Telithromycin

Telithromycin is a prescription medication used to treat pneumonia caused by bacteria. Telithromycin belongs to a group of drugs called ketolide antibiotics, which work by killing bacteria.

This medication comes in tablet form and is taken once a day, with or without food.

Common side effects of telithromycin include nausea, headache, and dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how telithromycin affects you.

Telithromycin is a prescription medication used to treat certain types of pneumonia in people at least 18 years of age.

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

Take telithromycin exactly as prescribed. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. 

The recommended dose of telithromycin is 800 mg (2 tablets of 400 mg) taken by mouth once every day for 7 to 10 days. For people with sever kidney disease, including people who need dialysis, the telithromycin dose is reduced to 600 mg once daily. The dose may be reduced further for people who have both kidney disease and liver disease.

Telithromycin is contraindicated in patients with myasthenia gravis. There have been reports of fatal and life-threatening respiratory failure in patients with myasthenia gravis associated with the use of telithromycin.

Do not take telithromycin if you have myasthenia gravis (a rare disease which causes muscle weakness). Worsening of myasthenia gravis symptoms including life-threatening breathing problems have happened in people with myasthenia gravis after taking telithromycin, in some cases leading to death.

Telithromycin can cause other serious side effects, including:

Stop taking telithromycin and call your doctor right away if you have signs of liver problems. Do not take another dose of telithromycin unless your doctor tells you to.

Signs of liver problems include:

• increased tiredness
• loss of appetite
• nausea
• yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes
• dark colored urine (tea colored)
• light colored stools
• right upper belly pain
• itchy skin

Do not take telithromycin if you have ever had liver problems while taking telithromycin or macrolide antibiotics. Macrolide antibiotics include:

• erythromycin
• azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax)
• clarithromycin (Biaxin)
• dirithromycin (Dynabac)

Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities while taking telithromycin if you have:

• vision problems
• fainting
• confusion
• seeing things that are not there (visual hallucinations)

Stop taking telithromycin and call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms. Do not take another dose of telithromycin unless your doctor tells you to.

4. Low blood pressure, slow heart rate, and fainting. Telithromycin may cause you to have low blood pressure, a slow heart rate, and fainting when you also take certain medicines called calcium channel blockers. Calcium channel blockers include:

• verapamil (Calan)
• amlodipine (Norvasc)
• diltiazem (Cardizem)
• or other medications containing these products.

Do not take telithromycin if you:

• have myasthenia gravis
• have had liver problems while taking telithromycin or macrolide antibiotics.
• have ever had an allergic reaction to telithromycin in telithromycin or macrolide antibiotics.
• take cisapride (Propulsid) or pimozide (Orap).
• take colchicine (Colcrys) and have kidney or liver problems.

See "Drug Precautions".

Telithromycin may cause serious side effects, including:

• Pseudomembranous colitis (an intestine infection). Pseudomembranous colitis can happen with most antibiotics, including telithromycin. Call your doctor if you get watery diarrhea, diarrhea that does not go away, or bloody stools. You may also have stomach cramps and a fever. Pseudomembranous colitis can happen up to 2 months after you have finished your antibiotic.

The most common side effects of telithromycin are:

• nausea
• headache
• dizziness
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• problems with taste

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all of the possible side effects of telithromycin. For more information ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Telithromycin and other medicines may affect or interact with each other, sometimes causing serious side effects.

Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• colchicine (Colcrys) while you take telithromycin
• certain medicines called calcium channel blockers, such as: verapamil (Calan), amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem), or other medications containing these products while you take telithromycin
• cholesterol lowering medicines; you should not take these cholesterol lowering medicines while taking telithromycin:
  • simvastatin (Zocor, Vytorin)
  • lovastatin (Mevacor)
  • atorvastatin (Lipitor)

Ask your doctor if you are not sure if the medicine you take is included in the list of medicines above.

Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of your medicines with you to show your doctor or pharmacist.

Do not take other medicines with telithromycin without first checking with your doctor. Your doctor will tell you if you can take other medicines while taking telithromycin.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if telithromycin will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if telithromycin passes into your breast milk. Talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby if you take telithromycin.

Telithromycin may cause you to have blurred vision, trouble focusing your eyes, and double vision.

Take all doses until finished. Skipping doses or not taking all of an antibiotic may:

• make the treatment not work as well
• increase the chance that the bacteria will develop resistance to the antibiotic

Telithromycin may cause you to faint, especially if you also have nausea, vomiting, and lightheadedness.