Fioricet®, a registered trademark of Watson Pharmaceuticals, is used to treat certain types of tension headaches and migraines as well as mild to moderate pain.
Round uncoated tablets, speckled light-blue with "FIORICET" on one side and a three-head profile on the other, contain 50 mg butalbital, 325 mg acetaminophen and 40 mg caffeine, and come in bottles of 100 and 500. A version with codeine (butalbital, acetaminophen/codeine phosphate, USP) was developed by Novartis. A generic version known as “Butalbital Acetaminophen Caffeine Tablets 50/325/40” is also available; oval white capletts are inscribed with WPI3416.
Fioricet Dosage and Administration Normal adult dosage is one or two tablets every four hours as needed by mouth, not exceeding six per day. If Fioricet upsets your stomach, take with food or milk. Fioricet contains a barbituate (butalbital) that is potentially habit-forming and abusable; extended and repeated use may lead to physical dependence. Take only for as long as it is prescribed, in the amounts prescribed, and no more frequently than prescribed. Do not share this medicine with anyone. Federal law prohibits its transfer to anyone other than the patient for whom it was prescribed.
Fioricet prescription Fioricet should be prescribed with caution in certain special-risk patients such as the elderly or debilitated, and those with severe liver or kidney impairments or acute abdominal conditions. Special care may be needed regarding the use of this medicine in children below the age of 12 and in geriatric patients 65 and over. In general, dose selection for the elderly should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased liver, kidney, or heart function, and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy.
Fioricet Side Effects
This product may impair your mental and/or physical abilities drive a car or operate machinery. Avoid alcohol, because the combination has an additive depressant effect on the brain and can kill you. Alcohol and other central nervous system (CNS) depressants may produce an additive CNS depression when taken with this combination product and should be avoided.
Alcohol can increase possible damage to your liver and can increase possible unpleasant effects. Butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine may enhance the effects of: other narcotic analgesics, alcohol, general anesthetics, tranquilizers such as chlordiazepoxide, sedative-hypnotics, or other depressants, causing increased CNS depression. The CNS effects of butalbital may be enhanced by monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors.
Do not take with other non-prescription medicines, especially cold and allergy medicines without asking your prescriber or health care professional for advice. Grapefruit juice may increase the effects. Try to avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine while you are taking acetaminophen-butalbital-caffeine. Fioricet can also stop birth control pills (oral contraceptives) from working properly, so patients should use another method of birth control while on this medication.
Since many non-prescription medicines contain acetaminophen, read labels carefully to avoid taking an accidental overdose, which can be dangerous and even fatal at higher doses. If receiving cancer chemotherapy or other immunosuppression medicine, do not take without checking with your prescriber or health care professional. Fioricet may hide the signs of an infection such as fever or pain. If you are going to have surgery, tell your prescriber or health care professional what you are taking.
Taking Fioricet can give some people a residual “hangover” effect that leaves them drowsy or dizzy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that needs mental alertness until you know how Fioricet affects you. And to reduce dizzy or fainting spells, do not sit or stand up quickly, especially if you are older. Alternately, withdrawal symptoms can appear if you have been taking caffeine or butalbital regularly and stop. In all cases of suspected overdosage, call your Regional Poison Control Center to obtain the most up-to-date information about treatment.
Most frequently reported adverse reactions include fatigue, headache, anxiety or nervousness, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and feeling intoxicated. Keep out of reach of children in a container that small children cannot open. Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Keep container tightly closed. Throw away any unused fioricet medicine after the expiration date. Fioricet |
