Hytrin

Hytrin is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure and the symptoms of enlarged prostate. Hytrin belongs to a group of drugs called alpha-blockers. It lowers blood pressure by relaxing veins and arteries so that blood can more easily pass through them. Hytrin also relieves the symptoms of enlarged prostate by relaxing the muscles of the bladder and prostate.

This medication comes in capsule form and is usually taken once a day. Hytrin can be taken with or without food.

Common side effects of Hytrin include a sudden drop in blood pressure, drowsiness, and blurred vision. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how Hytrin will affect you.

Hytrin is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Hytrin is also used to treat the symptoms of enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men including:

• difficulty starting a urine stream (hesitancy and straining)
• decreased strength of the urine stream (weak flow)
• dribbling after urination
• feeling that the bladder is not completely empty
• an urge to urinate again soon after urinating
• waking at night to urinate
• frequent urination
• a sudden, uncontrollable urge to urinate
• burning or pain during urination

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take Hytrin exactly as prescribed. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. Your doctor will likely start you on a low dose and gradually increase the dose as necessary.

The Hytrin dose range is 1 mg to 20 mg taken once daily.

Serious side effects have been reported including:

• Extremely rarely, Hytrin and similar medications have caused painful erection of the penis, sustained for hours and unrelieved by sexual intercourse or masturbation. This condition, known medically as priapism, is serious, and if untreated it can be followed by permanent inability to have an erection. If you have a prolonged abnormal erection, call your doctor or go to an emergency room as soon as possible.
• Tell your surgeon if you take or have taken Hytrin and plan to have surgery for cataracts (clouding of the eye). During cataract surgery, a condition called Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome (IFIS) can happen if you take or have taken Hytrin. Hytrin lowers blood pressure and may cause dizziness or fainting, especially when you first start taking it, or when you start taking it again. Call your doctor if you have severe dizziness or feel like you might pass out. Hytrin can cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Hytrin affects you.
• Do not take Hytrin if you: are allergic to Hytrin or any inactive ingredient in Hytrin, are allergic to any of the medications related to Hytrin such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), and prazosin (Minipress).

Serious side effects have been reported. See "Drug Precautions" section.

Other side effects you could have while taking Hytrin include:

• drowsiness
• blurred or hazy vision
• nausea
• swelling of the feet or hands

This is not a complete list of Hytrin side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• avanafil (Stendra)
• sildenafil (Viagra, Revatio)
• tadalafil (Cialis, Adcirca)
• vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn)
• verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan)

This is not a complete list of Hytrin drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Hytrin falls into category C. There are no good studies in pregnant women. Hytrin should be used during pregnancy only if the possible benefit outweighs the possible risk to the unborn baby.

It is not known whether Hytrin passes into breast milk. Because many drugs can pass in breast milk, caution should be used when Hytrin is given to a nursing woman.

Tell your surgeon if you take or have taken Hytrin and plan to have surgery for cataracts (clouding of the eye).

Hytrin lowers blood pressure and may cause dizziness or fainting, especially when you first start taking it, or when you start taking it again. Call your doctor if you have severe dizziness or feel like you might pass out.

Hytrin can also cause blurred or hazy vision and swelling of the feet or hands.