Probucol

Probucol is a prescription-only cholesterol lowering medicine. Deposits of cholesterol (a waxy substance) causes various heart problems. Owing to safety issues, this medicine is no longer used.

It is available as:

• Tablet

Before using Probucol, you must know all about the risks and complications associated with it. Together with your doctor, you can decide whether the medication will provide you more goods than the harms.

Here are some factors to be considered before deciding to use this medicine:

• Allergies: Inform your doctor about the allergies you have, such as to this medication, other medications, or to foods, dyes, or preservatives.
• Pediatric: Not enough is known about the use of probucol in children. Because normal levels of cholesterol are important for growth, using a cholesterol lowering agent in children under 2 years is not recommended.
• Geriatric: It’s not clear if probucol has same effects in elderly as it has in adults.
• Pregnancy: Probucol falls under category B for all trimesters meaning that it is generally safe for use in pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding: It’s not clear if probucol is safe for an infant when taken by a nursing mother. In such conditions, the risk to benefit ratio has to be assessed.
• Drug Interactions: Taking two medicines together can be harmful due to possible interactions. In other cases, even if there is a possible interaction between two medicines your doctor may advise you to take them together after adjusting the dose or issuing precautions. Here is a list of the medicines which in general are not recommended to be used with probucol. Inform your doctor if you are using any of these medicines:

        o Amifampridine
        o Bepridil
        o Cisapride
        o Dronedarone
        o Foscarnet
        o Levomethadyl
        o Mesoridazine
        o Pimozide
        o Piperaquine
        o Sparfloxacin
        o Terfenadine
        o Thioridazine
        o Ziprasidone

Though usually not recommended, your doctor may decide, after adjusting dose or frequency of one or both medicines, to use probucol with any of the following medicines:

        o Acecainide
        o Ajmaline
        o Amiodarone
        o Amisulpride
        o Anagrelide
        o Aprindine
        o Aripiprazole
        o Arsenic Trioxide
        o Astemizole
        o Azimilide
        o Bretylium
        o Buserelin
        o Chloral Hydrate
        o Chloroquine
        o Chlorpromazine
        o Clarithromycin
        o Crizotinib
        o Dabrafenib
        o Degarelix
        o Delamanid
        o Deslorelin
        o Disopyramide
        o Dofetilide
        o Dolasetron
        o Domperidone
        o Donepezil
        o Droperidol
        o Enflurane
        o Erythromycin
        o Escitalopram
        o Fingolimod
        o Flecainide
        o Fluconazole
        o Fluoxetine
        o Gemifloxacin
        o Gonadorelin
        o Goserelin
        o Halofantrine
        o Haloperidol
        o Halothane
        o Histrelin
        o Hydroquinidine
        o Hydroxychloroquine
        o Ibutilide
        o Isoflurane
        o Isradipine
        o Ivabradine
        o Ketoconazole
        o Leuprolide
        o Levofloxacin
        o Lidoflazine
        o Lorcainide
        o Mefloquine
        o Metronidazole
        o Moxifloxacin
        o Nafarelin
        o Octreotide
        o Ondansetron
        o Panobinostat
        o Pasireotide
        o Pazopanib
        o Pentamidine
        o Pirmenol
        o Prajmaline
        o Procainamide
        o Prochlorperazine
        o Propafenone
        o Quetiapine
        o Quinidine
        o Risperidone
        o Sematilide
        o Sertindole
        o Sevoflurane
        o Sotalol
        o Spiramycin
        o Sulfamethoxazole
        o Sultopride
        o Tacrolimus
        o Tedisamil
        o Telithromycin
        o Trifluoperazine
        o Trimethoprim
        o Triptorelin
        o Vandetanib
        o Vasopressin
        o Vemurafenib
        o Vinflunine
        o Zolmitriptan
        o Zotepine

Rarely and only when absolutely needed, probucol may be used with the following medicines even if using them together may put you at risk of certain side effects. In such cases, you may have to take the adjusted dose or change the frequency of intake.

        o Cyclosporine

• Other Interactions: Taking your medicine together with certain foods or items such as alcohol or tobacco may cause undesirable interactions. Talk to your doctor to know if using this medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco is safe.
• Medical Problems: Certain medical conditions might influence the effects (both positive and adverse) and action of probucol. DO NOT forget to inform your doctor about the following conditions:

        o Gallbladder disease or gallstones
        o Heart disease (Probucol may worsen these conditions)
        o Liver disease: May increase occurrences of side effects

To use Probucol properly, you must follow all instructions given by your doctor.

Here are some points to watch for:

• Strictly follow your doctor and don’t miss any dose or take higher doses unless suggested by your doctor.
• Keep in mind that, for high blood levels of cholesterol, a specially designed diet is often as important as a medicine.
• Taking probucol with meals can enhance drug efficiency.
• In many cases, high cholesterol problems may be managed with a combination of exercise and a low-fat diet. If this does not work, then only medicine is added to this combination.
• Being overweight makes this drug less effective.
• Always consult your doctor before following a diet plan especially that with low-sodium and low-sugar.

Dosing:

For best results, follow your doctor to know what amount of medicine you should take in a single dose. The doses of a medicine can differ according to the conditions for which it is being prescribed. The doses of tablets are:

• Adults: 500 milligrams (mg) every 12 hours to be taken with morning and evening meals.
• Children up to 2 years: Not recommended.
• For children 2 years and above: Your doctor will decide the dose.

Missed Dose:

Take your missed dose once you remember but avoid it if it’s time to take your next dose, and follow your normal dosing schedule. Avoid taking double doses to make up for the missed dose. 

Storage:

• Store in a closed container at room temperature.
• Keep away from heat, moisture, and direct light.
• Do not freeze.
• Keep away from children.
• Discard any unused or expired medicines.

In using Probucol, you must be careful and take some precautions as advised by your doctor. Your progress should be regularly monitored to look for some undesirable side effects or to determine if the medicine is working.

• DO NOT discontinue probucol without consulting your doctor. If you do so, the blood cholesterol levels can bounce back causing you problems.

Make sure you meet with your doctor in using Probucol to avoid unwanted potential side effects.

Call your doctor immediately if you experience:

More common:

• Dizziness or fainting
• Rapid heartbeats

Rare:

• Swellings on face, hands, or feet, or in mouth
• Abnormal bleeding or bruising
• Extreme tiredness or weakness