Betaxolol

Before taking betaxolol,

• tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to betaxolol, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in betaxolol tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
• tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone); beta blocker eye drops such as betaxolol (Betoptic), carteolol (Ocupress), levobunolol (Akbeta, Betagan), metipranolol (Optipranolol), and timolol (Betimol, Timoptic, in Cosopt); calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), and verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Tarka, others); clonidine (Catapres, Kapvay, in Clorpres); digoxin ( Lanoxin); disopyramide (Norpace); epinephrine (Epipen); and reserpine. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
• tell your doctor if you have heart failure or any other heart problems. Your doctor may tell you not to take betaxolol if you have heart failure or other heart problems.
• tell your doctor if you have or have ever had angina (chest pain); asthma or other lung disease; diabetes; psoriasis (a skin condition); pheochromocytoma (tumor on a small gland near the kidneys); severe allergies;or kidney, liver, or thyroid disease.
• tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking betaxolol, call your doctor.
• tell any doctor, dentist, or eye doctor who will be treating you that you are taking betaxolol. This is especially important if you are having surgery, including dental surgery.
• you should know that betaxolol may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you.

Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom).

Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA's Safe Disposal of Medicines website (http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p) for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.

It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location – one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. http://www.upandaway.org

Tell your doctor about all prescription, nonprescription, illegal, recreational, herbal, nutritional, or dietary drugs you're taking, especially:

• Asthma or allergy treatments (or allergy skin testing)
• Cold medicines, stimulants, or diet pills
• Cordarone or Pacerone (amiodarone)
• Beta-blocker eye drops, such as Betoptic (betaxolol), Ocupress (carteolol), Betagan (levobunolol), OptiPranolol (metipranolol), and Betimol, Timoptic, or Cosopt (timolol and dorzolamide)
• Calcium channel blockers, such as Cardizem, Cartia, Dilacor, Dilt-CD, Taztia, or Tiazac (diltiazem); Adalat, Afeditab, Nifedical, or Procardia (nifedipine); and Calan, Covera, Verelan, or Tarka (verapamil)
• Catapres or Kapvay (clonidine)
• Clorpres (clonidine and chlorthalidone)
• Lanoxin (digoxin)
• Norpace (disopyramide)
• Adrenaclick, EpiPen, Twinject (epinephrine)
• Reserpine
• Diabetes medication

Betaxolol and Other Interactions

Betaxolol may cause drowsiness.

Don't drive, operate machinery, or perform other activities that require alertness until you know how this medicine affects you.

Betaxolol and Alcohol

Drinking alcohol may increase the risk of developing unwanted side effects of betaxolol.

Talk to your doctor before consuming alcoholic beverages while taking betaxolol.

Yes

Betaxolol may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Betoptic

• Betoptic Pilo

• Betoptic S

• Kerlone

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• slow or uneven heartbeats;

• feeling like you might pass out;

• feeling short of breath, even with mild exertion;

• swelling of your ankles or feet;

• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);

• depression;

• cold feeling in your hands and feet;

• joint pain or swelling with fever, swollen glands, muscle aches, vomiting, chest pain, unusual thoughts or behavior, and/or seizure (convulsions); or

• patchy skin color, red spots, or a butterfly-shaped skin rash over your cheeks and nose (worsens in sunlight).

Less serious side effects may include:

• decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm;

• sleep problems (insomnia);

• tired feeling; or

• anxiety, nervousness.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Before taking betaxolol, tell your doctor if you are using:

• allergy treatments (or if you are undergoing allergy skin-testing);

• clonidine (Catapres);

• digoxin (digitalis, Lanoxin);

• guanabenz (Wytensin);

• an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam);

• a diabetes medication such as insulin, glyburide (Diabeta, Micronase, Glynase), glipizide (Glucotrol), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), or metformin (Glucophage);

• a heart medication such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), disopyramide (Norpace), nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), reserpine (Serpasil), verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Isoptin), diltiazem (Cartia, Cardizem);

• medicine for asthma or other breathing disorders, such as albuterol (Ventolin, Proventil), metaproterenol (Alupent), pirbuterol (Maxair), terbutaline (Brethaire, Brethine, Bricanyl), and theophylline (Theo-Dur, Theolair); or

• cold medicines, stimulant medicines, or diet pills.

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with betaxolol. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

In the U.S.

• Kerlone

Available Dosage Forms:

• Tablet

Therapeutic Class: Cardiovascular Agent

Pharmacologic Class: Beta-Adrenergic Blocker, Cardioselective

Betaxolol is used alone or together with other medicines (such as hydrochlorothiazide) to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). High blood pressure adds to the workload of the heart and arteries. If it continues for a long time, the heart and arteries may not function properly. This can damage the blood vessels of the brain, heart, and kidneys, resulting in a stroke, heart failure, or kidney failure. High blood pressure may also increase the risk of heart attacks. These problems may be less likely to occur if blood pressure is controlled .

betaxolol is a beta-blocker. It works by affecting the response to nerve impulses in certain parts of the body, like the heart. As a result, the heart beats slower and decreases the blood pressure. When the blood pressure is lowered, the amount of blood and oxygen is increased to the heart .

betaxolol is available only with your doctor's prescription .

NDC 61314-245-03            

BetaxololHCl

Ophthalmic Solution

0.5% as base

0.5%

Rx Only STERILE 10 mL

Commonly reported side effects of betaxolol include: headache. Other side effects include: bradycardia. See below for a comprehensive list of adverse effects.