Betaxolol : Uses, Side Effects, Interactions & More

High blood pressure is a common condition, and when left untreated, it can damage the brain, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of the body. Damage to these organs can cause heart disease, a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, loss of vision, and other problems. In addition to taking medicine, making lifestyle changes will also help control your blood pressure. These changes include eating a diet low in fat and salt, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising for at least 30 minutes most days, not smoking, and consuming alcohol in moderation.

Your doctor will probably prescribe an average dose of betaxolol and may increase your dose after 7-14 days if your blood pressure is not controlled.

Betaxolol controls high blood pressure but does not cure it. It may take 1 to 2 weeks or more before the full benefit of betaxolol is noticed. Keep taking betaxolol even if you feel fine. Do not stop taking betaxolol without consulting your doctor. If you stop taking betaxolol suddenly, your blood pressure may increase and you may develop new or worsening chest pain. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually over about 2 weeks and will monitor you carefully during this time. Your doctor may also instruct you to limit physical activity while reducing the dose.

Before taking betaxolol,

• Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to betaxolol, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in betaxolol tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
• Tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone); eye drops with beta-blockers such as betaxolol (Betoptic), carteolol (Ocupress), levobunolol (Akbeta, Betagan), metipranolol (Optipranolol), and timolol (Betimol, Timoptic, in Cosopt); calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia) and verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Tarka, others); clonidine (Catapres, Kapvay, in Clorpres); digoxin (Lanoxin); disopyramide (Norpace); epinephrine (Epipen); and reserpine. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you closely for side effects.
• Tell your doctor if you have heart failure or any other heart problem. Your doctor may tell you not to take betaxolol if you have heart failure or other heart problems.
• Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had angina (chest pain); asthma or other lung disease; diabetes; psoriasis (a skin disease); pheochromocytoma (tumor in a small gland near the kidneys); severe allergies or kidney, liver, or thyroid disease.
• Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. If you become pregnant while taking betaxolol, call your doctor.
• Tell any doctor, dentist or ophthalmologist who is treating you that you are taking betaxolol. This is especially important if you are having surgery, including dental surgery.
• You should know that betaxolol may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medicine affects you.

Betaxolol may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• extreme tiredness
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• unusual dreams
• heartburn
• nausea
• diarrhea
• joint pain
• decreased sexual ability in men
• cold hands and feet
• numbness, burning, or tingling in the arms, legs, hands, or feet
• rash

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

• difficulty breathing, especially during activity or when lying down
• swelling of the arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
• unexplained weight gain
• fast, slow, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
• chest pain

Betaxolol may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medicine.

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor can submit a report online to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch) or by phone (1-800-332-1088).

Unnecessary medications must be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and others cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medicine down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medications is through a drug take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage / recycling department to find out about take-back programs in your community. Check out the FDA drug safe disposal website (http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p) for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.

It is important to keep all medicines out of the sight and reach of children, since many containers (such as those containing weekly pills and those for eye drops, creams, patches and inhalers) are not child-resistant and small children can easily open them. To protect young children from poisoning, always close the safety caps and immediately place the medicine in a safe place, one that is upright and out of their sight and reach. http://www.upandaway.org

Symptoms of overdose may include:

• difficulty breathing, especially during activity or when lying down
• swelling of the arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
• unexplained weight gain
• chest pain
• fast, pounding, slow, or irregular heartbeat

Before you are tested for glaucoma (increased pressure in the eyes that can lead to vision loss), tell your doctor and technician that you are taking betaxolol.

Do not let anyone else take your medicine. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription.

It is important that you keep a written list of all prescription and over-the-counter (over-the-counter) medications you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements. You should take this list with you every time you visit a doctor or if you go into hospital. It is also important information to take with you in case of emergencies.