the following:
 
  • The medication may possibly make glaucoma worse. If you have glaucoma and take tolterodine ER, your healthcare provider may need to monitor you more closely.
     
  • The kidneys and liver help to remove tolterodine ER from your body. If you have kidney or liver disease, you may require extra monitoring by your healthcare provider and may need to take a lower dosage.
     
  • In studies, high doses of tolterodine ER (twice the usual dose) increased the risk of a potentially dangerous irregular heart rhythm called QT prolongation. If you already have an arrhythmia (especially long QT syndrome), tolterodine ER may make it worse.
     
  • The medication can cause blurred vision, dizziness, and drowsiness. Be sure that you know how tolterodine ER affects you before driving or operating heavy machinery.
     
  • Tolterodine ER may potentially interact with a number of other medications (see Drug Interactions With Tolterodine ER).
     
  • Tolterodine ER 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 Detrol LA and Pregnancy).
     
  • It is not known whether tolterodine ER 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 Detrol LA and Breastfeeding).
     
(Precautions and Warnings With Tolterodine ER Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;