SideEffects.com

Brand Name: Tasmar
Active Ingredient: tolcapone
Strength(s):100mg and 200mg
Dosage Form(s): Tablets
Company Name: Hoffman-La Roche, Inc.
Availability: Prescription only
*Date Approved by FDA: January 29, 1998
*Approval by FDA does not mean that the drug is yet available for consumers.

What is Tasmar used for?

Tasmar is used together with the Parkinson’s medication, carbidopa/levodopa to treat Parkinson’s disease. Tasmar appears to help make the medications work longer.

Who should not take Tasmar? Patients with severely reduced liver or kidney function should be carefully monitored by their health care provider. Your health care provider will decide if you are a candidate for treatment with Tasmar.

Post Marketing Experience:

In patients taking Tasmar serious side effects have been reported including non-traumatic rhabdomyolsis (unexplained muscle tenderness or pain), extremely high fever, confusion and death. It is not possible to determine if these events are directly related to Tasmar, to certain other medications taken at the same time, to a combination of these factors, or to other factors.

Special Warnings:

Due to the risk of serious liver injury and even death, Tasmar is reserved for use in patients who do not have severe movement abnormalities and who do not respond to or who cannot take other available treatments.

Your health care provider will ask you to sign a "patient consent" form to make sure that you understand the potential risks and benefits of taking Tasmar.

What should I tell my doctor or health care provider?

Because certain other medications can interact with Tasmar, review all medications that you are taking with your doctor, including those that you take without a prescription.

Do not drive a car or operate heavy machinery until you know how you will react to Tasmar.

Tell your doctor or health care provider if you are:

* trying to become pregnant, are already pregnant, or are breast-feeding.
* taking a certain type of medication called a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor.
* taking other sleep inducing drugs.

Special Instructions:

* Keep regularly scheduled appointments with your health care provider while being treated with Tasmar to monitor Tasmar’s effect on your liver. It is recommended that your doctor perform liver tests every 2 weeks for the first year of therapy, every 4 weeks for the next 6 months and then every 8 weeks thereafter.
* Contact your doctor immediately if you experience signs or symptoms of liver disease such as:
o clay colored stool
o yellow coloring of the eyes and skin
o feeling tired or having no energy
o loss of appetite
o drowsiness
* Do not stop taking Tasmar without first telling your health care provider.



What are some possible side effects of Tasmar? (This is NOT a complete list of side effects reported with Tasmar. Your health care provider can discuss with you a more complete list of side effects.) Some of the side effects listed below may not appear for up to twelve weeks:

* Abnormal jerky movements
* Nausea
* Dizziness or fainting especially upon quickly standing or going from a laying down to an upright position
* Sleep disorders
* Diarrhea
* Hallucinations

For more detailed information about Tasmar, ask your health care provider.

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