Drug Interactions With Tegaserod

When different medications are taken together, there is the potential for drug interactions. With tegarserod, drug interactions can potentially occur with digoxin and oral contraceptives. These interactions may cause a slight decrease in the level of digoxin or oral contraceptive in your blood, but they are not severe enough to require any change in dosages.

Tegaserod Maleate

Tegaserod Drug Interactions: An Overview

Tegaserod maleate (Zelnorm^®) is unlikely to interact with most medications. For the few medications that do interact with tegaserod, the interaction is not severe enough to require any change in dosages. These medications that might interact with tegaserod include:

Digoxin (Digitek^®, Lanoxin^®)
Oral contraceptives ("birth control pills").

In March 2007, Zelnorm was taken off the market in the United States because it was shown to increase the risk for a heart attack, angina, or stroke. In July 2007, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Zelnorm will be available to people who meet certain criteria through a special program called a "treatment IND" (see Zelnorm Recall for more information). However, as of April 2, 2008, Zelnorm is no longer available under the treatment IND program, although it may still be available in certain emergency situations.

More Detail on Tegaserod Interactions

Digoxin (Digitek, Lanoxin)

Taking tegaserod with digoxin can slightly decrease the level of digoxin your blood. For most people, this interaction will not cause any problems, and the doses of these medications do not need to be adjusted.

(Drug Interactions With Tegaserod Continued: Page 2)