Butalbital Aspirin Caffeine: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing

But acetaminophen may cause other unwanted effects when taken in large doses, including liver damage. Following an acute overdosage of butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine, toxicity may result from the barbiturate or the acetaminophen. Toxicity due to caffeine is less likely, due to the relatively small amounts in this formulation. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, dry mouth, shaking (tremor), shortness of breath, increased urination, lightheadedness, dizziness, drowsiness, or trouble sleeping may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly. This combination medication is used to treat tension headaches.

Butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine may also be used for other conditions as determined by your health care provider. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor’s orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine.

Drug Abuse and Dependence

Different medications have different amounts of acetaminophen but generally the same amount of butalbital and caffeine. Taking Esgic with other drugs that make you sleepy or slow your breathing can cause dangerous or life-threatening side effects. Ask your doctor before taking Esgic with a sleeping pill, opioid pain medicine, muscle relaxer, or medicine for anxiety, depression, or seizures. This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur.

Misuse means taking a medicine in a way other than how it was prescribed. Take butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine exactly as prescribed. Tell your health care provider if you feel that butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine is not working. Call your health care provider right away or go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following serious symptoms. Liver damage, also called hepatotoxicity, can happen when you take butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine. Call your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms of liver damage.

Health Conditions

To help prevent withdrawal, your doctor may lower your dose slowly. Withdrawal is more esgic dosage likely if you have used this medication for a long time or in high doses. Tell your doctor or pharmacist right away if you have withdrawal. Butalbital/aspirin/caffeine may cause allergic reactions, including a specific type of allergic reaction called DRESS. DRESS stands for drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms.

How should I store butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine?

Instruct patients to look for acetaminophen or APAP on package labels and not to use more than one product that contains acetaminophen. Instruct patients to seek medical attention immediately upon ingestion of more than 4000 milligrams of acetaminophen per day, even if they feel well. The risk of acute liver failure is higher in individuals with underlying liver disease and in individuals who ingest alcohol while taking acetaminophen.

Tension Headache

Butalbital/aspirin/caffeine is commonly used to help relieve tension headaches, which can be caused by tight or tense muscles. Other combinations that contain BAC or are similar to BAC may be controlled substances. The DEA classifies Fiorinal, which contains butalbital, aspirin, and caffeine, as a Schedule III drug.

• If you take butalbital/aspirin/caffeine on a regular basis, do not stop taking the medicine without talking to your health care provider.
• Clinical studies of butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine tablets did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects.
• If used together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use this medicine, or give you special instructions about the use of food, alcohol, or tobacco.
• You should not use Esgic if you are allergic to it, if you have porphyria, or if you have recently used alcohol, sedatives, tranquilizers, or other opioids.

Call your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms. Butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine may cause allergic reactions, which can be serious. Stop taking butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine and get help right away if you have any of the following symptoms of a serious allergic reaction. Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

• Butalbital/aspirin/caffeine can increase your risk of severe bleeding that can lead to death.
• Drinking alcohol while taking butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine can increase your risk of overdose and death.
• There are no known interactions between butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine and foods or drinks.
• The plasma half-life is 1.25 to 3 hours, but may be increased by liver damage and following overdosage.
• If you take too much acetaminophen, get emergency help right away, even if you do not feel sick.

A single or multiple drug overdose with this combination product is a potentially lethal polydrug overdose, and consultation with a regional poison control center is recommended. Immediate treatment includes support of cardiorespiratory function and measures to reduce drug absorption. Patients should be informed about the signs of serious skin reactions, and use of the drug should be discontinued at the first appearance of skin rash or any other sign of hypersensitivity. It is not known if or how butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine could affect pregnancy or harm an unborn baby.

The following adverse drug events may be borne in mind as potential effects of the components of this product. Potential effects of high dosage are listed in the OVERDOSE section. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at FDA-1088 or at /medwatch. The dosage is based on your medical condition, age, and response to treatment.

Older adults may be more sensitive to the side effects of this drug, especially drowsiness and trouble falling asleep. These side effects can increase the risk of falling. This is not a complete list of possible side effects.

If you use butalbital while you are pregnant, your baby could become dependent on the drug. This can cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in the baby after it is born. Babies born dependent on habit-forming medicine may need medical treatment for several weeks.

Do not drink alcohol or use prescription or over-the-counter medicines that contain alcohol while taking butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine. Drinking alcohol while taking butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine can increase your risk of overdose and death. Tell your health care provider about all of your health conditions and any prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, vitamins/minerals, herbal products, and other supplements you are using. This will help them know if butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine is right for you. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur.

Discuss with your doctor or pharmacist if you should use reliable backup birth control methods while using this medication. Also tell your doctor if you have any new spotting or breakthrough bleeding, because these may be signs that your birth control is not working well. Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain caffeine or ingredients that cause drowsiness. Also keep in mind that certain beverages (such as coffee, colas, tea, energy drinks) contain caffeine. Your doctor may need to change your medication and/or add a separate medication to prevent the headaches.

That means that there’s a low to moderate risk of dependence or overuse. A doctor may prescribe BAC to help relieve symptoms of tension headaches. They may also prescribe the combination to treat migraine, though it’s not Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for this use. In rare cases, acetaminophen may cause a severe skin reaction. Stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away if you have skin redness or a rash that spreads and causes blistering and peeling.