Benicar (generic name: olmesartan medoxomil) is a drug that treats high blood pressure. According to the company behind the drug, Benicar works by blocking angiotensin II which is “a natural chemical in your body that can raise blood pressure by causing blood vessels to tighten and narrow”. By blocking said chemical, Benicar helps blood vessels relax and widen thus preventing high blood pressure.

The most common side effect of Benicar is dizziness or lightheadednes. You can minimize this by rising up slowly from a sitting or lying down position.

And what about the less common but are the serious side effects of Benicar? The drug’s website, benicar.com, tells us that it may lead to the death of an unborn baby which is why you should NOT TAKE BENICAR WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT. More from benicar.com: Continue reading Benicar Side Effects + Can You Buy a Generic Benicar Version? →

What are the side effects of Ravicti, the newly approved drug for urea cycle disorders (UCD)? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Ravicti has the following side effects: diarrhea, flatulence, and headache. We’re pretty sure that those are only the most common side effects and that we will eventually know the lesser known, less common side effects once we agency releases the prescribing information for the drug.

Check back later for updates.

For the time being, here are things you might be interested to know about the drug which we culled from the FDA media release: Continue reading Ravicti Side Effects: Diarrhea, Flatulence, Headache →

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Nesina (alogliptin) tablets as treatment for for type 2 diabetes among adults. What are the side effects of this drug? According to the FDA media release, the most common side effects of Nesina are “stuffy or runny nose, headache, and upper respiratory tract infection.”

In the highlights of prescribing information for the drug, the FDA also mentions the following warnings and precautions:

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Continue reading Nesina (Alogliptin): Side Effects of Type 2 Diabetes Drug →

A new drug, Dificlir (generic: fidaxomicin), will soon be available in the United Kingdom to combat clostridium difficile infection. Normally, the c. diff bacterium which is found in the stomach does not cause any problems but it can turn toxic if it multiplies faster than the “good” bacteria in the gut resulting in health problems such as diarrhea or fever.

Anyhoo, as we were saying, Dificlir is now available to fight the infection.

What are the health side effects of Dificlir? According to the prescribing information for the drug, the most common side effects of the drug (occuring in ≥ 1/100 to < 1/10 test subjects) are vomiting, nausea, and constipation. Less common side effects (≥ 1/1,000 to < 1/100) are: decreased appetite, dizziness, headache, dysgeusia, abdominal distension, flatulence, dry mouth, and increased alanine aminotransferase.

Continue reading Dificlir Side Effects (Fidaxomicin) →

Myrbetriq Side Effects: Drug for Urinary Incontinence or Overactive Bladder. Are you one of 33 million Americans (and more than 200m people worldwide according to a dated 1998 figure from the World Health Organization) who suffer from urinary incontinence? Then you might be interested in a drug by Astellas Pharma named Myrbetriq (generic name: mirabegron) which is aimed at lessening your trips to the bathroom. The anti-urinary incontinence drug was approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

What are the Myrbetriq side effects? Drug tend to have unintended side effects. The FDA lists the following Myrbetriq side effects:

• increased blood pressure
• common cold-like symptoms (nasopharyngitis)
• urinary tract infection
• constipation
• fatigue
• elevated heart rate (tachycardia)
• and abdominal pain

Continue reading Myrbetriq Side Effects: Drug for Urinary Incontinence or Overactive Bladder →