DDAVP
DDAVP Uses, Side Effects & Warnings
Generic Name: desmopressin (oral) (DEZ mo press in)Brand Name: DDAVP
What is DDAVP (desmopressin)?
Desmopressin is a man-made form of a hormone that occurs naturally in the pituitary gland. This hormone is important for many functions including blood flow, blood pressure, kidney function, and regulating how the body uses water.
Desmopressin is used to treat bed-wetting, central cranial diabetes insipidus, and increased thirst and urination caused by head surgery or head trauma.
Desmopressin may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What is the most important information I should know about oral DDAVP (desmopressin)?
It is very important to reduce your intake of water and other fluids while you are taking desmopressin. Drinking too much water can cause your body to lose sodium, which may lead to a serious, life-threatening electrolyte imbalance.
Fluid restriction is especially important in children and older adults taking desmopressin. Follow your doctor's instructions about the type and amount of liquids you should drink.
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You should not use this medication if you have severe kidney disease or if you have ever had hyponatremia (low sodium levels in your body).
Before taking desmopressin, tell your doctor if you have heart disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, cystic fibrosis, high or low blood pressure, an electrolyte imbalance, or a psychological disorder that causes extreme or unusual thirst.
To be sure desmopressin is helping your condition, your blood will need to be tested often. This will help your doctor determine how long to treat you with this medication. Do not miss any scheduled appointments.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking oral DDAVP (desmopressin)?
You should not take this medication if you are allergic to desmopressin, or if you have:
severe kidney disease; or
if you have ever had hyponatremia (low sodium levels in your body).
Before taking desmopressin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any medications, or if you have:
heart disease, coronary artery disease;
congestive heart failure;
kidney disease;
cystic fibrosis;
an electrolyte imbalance; or
a psychologic disorder that causes extreme or unusual thirst.
If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take desmopressin.
FDA pregnancy category B. This medication is not expected to harm an unborn baby. Do not use desmopressin without telling your doctor if you are pregnant.
It is not known whether desmopressin passes into breast milk, or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use desmopressin without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
How should I take DDAVP (desmopressin)?
Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take it in larger amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.
It is very important to reduce your intake of water and other fluids while you are taking desmopressin. Drinking too much water can cause your body to lose sodium, which may lead to a serious, life-threatening electrolyte imbalance.
Fluid restriction is especially important in children and older adults taking desmopressin. Follow your doctor's instructions about the type and amount of liquids you should drink.
If you are switching from desmopressin nasal spray to desmopressin tablets, wait at least 24 hours after your last nasal dose before you take your first tablet.
To be sure this medication is helping your condition, your blood will need to be tested often. This will help your doctor determine how long to treat you with desmopressin. Do not miss any scheduled appointments.
Store the tablets at room temperature away from moisture, light, and heat.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.
Overdose symptoms may include headache, confusion, drowsiness, rapid weight gain, or urination problems.
What should I avoid while taking DDAVP (desmopressin)?
Follow your doctor's instructions about any restrictions on food, beverages, or activity while you are taking desmopressin.
DDAVP (desmopressin) side effects
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.
Stop taking desmopressin and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:
nausea, vomiting, weakness, loss of appetite, headache, feeling restless or irritable, confusion, hallucinations, muscle pain or weakness, and/or seizure;
feeling like you might pass out;
swelling, weight gain; or
dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats, seizure).
Less serious side effects may include:
headache;
nausea, mild stomach pain;
diarrhea; or
warmth, redness, or tingly feeling in your face.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
See also: Side effects (in more detail)
What other drugs will affect DDAVP (desmopressin)?
Many drugs can interact with desmopressin. Below is just a partial list. Tell your doctor if you are using:
carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol);
chlorpromazine (Thorazine);
lamotrigine (Lamictal);
oxybutynin (Ditropan, Urotrol, Oxytrol);
vasopressin (Pitressin);
a narcotic pain medicine such as fentanyl (Actiq, Duragesic), hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), oxycodone (Oxycontin), and others;
an "SSRI" antidepressant such as citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), or sertraline (Zoloft);
a tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), and others;
medicine to treat erectile dysfunction, such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra);
drugs to treat high blood pressure or a prostate disorder, such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress), terazosin (Hytrin), tamsulosin (Flomax);
a beta-blocker such as atenolol (Tenormin), bisoprolol (Zebeta, Ziac), labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), sotalol (Betapace), or timolol (Blocadren); or
an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), etodolac (Lodine), indomethacin (Indocin), and others.
This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with desmopressin. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.
Where can I get more information?
Your pharmacist can provide more information about desmopressin.
If you tend to doubt the honesty of strangers, the results of a new study may come as a surprise: All around the globe, people are more likely to return a lost wallet if it's loaded with cash.
ReplyDeleteIn experiments done in 40 countries, researchers found that people were more likely to return a lost wallet to its owner if it contained a large amount of money, versus little to no money. The pattern held true in 38 of the 40 nations.
Globally, 40% of people returned a "missing" wallet if it had no cash. That rose to 51% when it contained a small amount of money -- equivalent to $13.
But if the wallet had a heftier sum -- about $94 -- 72% of people returned it.
It all runs counter to the notion that people act from their own material interests. And the researchers said they themselves were surprised by the findings.
The results were "remarkably consistent" across countries, said researcher Christian Zund, of the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
What seems to be driving people's good behavior? Altruism plays a role, Zund said.
In three countries, the researchers ran a side experiment: Some wallets contained money and a key, while others had no key. It turned out that people were more likely to return the key-containing wallets -- suggesting they were partly motivated by concern for the owner.
But self-image may also be critical, too. In addition to the real-world experiments, the researchers conducted surveys in several countries, asking people to imagine the lost-wallet scenario.
In general, they found, people thought that keeping a wallet with a large amount of money "felt like stealing."
"People do tend to care about the welfare of others, and they also have an aversion to seeing themselves as a thief," said lead researcher Alain Cohn, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The study, published June 20 in Science, involved teams of research assistants who fanned out across 355 cities -- the five to eight largest cities in each of the 40 countries.
The assistants posed as good citizens who'd found a wallet, going into the reception areas of various institutions -- banks, museums, hotels, post offices and courthouses -- and handing over the wallet to an employee. Each wallet contained a business card with a phony name and email address. The researchers used those email addresses to track which wallets were reported found.
In the end, the overall reporting rate varied widely across countries -- from 76% to only 14%. At the top were Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. China, Morocco, Peru, Kazakhstan and Kenya rounded out the bottom. (The United States stood in the middle of the pack.)...
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise technique done by alternating short bursts of all-out effort in an aerobic activity with periods done at a very slow pace.
ReplyDeleteHIIT has many benefits, not the least of which is being able to get the results of a regular 30-minute workout with less heavy exertion and making exercise more enjoyable.
Mayo Clinic researchers found an even greater plus. There's nothing like HIIT to stave off the aging process, thanks to changes it creates at the cell level, effects that can't be achieved with any kind of medicine. What's more, as positive as the changes were for younger people studied, they were even greater among people over 65.
Gauging the level of intensity needed for the HIIT intervals isn't difficult. A person's maximum aerobic activity (220 minus your age) can be rated on a scale of 0 to 10. High-intensity intervals are done at an exertion level of 7 or higher, around 80% to 95% of your maximum. (As a comparison, moderate activity is 60% to 70%, and vigorous activity is 70% to 80%.)
You can decide on the length of the segments. But, in general, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the high-intensity intervals should last between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. The low-intensity intervals can be anywhere from two to four times as long. While HIIT can be done with any type of aerobic activity, walking on a treadmill, running and cycling are particularly easy to adapt to the sequencing.
Sample HIIT Workout
Warmup: 5 minutes
High-intensity activity: 1 minute
Low-intensity activity: 2 minutes
High-intensity activity: 1 minute
Low-intensity activity: 2 minutes
High-intensity activity: 1 minute
Low-intensity activity: 2 minutes
High-intensity activity: 1 minute
Low-intensity activity: 2 minutes
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Experts at ACE suggest getting your doctor's OK first and using the technique for only one or two workouts per week. Note that interval training is not an alternative to strength training for improving muscle strength and mass, so be sure to include both types of exercise in your weekly fitness plan.