Precautions While Using This Medicine

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.

Nonsteroidal antiandrogens rarely cause liver problems during treatment. The most important signs of this side effect are pain or tenderness in the upper right side of the abdomen (stomach) and yellow eyes or skin. Check with your doctor immediately if either of these occurs. Also, check with your doctor as soon as possible if itching occurs or your urine appears unusually dark. Other possible symptoms, such as loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, and “flu-like” symptoms (headache, muscle or joint pain, or tiredness), can occur during treatment even if you are not having any liver problems. These symptoms usually do not need medical attention. However, if two or more of them occur at the same time, and they last for more than a few days, check with your doctor even if you do not have any of the other symptoms mentioned earlier.

For patients taking nilutamide :

• Check with your doctor right away if shortness of breath or difficult breathing occurs or gets worse during treatment.
• Be very careful while driving, especially when you drive into or out of tunnels . Nilutamide can temporarily change the way your eyes react to light. You may not be able to see as well as usual for up to several minutes after going from bright light to darkness or from dark to lighted areas. Also, nilutamide can cause your eyes to be more sensitive to light than they are normally. Wearing eyeglasses with tinted lenses or sunglasses may help reduce these effects.
• Drinking alcoholic beverages while taking nilutamide may cause unwanted effects in some people. Possible effects include feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint; flushing of the face; or a general feeling of illness. If you notice any of these effects, do not drink any more alcoholic beverages while you are being treated with this medicine.