Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For diazoxide, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to diazoxide, sulfonamides (sulfa medicine), or thiazide diuretics (certain types of water pills). Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Studies have not been done in pregnant women. However, too much use of diazoxide during pregnancy may cause unwanted effects (high blood sugar, loss of hair or increased hair growth, blood problems) in the baby. Studies in animals have shown that diazoxide causes some birth defects (in the skeleton, heart, and pancreas) and other problems (delayed birth, decrease in successful pregnancies).

Breast-feeding—It is not known whether diazoxide passes into breast milk. However, this medicine has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children—Infants are more likely to retain (keep) body water because of diazoxide. In some infants, this may lead to certain types of heart problems. Also, a few children who received diazoxide for prolonged periods (longer than 4 years) developed changes in their facial structure.

Older adults—Many medicines have not been tested in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of oral diazoxide in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking diazoxide, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Amantadine (e.g., Symmetrel) or
• Antidepressants (medicine for depression) or
• Antihypertensives (high blood pressure medicine) or
• Antipsychotics (medicines for mental illness) or
• Bromocriptine (e.g., Parlodel) or
• Cyclandelate (e.g., Cyclospasmol) or
• Deferoxamine (e.g., Desferal) or
• Diuretics (water pills) or
• Hydralazine (e.g., Apresoline) or
• Isoxsuprine (e.g., Vasodilan) or
• Levobunolol (e.g., Betagan) (use in the eye) or
• Levodopa (e.g., Dopar) or
• Medicine for heart disease or
• Metipranolol (e.g., OptiPranolol) or
• Nabilone (e.g., Cesamet) (with high doses) or
• Narcotic pain medicine or
• Nicotinyl alcohol (e.g., Roniacol) or
• Nimodipine (e.g., Nimotop) or
• Nylidrin (e.g., Arlidin) or
• Papaverine (e.g., Pavabid) or
• Pentamidine (e.g., Pentam) or
• Pimozide (e.g., Orap) or
• Promethazine (e.g., Phenergan) or
• Timolol (e.g., Timoptic) (use in the eye) or
• Trimeprazine (e.g., Temaril)—Use of any of these medicines with diazoxide may cause low blood pressure

• Ethotoin (e.g., Peganone) or
• Mephenytoin (e.g., Mesantoin) or
• Phenytoin (e.g., Dilantin)—Any of these medicines and diazoxide may be less effective if they are taken at the same time

Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of diazoxide. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Angina (chest pain)

• Gout—Diazoxide may make this condition worse

• Heart attack (recent)

• Heart or blood vessel disease

• Kidney disease—The effects of diazoxide may last longer because the kidney may not be able to get the medicine out of the bloodstream as it normally would

• Liver disease

• Stroke (recent)