Viberzi

Viberzi is used to treat adults with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D). This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

Before using Viberzi, you must know all about the risks and complications associated with it. This is a decision that needs to be reached by both you and your doctor.

For this medicine, the following should be considered. It is important that you inform your doctor whether you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines.

Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of eluxadoline in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established.

Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of eluxadoline in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have unwanted side effects and stomach problems, which may require caution in patients receiving eluxadoline.

There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.

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 this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional knows if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines such as cyclosporine and Eltrombopag.

Other Interactions may also present when using this medicines. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur.

Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication, change some of the other medicines you take or give you special instructions about the use of food, alcohol, or tobacco and ethanol. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine.

Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Alcohol abuse or addiction
• Bowel or stomach blockage, known or suspected
• Constipation (severe)
• Gallbladder blockage, known or suspected
• Pancreas problems (eg, blockage in the pancreas)
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• Patients who drink more than 3 alcoholic beverages a day 
• Sphincter of Oddi disease, known or suspected, should not be used in patients with these conditions
• Liver disease, mild to moderate must be checked since this medicine requires to be used with caution

The effects may be increased because of slower removal of the medicine from the body.

To use Viberzi properly, you must follow all instructions given by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered.

To do so may increase the chance of side effects. This medicine should come with a medication guide. Read and follow these instructions carefully. It is important to ask your doctor if you have any questions and take this medicine with food.

The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine.

If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine.

Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.

For oral dosage form (tablets):

For irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea:

Adults 100 milligrams (mg) two times a day. Some patients may need 75 mg two times a day. Use of this medicine in children and dose needed must be determined by your doctor.

In the event of missed doses, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses. Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light.

Keep from freezing. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.

Before using Viberzi, there are some precautions you must take. Frequent medical checkups by your doctor during the regular visits are necessary to make sure that this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.

If your symptoms and condition do not improve within a few days, or if they become worse, check with your doctor. Stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away if you have constipation for more than 4 days.

This medicine may increase your risk for sphincter of Oddi spasm. This is more likely to occur if you do not have a gallbladder.

Call your doctor right away if you have new or worsening stomach pain or pain in the upper right abdominal or stomach that may move to your back or shoulders, with or without nausea or vomiting. This medicine may increase your risk for pancreatitis.

Check with your doctor right away if you have the following symptoms:

• bloating
• chills
• darkened urine
• sudden and severe stomach pain
• nausea
• vomiting
• fever
• lightheadedness
• yellow eyes or skin

If you have liver problems, do not drive or do anything that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. Avoid drinking excessive alcohol while using this medicine.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

As with many medications, there are several potential side effects associated with Viberzi. When they do occur, they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

The rare side effects include:  

• bloating
• chills
• constipation
• darkened urine
• fast heartbeat
• fever
• indigestion
• loss of appetite
• nausea
• pains in the stomach, side or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back
• vomiting
• yellow eyes or skin

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

The Less common side effects includes:

• body aches or pain chills
• cough
• a cough producing mucus
• the difficulty with breathing
• ear congestion
• excess air or gas in the stomach or intestines
• fever
• full feeling
• headache
• loss of voice
• muscle aches
• passing gas
• pressure in the stomach
• rash
• sneezing
• a sore throat
• stuffy or a runny nose
• swelling of abdominal or stomach area
• tightness in the chest
• unusual tiredness or weakness

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.