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Significant Interactions:
When you are taking Zyban, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:
- Tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline [e.g., Elavil
], amoxapine [e.g., Asendin], 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
-
- Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor activity (isocarboxazid [e.g., Marplan], phenelzine [e.g., Nardil], procarbazine [e.g., Matulane], selegi
line [e.g., Eldepryl], tranylcypromine [e.g., Parnate])¡X Do not take Zyban while you are taking or within 14 days of taking an MAO inhibitor
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Symptoms of overdose
Fast heartbeat; hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there); loss of consciousness ; nausea; seizures (convulsions) ; vomiting
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Why is this drug prescribed?
Zyban (Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR), an antidepressant (mood elevator), is used to treat depression. Zyban (Zyban) is used to help people stop smoking
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How should this medicine be used?
Treatment with this drug begins while you are still smoking. Zyban needs about a week to reach an effective level in your body; so to improve your chance of success, you should not attempt to quit unt
il the second week of treatment. Set a firm date for quitting. If you are still smoking after that date, your odds of breaking the habit will be worse. You should keep taking Zyban for 7 to 12 weeks.
You can use nicotine patches along with Zyban. However, combining the two treatments can raise your blood pressure, so it's important to tell your doctor if you plan to use both. Do not smok
e while using a patch, because too much nicotine can cause serious side effects.
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Other medical problems
Older adults¡XThis medicine has been tested in a limited number of patients 60 years of age and older and has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in
younger adults.
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What special precautions should I follow?
Your doctor should check your progress at regular visits, especially during the first few months of treatment with this medicine. The amount of Zyban you take may have to be changed often to meet the
needs of your condition and to help avoid unwanted effects.
Do not take Zyban within 14 days of taking an MAO inhibitor.
Zyban is sold under different brand names for different uses.
If you are already taking medicine for mental depression or to help you stop smoking, discuss this with your health care professional before taking Zyban. It is very important that you receive only o
ne prescription for Zyban at a time.
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