Uprima (apomorphine)
What is Uprima?
Uprima, with active ingredient apomorphine, is a prescription medicine used for treating Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is associated with loss of muscle control and stiffness of the muscles. Uprima is used for treating such conditions caused to Parkinson's disease. It is a derivative of morphine and has identical effects as that of dopamine in the body.
Precautions/side effects of Uprima
Uprima has the active ingredient apomorphine. Thus, patients allergic to apomorphine should refrain from taking this drug. Apart from that, patients taking alosetron, dolasetron, palonosetron or granisetron should refrain from taking Uprima as it is known to react adversely with each of these drugs. Other than that, patients with electrolyte imbalance, low blood pressure, slow heart rate, asthma, kidney disease or liver disease should take Uprima only after consultation with a doctor.
Apart from the drugs mentioned above. Uprima is also known to react with certain medications such as medications used for treating heart arrhythmia like dofetilide, ibutilide, quinidine etc., medications used for treating migraine such as sumatriptan, antibiotics such as erythromycin, medications sused for treating malaria such as desipramine etc. Patients on these or any other prescription drugs should take Uprima only after consultation with a doctor.
Uprima is a Category C pregnancy drug. Thus, it may have adverse effects on the fetus as well as the newborn. Thus, pregnant women as well as women who are breastfeeding should take this medicine only after due consultation with a doctor.
The drug is also known to have certain side effects such as drowsiness, pale skin, inflammation of the hands or legs, runny nose etc. However, in some cases, some serious side effects may show up to the drug such as pain in the chest, hallucination, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, uncontrollable movements of the eye, hands, legs etc. If any of these symptoms show up after taking Uprima, a doctor should be consulted immediately.
Important safety information
- The drug is known to cause drowsiness. Thus, tasks which require attention such as driving, working on heavy machinery etc. should be avoided immediately after taking the drug.
- Alcohol should be avoided while on this drug as alcohol can lower blood pressure and increase the risk of side effects to the drug.
- The drug can increase the urge for sex, gambling or other things. If these urges become hard to control, a doctor should be consulted.
Dosage of Uprima
Uprima is available in strength of 10mg/ml in 3ml glass cartridges. The drug is injected under the skin and must never be given intravenously. The usual dosage of the drug is 0.2 ml to start with. The dosage is increased after carefully monitoring the blood pressure and response of the patient. The maximum dosage of the drug is 0.6 ml per day.
The drug can be self administered after the correct procedure of administration is taught by a medical practitioner. However, Uprima can lead to nausea and vomiting. Thus, anti-nausea medications may be prescribed with the drug.
While injecting the drug, it should not be injected at the same spot consecutively. A different area should be used everyday. Some of the best areas in the body for injecting Uprima are stomach, arm and thigh. It is important not to stop the dosage of the drug abruptly. It is also important not to start the dosage of the drug abruptly after you have stopped taking it for more than a week.
Overdose of the drug should be avoided at all costs. If a dose is missed, it should be had as soon as possible. However, it should not be clubbed with the next dose. Overdose of the drug can lead to severe symptoms such as low blood pressure, low pulse rate etc. which require immediate medical attention.
