Special precautions before taking Zomigon (zolmitriptan)

Before taking Zomigon (zolmitriptan)

Tell your doctor if you smoke, if you or any family members have or have ever had heart disease, if you have gone through menopause (change of life), and if you have or have ever had a heart attack; angina (chest pain); pounding or irregular heartbeat; shortness of breath; a stroke or 'mini-stroke'; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; diabetes; seizures;circulation problems such as varicose veins, blood clots in the legs, Raynaud's disease (problems with blood flow to the fingers, toes, ears, and nose), or ischemic bowel disease (bloody diarrhea and stomach pain caused by decreased blood flow to the intestines);or liveror kidney disease.

Talk to your doctor about your headache symptoms. Zolmitriptan should not be used to treat certain types of migraine headaches (hemiplegic or basilar) or other types of headaches (such as cluster headaches).

If you have phenylketonuria (PKU, an inherited condition in which a special diet must be followed to prevent mental retardation), you should know that the orally disintegrating tablets contain aspartame that forms phenylalanine.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking zolmitriptan, call your doctor.

You should know that this medication may cause drowsiness and dizziness. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how zolmitriptan affects you.

Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to zolmitriptan or any other medications.

Tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, or herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: acetaminophen (Tylenol); cimetidine (Tagamet); oral contraceptives ('birth control pills'); propranolol (Inderal); selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft); and selective serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as duloxetine (Cymbalta), sibutramine (Meridia),and venlafaxine (Effexor). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.

You should not take zolmitriptan if you:

• Are allergic to Zomig, zolmitriptan, or any inactive component used to make zolmitriptan.
• Have a history of angina, including stable angina, unstable angina, or variant angina (Prinzmetal's angina).
• Have a history of heart disease or a heart attack.
• Have untreated high blood pressure (hypertension).
• Have hemiplegic or basilar migraines (rare types of migraines involving loss of feeling on one half of the body or pain at the back of the head).

Do not take zolmitriptan if you have taken any of the following medications in the past 24 hours: other selective serotonin receptor (5-HT) agonists such as almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), or sumatriptan (Imitrex); or ergot-type medications such as bromocriptine (Parlodel), cabergoline (Dostinex), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal), ergoloid mesylates (Germinal, Hydergine), ergonovine (Ergotrate), ergotamine (Bellergal-S, Cafergot, Ergomar, Wigraine), methylergonovine (Methergine), methysergide (Sansert), and pergolide (Permax).

Do not take zolmitriptan if you are taking a monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Parnate), or tranylcypromine (Nardil) or if you have taken one of these medications in the past 2 weeks.