ABELCET

Who is Abelcet for ?

Your doctor has ordered amphotericin, an antifungal agent, to help treat your infection. It will be added to an intravenous fluid that will drip through a needle or catheter placed in your vein for several hours, once a day or once every other day. Amphotericin is used to kill fungi that can cause many serious and life-threatening infections. Amphotericin is not effective against bacterial infections or viruses. Abelcet is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Your health care provider (doctor, nurse, or pharmacist) may measure the effectiveness and side effects of your treatment using laboratory tests and physical examinations. It is important to keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. The length of treatment depends on how your infection and symptoms respond to the medication.

When should I be careful taking Abelcet ?

Before administering amphotericin,

• tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to amphotericin or any other drugs.
• tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking, especially antibiotics, cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), dexamethasone (Decadron), flucytosine (Ancobon), medications for high blood pressure or heart disease, muscle relaxants, prednisone, and vitamins.
• tell your doctor if you have or have ever had kidney disease or diabetes.
• tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. Amphotericin must be used with extreme caution in these cases. Your doctor may direct you to stop breast-feeding or even prescribe a different drug. If you become pregnant while taking amphotericin, call your doctor immediately.

Abelcet Side Effects

Although side effects from amphotericin are not common, they can occur. These side effects include fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, and pain or irritation at the injection site during or shortly after infusion. Your health care provider may prescribe other medications to decrease these side effects. If you have never experienced any of these effects from previous doses and suddenly have symptoms, stop your infusion and call your health care provider immediately. Tell your health care provider if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• diarrhea
• stomach cramping
• joint or muscle aches
• weight loss

• increased urination
• change in heartbeat