Fluconazole Oral Tablet

Liver failure warning. This drug may cause you to develop liver failure. Your doctor may check your liver function with blood tests while you take this drug. If you develop liver failure from taking this drug, it’s usually reversible once you stop taking it.

Skin rashes warning. This drug can cause a severe rash that can cause death. You should stop taking the drug if you develop any rashes.

Irregular heart rhythm warning. This drug can change how your heart beats. This change puts you at risk for a life-threatening heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes. Your risk of change in heartbeat is higher if you were born with a certain heart rhythm condition, you have a low potassium level, or you take antipsychotic drugs or certain antidepressants.

This drug isn’t known to cause drowsiness, but it can cause other side effects.

More common side effects

The more common side effects of fluconazole oral tablet depend on how much of the drug you need to take. These side effects can include:

• headache
• diarrhea
• nausea or upset stomach
• dizziness
• stomach pain
• vomiting
• changes in the way food tastes
• severe rash in people with lowered immunity

If these effects are mild, they may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. If they’re more severe or don’t go away, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Serious side effects

Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life-threatening or if you think you’re having a medical emergency. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following:

• Liver damage. Symptoms can include:
  • yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes
  • dark urine
  • light-colored stools
  • severe skin itching
  • vomiting or nausea
• Severe rash in people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or cancer. Symptoms can include:
  • skin peeling
  • severe rash
• Torsades de Pointes (a life-threatening heart rhythm condition). Symptoms can include:
  • feeling like your heart is skipping a beat (palpitations)
  • fast, irregular heart rate
  • dizziness
  • fainting
  • seizures

Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always discuss possible side effects with a healthcare provider who knows your medical history.

Fluconazole oral tablet can interact with other medications, vitamins, or herbs you may be taking. An interaction is when a substance changes the way a drug works. This can be harmful or prevent the drug from working well.

To help avoid interactions, your doctor should manage all of your medications carefully. Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications, vitamins, or herbs you’re taking. To find out how this drug might interact with something else you’re taking, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Drugs that should not be used with fluconazole

There are certain drugs that you should not use with fluconazole. When used with fluconazole, these drugs can cause dangerous effects in your body. Examples of these drugs include:

• Terfenadine. When used with fluconazole at doses of 400 mg or higher, this drug can cause a life-threatening heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes.
• Pimozide, clarithromycin, erythromycin, ranolazine, lomitapide, donepezil, and quinidine. When used with fluconazole, these drugs can cause a life-threatening heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes.
• Voriconazole. When used with fluconazole, this drug can cause vision problems, fever, nausea, rash, vomiting, liver function problems, fast pulse, and hallucinations.

Drugs that increase the risk of side effects

Taking fluconazole with certain drugs raises your risk of side effects from those drugs. Examples of these drugs include:

• Diabetes drugs such as glyburide and glipizide. Increased side effects can include low blood sugar, which causes symptoms such as sweating and chills, shakiness, fast pulse, weakness, hunger, and dizziness.
• Warfarin. Increased side effects can include bruising, nosebleeds, and blood in your urine or stools.
• Phenytoin. Taking this drug with fluconazole can cause trouble with coordination, slurred speech, and confusion. Your doctor will measure blood levels of phenytoin while you’re taking fluconazole. It’s possible that your doctor will decrease your dose of phenytoin while you’re taking fluconazole.
• Cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and sirolimus. Increased side effects can include kidney damage. Your doctor will check your blood for signs of kidney damage while you’re taking fluconazole. If you show signs of kidney damage, your doctor may lower your doses of these drugs or stop them completely until your treatment with fluconazole is done.
• Theophylline. Taking this drug with fluconazole can cause muscle cramps, headache, low blood pressure, and seizures. Your doctor will measure blood levels of phenytoin while you’re taking fluconazole.
• Zidovudine. Increased side effects can include headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.
• Pain drugs, such as methadone and fentanyl. The levels of these drugs may be increased in your body when taken with fluconazole. Increased side effects include slower breathing, confusion, and drowsiness.
• Carbamazepine. Increased side effects include nausea, vomiting, unsteadiness, low blood cell counts, severe rash, heart failure, and liver failure.
• Certain calcium channel blockers, such as nifedipine, amlodipine, verapamil, and felodipine. Increased side effects include low blood pressure, dizziness, confusion, and headache. Certain statins, such as atorvastatin and simvastatin. Increase side effects include muscle pain and weakness and raised levels of creatinine in your blood.
• Antipsychotic drugs, such as chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and ziprasidone. Taking fluconazole with these medications raises your risk of a life-threatening irregular heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes.
• Antidepressants, such as citalopram, escitalopram, and paroxetine. Taking fluconazole with these medications raises your risk of a life-threatening irregular heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes.
• Heart rhythm drugs, such as amiodarone and dofetilide. Taking fluconazole with these medications raises your risk of a life-threatening irregular heart rhythm condition called Torsades de Pointes.

Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs interact differently in each person, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible interactions. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always speak with your healthcare provider about possible interactions with all prescription drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and over-the-counter drugs that you are taking.

Fluconazole oral tablet comes with several warnings

Allergy Warning

This drug can cause a severe allergic reaction. Symptoms can include:

• shortness of breath
• coughing
• wheezing
• fever
• chills
• throbbing of your heart or ears
• swelling of your eyelids, face, mouth, neck, or any other part of your body
• skin rash, hives, blisters or skin peeling

If you have an allergic reaction, call your doctor or local poison control center right away. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Don’t take this drug again if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction to it. Taking it again could be fatal (cause death).

Warnings for people with certain health conditions

For people with kidney disease: If you have kidney disease or a history of kidney disease, your kidneys may not be able to remove this drug from your body like they should. This may increase the levels of fluconazole in your body and cause more side effects. This drug may also make existing kidney disease worse.

People with liver problems: Fluconazole can cause liver problems. If you already have liver problems, talk to your healthcare provider before taking this drug.

People with high blood sugar levels: The oral suspension form of this drug contains sucrose, a kind of sugar. You shouldn’t use this form of the drug if you have a condition that increases your blood sugar level. Talk to your doctor before using this drug if you have high blood sugar levels or a condition, such as diabetes, which can cause high blood sugar levels.

People with abnormal heart rhythms: Using fluconazole can affect your heart rhythm. If you already have an abnormal heart rhythm, taking fluconazole may lead to dangerous heart rhythm problems.

People with certain conditions that lower immunity: If you have certain conditions that lower your immunity, such as cancer, human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) you’re more likely to get a rash from fluconazole. Your doctor will monitor you for a rash and peeling skin.

Warnings for other groups

Pregnant women: Fluconazole is a category C pregnancy drug when taken as a single dose of 150 mg. That means two things:

1. Research in animals has shown adverse effects to the fetus when the mother takes the drug.
2. There haven’t been enough studies done in humans to be certain how the drug might affect the fetus.

Fluconazole is a category D pregnancy drug when you take more than 150 mg. That means two things:

1. Research in humans has shown adverse effects to the fetus when the mother takes the drug.
2. This drug should only be used during pregnancy in serious cases where it's needed to treat a dangerous condition in the mother.

Talk to your doctor if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Ask your doctor to tell you about the specific harm that may be done to the fetus. This drug should be only used if the potential risk to the fetus is acceptable given the drug’s potential benefit. Call your doctor right away if you become pregnant while taking this drug.

Women who are breastfeeding: Fluconazole passes into breast milk and may cause side effects in a child who is breastfed. Talk to your doctor if you breastfeed your child. You may need to decide whether to stop breastfeeding or stop taking this drug.

For seniors: The kidneys of older adults may not work as well as they used to. This can cause your body to process drugs more slowly. As a result, more of a drug stays in your body for a longer time. This raises your risk of side effects.

For children: This medication shouldn’t be used in people younger than 6 months.

Fluconazole oral tablet is used for both short-term and long-term treatment. It comes with risks if you don’t take it as prescribed.

If you stop taking the drug suddenly or don’t take it at all: Your infection may not get better or may get worse.

If you miss doses or don’t take the drug on schedule: Your medication may not work as well or may stop working completely. For this drug to work well, a certain amount needs to be in your body at all times.

If you take too much: You could have dangerous levels of the drug in your body. Symptoms of an overdose of this drug can include:

• hallucinations
• paranoia
• abnormal heart rhythm
• blue tint to your skin
• decreased breathing

If you think you’ve taken too much of this drug, call your doctor or local poison control center. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away.

What to do if you miss a dose

Take your dose as soon as you remember. But if you remember just a few hours before your next scheduled dose, take only one dose. Never try to catch up by taking two doses at once. This could result in dangerous side effects.

How to tell if the drug is working

You should have decreased symptoms of infection.