Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking metaxalone as follows:
- Metaxalone use can result in general allergic reactions, such as, skin rashes, hives, and itching. Some patients can present with symptoms of severe allergic and anaphylactic response with metaxalone, such as, difficulty breathing, swelling of face, lips, throat, and tongue, with consequent difficulty breathing. Seek emergency medical help for such findings, especially with difficulty breathing, for any appropriate measures to be considered.
- Metaxalone use can result in episodes of headache, confusion, dizziness, and light-headedness, thus contributing to increased risk for falls and accidents. This risk with metaxalone can be even high when it is taken in high doses, when the medication is taken with a high-fat meal, or along with any other products and medications causing central nervous system (brain) depression, such as, alcohol, opioid pain medications, antidepressants, antianxiety medications, & sedatives and so, must be avoided. Avoid taking metaxalone with high fat meal. Watching closely for therapeutic response, gradually changing the dose to help optimum control of your symptoms, and avoiding taking it with medications and products causing dizziness can contribute to controlling/reducing the risk for drowsiness due to the medication. Try spacing them out accordingly, in order to prevent episodes of confusion and dizziness. Stay away from activities requiring alertness, such as, driving and operating heavy machinery, until you are used to the side effects caused by Metaxalone. Compliance with use of recommended assistive device, if any, can help towards fall and accident prevention. Starting metaxalone on a low dose and gradually increasing it to the desired dose can help accommodate to the dizzy symptoms.
- Metaxalone use, especially in individuals with any current seizure complaint or history of seizures, can occasionally result in lowering of seizure threshold, deterioration of seizure control, and episodes of seizures. Metaxalone is avoided for a better alternative or must be very cautiously administered in individuals with seizure history and response closely monitored. Seizure precaution and management measures must be reinforced. Observe compliance with intake of prescribed anti-seizure medications, if any. Any episodes of seizures while taking Metaxalone should be immediately reported to the physician, for necessary medication changes to be considered.
