What are the possible side effects of Qsymia?

Qsymia can cause serious side effects, including:

Your healthcare provider should do a blood test to measure the level of acid in your blood before and during your treatment with Qsymia.

• See “What is the most important information I should know about Qsymia?” at the beginning of this Medication Guide.
• Mood changes and trouble sleeping. Qsymia may cause depression or mood problems, and trouble sleeping. Tell your healthcare provider if symptoms occur.
• Concentration, memory, and speech difficulties. Qsymia may affect how you think and cause confusion, problems with concentration, attention, memory, or speech. Tell your healthcare provider if symptoms occur.
• Increases of acid in bloodstream (metabolic acidosis). If left untreated, metabolic acidosis can cause brittle or soft bones (osteoporosis, osteomalacia, osteopenia), kidney stones, can slow the rate of growth in children, and may possibly harm your baby if you are pregnant. Metabolic acidosis can happen with or without symptoms. Sometimes people with metabolic acidosis will:
  • feel tired
  • not feel hungry (loss of appetite)
  • feel changes in heartbeat
  • have trouble thinking clearly
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who also take medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Weight loss can cause low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who also take medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (such as insulin or sulfonylureas). You should check your blood sugar before you start taking Qsymia and while you take Qsymia.
• Possible seizures if you stop taking Qsymia too fast. Seizures may happen in people who may or may not have had seizures in the past if you stop Qsymia too fast. Your healthcare provider will tell you how to stop taking Qsymia slowly.
• Kidney stones. Drink plenty of fluids when taking Qsymia to help decrease your chances of getting kidney stones. If you get severe side or back pain, or blood in your urine, call your healthcare provider
• Decreased sweating and increased body temperature (fever). People should be watched for signs of decreased sweating and fever, especially in hot temperatures. Some people may need to be hospitalized for this condition.

Common side effects of Qsymia include:

• numbness or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or face (paraesthesia)
• dizziness
• change in the way foods taste or loss of taste (dysgeusia)
• trouble sleeping (insomnia)
• constipation
• dry mouth

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

These are not all of the possible side effects of Qsymia. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. You can also report side effects to VIVUS at ……

OVERDOSE

In the event of a significant overdose with Qsymia, if the ingestion is recent, the stomach should be emptied immediately by gastric lavage or by induction of emesis. Appropriate supportive treatment should be provided according to the patient’s clinical signs and symptoms.

Acute overdose of phentermine may be associated with restlessness, tremor, hyperreflexia, rapid respiration, confusion, aggressiveness, hallucinations, and panic states. Fatigue and depression usually follow the central stimulation. Cardiovascular effects include arrhythmia, hypertension or hypotension, and circulatory collapse. Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Fatal poisoning usually terminates in convulsions and coma. Manifestations of chronic intoxication with anorectic drugs include severe dermatoses, marked insomnia, irritability, hyperactivity, and personality changes. A severe manifestation of chronic intoxication is psychosis, often clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia.

Management of acute phentermine intoxication is largely symptomatic and includes lavage and sedation with a barbiturate. Acidification of the urine increases phentermine excretion. Intravenous phentolamine has been suggested for possible acute, severe hypertension, if this complicates phentermine overdosage.

Topiramate overdose has resulted in severe metabolic acidosis. Other signs and symptoms include convulsions, drowsiness, speech disturbance, blurred vision, diplopia, mentation impaired, lethargy, abnormal coordination, stupor, hypotension, abdominal pain, agitation, dizziness, and depression. The clinical consequences were not severe in most cases, but deaths have been reported after poly-drug overdoses involving gram amounts of topiramate. A patient who ingested a dose between 96 and 110 grams topiramate was admitted to hospital with coma lasting 20 to 24 hours followed by full recovery after 3 to 4 days.

Activated charcoal has been shown to adsorb topiramate in vitro. Hemodialysis is an effective means of removing topiramate from the body.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Qsymia is contraindicated in the following conditions:

• Pregnancy
• Glaucoma
• Hyperthyroidism
• During or within 14 days following the administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
• Known hypersensitivity or idiosyncrasy to the sympathomimetic amines.