Visit your care team for regular checks on your progress. Tell your care team if your symptoms do not start to get better or if they get worse. Because it may take several weeks to see the full effects of this medication, it is important to continue your treatment as prescribed by your care team. Do not suddenly stop taking this medication. You may develop a severe reaction. Your care team will tell you how much medication to take. If your care team wants you to stop the medication, the dose may be slowly lowered over time to avoid any side effects.
This medication may cause thoughts of suicide or depression. This includes sudden changes in mood, behaviors, or thoughts. These changes can happen at any time but are more common in the beginning of treatment or after a change in dose. Call your care team right away if you experience these thoughts or worsening depression.
If your care team increases the dose of this medication to more than 6 mg a day, ask about possible interactions with foods that contain tyramine because this medication may interact with these foods to produce severe headaches, a rise in blood pressure, or irregular heart beat. Continue to avoid tyramine-rich foods or beverages for 2 weeks after your care team reduces your medication to the 6 mg a day dose, or after you stop the 9 mg or 12 mg a day dose. If you start and continue the 6 mg dose, you do not need to make any diet changes.
This medication may affect your coordination, reaction time, or judgment. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. Sit up or stand slowly to reduce the risk of dizzy or fainting spells. Drinking alcohol with this medication can increase the risk of these side effects.
Your mouth may get dry. Chewing sugarless gum or sucking hard candy and drinking plenty of water may help. Contact your care team if the problem does not go away or is severe.
Do not treat yourself for coughs, colds, or allergies without asking your care team for advice. Do not take any medications for weight loss without advice either. Some ingredients in these products may increase possible side effects.
This medication may affect blood sugar levels. If you have diabetes, check with your care team before you change your diet or the dose of your diabetic medication.
If you are scheduled for any medical or dental procedure, tell your care team that you are taking this medication. This medication can interact with other medications used during surgery.
This medication patch is sensitive to certain body heat changes. If your skin gets too hot, more medication will come out of the patch. Call your care team if you get a fever. Do not take hot baths. Do not sunbathe. Do not use hot tubs, saunas, hairdryers, heating pads, electric blankets, heated waterbeds, or tanning lamps. Do not do exercise that increases your body temperature.