Common use

Tolterodine contains tolterodine tartrate, the substance of cholinergic (acetyl-choline) receptor blockers class. The medication is used to reduce spasms of the bladder muscles, overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, and frequency.



Dosage and direction

Tolterodine is taken two times a day. The recommended initial dose is 2mg taken twice daily. Treatment by long-acting Tolterodine should be started by 4mg daily dose. If it is not well tolerated it should be reduced to 2mg. Dose adjustment is needed for the patients with impaired liver or kidney function. Do not open Tolterodine capsules, do not crush or chew them. Swallow the tablet whole.



Precautions

Discuss with your doctor about following conditions you may have: glaucoma, kidney or liver disease, myasthenia gravis, or a personal or family history of "Long QT syndrome." This medicine may change your thinking reactions or ability to concentrate. Be careful while driving or operating machinery.



Contraindications

Tolterodine cannot be used to treat patients with uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma, obstruction to the flow of urine (urinary retention), poor emptying of the stomach (gastric retention), allergic reaction to the components of the drug in history.



Possible side effect

Besides allergic reactions (hives, facial swelling, rash, skin eruptions, difficulty breathing) Tolterodine may cause chest pain, fast or uneven heart rate, confusion, painful or difficult urination, hallucinations, urinating less than usual or not at all.





Drug interaction

Inform your doctor about all prescribed and over-the-counter medications you are using and especially about the drugs which may interfere with elimination of tolterodine by the liver which include: cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), clarithromycin (Biaxin), azithromycin (Zithromax), erythromycin, telithromycin (Ketek), pentamidine (NebuPent, Pentam), sparfloxacin (Zagam), itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), and miconazole (Monistat, Micatin), arsenic trioxide (Trisenox), chloroquine (Arelan) or halofantrine (Halfan), levomethadyl (Orlaam), or methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), vinblastine (Velban), medications used to treat psychiatric disorders such aschlorpromazine (Thorazine), mesoridazine (Serentil), pimozide (Orap), haloperidol (Haldol), or thioridazine (Mellaril), heart rhythm medicine such as disopyramide (Norpace), procainamide (Procan, Pronestyl), amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), dofetilide (Tikosyn), sotalol (Betapace), quinidine (Cardioquin, Quinaglute).



Missed dose

Never take a double dose of this medication. If it is almost time of the next dose just skip the missed portion and continue to take the medicine according to the schedule.



Overdose

Symptoms of overdose include blurred vision, dry mouth, and fast heartbeat.



Storage

Store at room temperature 15-30 C (59-86 F) away from moisture and heat.



Disclaimer

We provide only general information about medications which does not cover all directions, possible drug integrations, or precautions. Information at the site cannot be used for self-treatment and self-diagnosis. Any specific instructions for a particular patient should be agreed with your health care adviser or doctor in charge of the case. We disclaim reliability of this information and mistakes it could contain. We are not responsible for any direct, indirect, special or other indirect damage as a result of any use of the information on this site and also for consequences of self-treatment.