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 pemoline, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to pemoline. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Pemoline has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in humans. However, studies in animals given large doses of pemoline have shown that pemoline causes an increase in stillbirths and decreased survival of the offspring after birth.

Breast-feeding—It is not known whether pemoline passes into breast milk.

Children—Slowed growth rate in children who received medicines like pemoline for a long period of time has been reported. Some doctors recommend medicine-free periods during treatment with pemoline to help prevent slowed growth.

Pemoline may make behavior worse in children with serious mental illness.

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 pemoline, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Amantadine (e.g., Symmetrel) or
• Amphetamines or
• Appetite suppressants (diet pills) or
• Caffeine (e.g., NoDoz) or
• Chlophedianol (e.g., Ulone) or
• Cocaine or
• Medicine for asthma or other breathing problems or
• Medicine for colds, sinus problems, hay fever or other allergies (including nose drops or sprays) or
• Methylphenidate (e.g., Ritalin) or
• Nabilone (e.g., Cesamet)—Using these medicines with pemoline may cause severe nervousness, irritability, trouble in sleeping, or possibly irregular heartbeat or seizures

• Anticonvulsants (medicine to control seizures)—Pemoline may increase the chance of having seizures; your doctor may change the dose of your anticonvulsant medicine

• Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor activity (isocarboxazid [e.g., Marplan], phenelzine [e.g., Nardil], procarbazine [e.g., Matulane], selegiline [e.g., Eldepryl], tranylcypromine [e.g., Parnate])— Taking pemoline while you are taking or within 2 weeks of taking an MAO inhibitor may result in sudden extremely high blood pressure or fever, irregular heartbeat, or seizures

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

• Drug abuse or dependence (or history of)—Dependence on pemoline may develop

• Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome or other tics or
• Liver disease or
• Mental illness (severe)—Pemoline may make the condition worse

• Kidney disease—Higher blood levels of pemoline may occur, increasing the chance of side effects