Trental

Trental is a prescription medication used to reduce the symptoms of intermittent claudication (pain in the legs when walking due to narrowing of blood vessels). Trental belongs to a group of drugs called methylxanthine derivatives, which improve blood flow by decreasing the thickness of blood.

This medication comes in tablet form and is usually taken 3 times a day, with meals.

Common side effects of Trental include upset stomach, vomiting, gas, and headache. Trental can also cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Trental affects you.

Trental is a prescription medication used to reduce the symptoms of intermittent claudication (pain in the legs when walking due to narrowing of blood vessels).

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

Take Trental exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The Trental dose your doctor recommends will be based on the following:

• the condition being treated
• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication
• your age

The recommended dose range for Trental (pentoxifylline) is 400 mg three times a day.

Serious side effects have been reported with Trental including the following:

• chest pain
• fast heartbeat

Trental can cause dizziness and drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how this medication affects you.

Do not take Trental if you:

• are allergic to Trental or to any of its ingredients or to other methylxanthine derivatives, including caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine
• have had a recent cerebral and/or retinal hemorrhage

Serious side effects have been reported with Trental. See the “Drug Precautions” section.

Common side effects include:

• upset stomach
• vomiting
• gas
• dizziness
• headache
• chest pain
• fast heartbeat

This is not a complete list of Trental 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:

• anticoagulants or platelet aggregation inhibitors, especially warfarin (Coumadin)
• drugs that contain theophylline
• drugs that contain captopril (Capoten, Capozide) or nifedipine (Adalat, Adalat CC, Afeditab CR, Procardia, Procardia XL)

This is not a complete list of Trental 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.

Trental falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans, though. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

Trental has been detected in human breast milk. Because of the possibility for adverse reactions in nursing infants from Trental, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or to stop use of this medication. The importance of the drug to the mother should be considered.

Take pentoxifylline with meals to avoid an upset stomach.

Although you may see the effect of pentoxifylline within 2 to 4 weeks, it is recommended that treatment be continued for at least 8 weeks.

Do not chew, divide, or break pentoxifylline tablets. Swallow tablets whole.