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Other Medicines
It is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:
- Antidepressants, tricyclic (amitriptyline [e.g., Elavil], amoxapine [e.g., Asendi
n], clomipramine [e.g., Anafranil], desipramine [e.g., Pertofrane], doxepin [e.g., Sinequan], imipramine [e.g., Tofranil], nortriptyline [e.g., Aventyl], protriptyline [e.g., Vivactil], trimipramine [
e.g., Surmontil]) or
- Central nervous system (CNS) depressants (medicines that often cause drowsiness)¡XThese medicines may add to the effects of butalbital and increase the chance of drowsiness
or other side effects
- Divalproex (e.g., Depakote) or
- Valproic acid (e.g., Depakene)¡XThe chance of side effects may be increased
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Overdosage
Seek emergency medical attention. Symptoms of an acetamino phenbutalbita lcaffeine - Esgic overdose include insomnia, restlessness, tremor, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, sweating, seizur
es, drowsiness, decreased breathing,
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Precautions Before Using This Medicine
Older adults¡X
- For butalbital: Certain side effects, such as confusion, excitement, or mental depression, may be especially likely to occur in elderly patients, who are usually more sensit
ve than younger adults to the effects of the butalbital in this combination medicine.
- For acetaminophen: Acetaminophen has been tested and has not been shown to cause different side effects or
problems in older people than it does in younger adults.
- For caffeine: There is no specific information comparing use of caffeine in the elderly with use in other age groups
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Missed Dose
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Do not takedouble dose of Esgic . Wait the prescribed amount of time before taking your next dose.
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Why is this drug prescribed?
Butalbital and acetaminophen (byoo-TAL-bi-tal and a-seat-a-MIN-oh-fen) combination is a pain reliever and relaxant. It is used to treat tension headaches. Butalbital belongs to the group of medicines
called barbiturates (bar-BI-tyoo-rates) . Barbiturates act in the central nervous system (CNS) to produce their effects.
When you take butalbital for a long time, your body may get used to i
t so that larger amounts are needed to produce the same effects. This is called tolerance to the medicine. Also, butalbital may become habit-forming (causing mental or physical dependence) when it is
used for a long time or in large doses. Physical dependence may lead to withdrawal side effects when you stop taking the medicine.
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How should you take this medication?
People who get a lot of headaches may need to take a different medicine to help prevent headaches. It is important that you follow your doctor's directions about taking the other medicine, even if you
r headaches continue to occur. Headache-preventing medicines may take several weeks to start working. Even after they do start working, your headaches may not go away completely. However, your headach
es should occur less often, and they should be less severe and easier to relieve than before. This will reduce the amount of headache relievers that you need. If you do not notice any improvement afte
r several weeks of headache-preventing treatment, check with your doctor.
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