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Fludrocortisone

Drug Class: Commonly Known As: Category:
Corticosteroid

Fludrocortisone - Side Effects, Precautions, and Contraindications

What side effects can Fludrocortisone cause?

  • ​Water retention, increase in weight
  • Changes in your body’s salt level
  • Increase in blood pressure
  • Muscle weakness or feeling tired (if you have been using the medication for a long period of time)
  • Stomach discomfort
  • Headache
  • Getting bruised more easily

Please inform your doctor if you experience any of these side effects.

Please see your doctor if you notice changes in your mood, such as having low mood or depression, mood swing (frequently changing emotions) or feeling anxious while you are taking this medication. 

Other rare but serious effects that may occur include:

  • Signs of infection like fever, chills, sore throat, mouth sores, or wounds that will not heal
  • Signs of high blood sugar, like feeling confused, feeling tired, feeling thirsty more easily, feeling hungry more easily, passing urine more often, flushing or fast breathing 
  • Severe abdominal or stomach pains
  • Swelling, warmth, numbness, change of skin colour, or pain in a leg or arm
  • Change in eyesight or vision
  • Bone pain or fractures
  • Unusual bruising or bleeding, including black tarry or bloody stools or vomiting

The symptoms of a drug allergy include one or more of the following:

  • Swollen face/eyes/lips/tongue
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Itchy skin rashes over your whole body

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should stop your medication and see your healthcare professional immediately.

Before taking Fludrocortisone , what precautions must I follow?

​Before starting on this medication, inform your doctor if you:

  • Are allergic to this medication or any of the other ingredients of this medication
  • Have plans to become pregnant, are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Have tuberculosis (a type of lung infection) or other infections
  • Have stomach ulcer
  • Have severe depression (feeling extremely sad, having low mood), mood swings or are unable to sleep
  • Have epilepsy (fits)
  • Have diabetes
  • Have water retention issues
  • Have high blood pressure
  • Have kidney, liver, thyroid, or heart problems
  • Have osteoporosis, a condition where you have brittle or weak bones
  • Have any form of cancer
  • Have glaucoma, a type of eye condition linked to increased pressure in the eye
  • Are going to undergo any kind of surgery, have skin tests, or have a serious infection or injury

If you come into contact with anyone who has an infectious disease such as chickenpox, shingles or measles, please see your doctor as soon as possible. Fludrocortisone decreases your body’s natural immune response and you may be at higher risk of getting these diseases.

Talk to your doctor before getting any vaccinations.

What food or medicine must I avoid when I take Fludrocortisone ?

​Please inform your doctor if you are taking any of the following medications, before you start taking fludrocortisone:

  • Aspirin
  • Certain medications for pain such as Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Naproxen
  • Oral medications to treat fungal infection
  • Medications to thin your blood such as Warfarin
  • Oral hormone pills
  • Medications used to reduce the activity of your body’s immune system such as Cyclosporin or Tacrolimus

Inform your healthcare professional if you are taking or intend to take any other medications, supplements, traditional medications or herbal remedies.

Fludrocortisone - Additional Information

  • Updated on 11/30/2019 12:00:00 AM
  • Article contributed by PSS National Medication Information Workgroup PSS National Medication Information Workgroup
The information provided is not intended as medical advice. Terms of use. Information provided by SingHealth

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