Brintellix

This leaflet answers some common questions about Brintellix. It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking Brintellix against the benefits they expect it will have for you.

You may need to read it again.

Brintellix contains vortioxetine, which is used to treat major depression in adults.

Depression is longer lasting or more severe than the "low moods" everyone has from time to time due to the stress of everyday life. It is thought to be caused by a chemical imbalance in parts of the brain. This imbalance affects your whole body and can cause emotional, physical and cognitive symptoms such as feeling low in spirit, reduced ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, loss of interest in activities, being unable to enjoy life, poor appetite or overeating, disturbed sleep, often waking up early, loss of sex drive, lack of energy and feeling guilty over nothing.

Brintellix is thought to work by its actions on multiple brain chemicals including serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine, histamine and acetylcholine which are thought to be involved in controlling mood and related mental processes.

Your doctor may have prescribed it for another reason.

Brintellix is available only with a doctor's prescription.

Brintellix is not addictive.

Brintellix should not be given to children under 18 years of age.

Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include:

It may have no effect at all or, an entirely unexpected effect if you take it after the expiry date.

Brintellix should not be used during pregnancy unless the benefit outweighs the risk. Your doctor can discuss with you the risks and benefits involved.

When taken during pregnancy, particularly in the last three months of pregnancy, medicines like Brintellix may increase the risk of a serious condition in babies called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), making the baby breathe faster and appear bluish. These symptoms usually begin during the first 24 hours after the baby is born.

Other effects on your baby may include difficulty breathing, fits, body temperature changes, feeding difficulties, vomiting, stiff or floppy muscles, tremor, jitteriness, irritability, lethargy, constant crying, sleepiness or sleeping difficulties.

If your newborn baby has any of the above symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately.

It is recommended that you do not breast-feed while taking Brintellix, as it may be excreted in the milk.

There is no experience with the use of Brintellix in children or adolescents less than 18 years of age.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.

Some medicines and Brintellix may interfere with each other. These include:

These medicines may be affected by Brintellix, or may affect how well it works. You may need to use different amounts of medicines, or take different medicines.

Your doctor and pharmacist have more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking this medicine.

They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet.

The usual dose for Brintellix in adults less than 65 years of age is 10 mg taken orally as one daily dose. The dose may be increased by your doctor to a maximum of 20 mg per day or lowered to a minimum of 5 mg per day.

For elderly people 65 years of age or older, the starting dose is 5 mg taken once daily.

They will tell you exactly how much to take.

If you take the wrong dose, Brintellix may not work as well and your condition may not improve.

It does not matter if you take Brintellix before or after food.

It may take two weeks, sometimes longer, before you feel any improvement.

If your depression resolves while taking BRINTELLIX treatment should be continued for at least 6 months after you feel well again.

Your doctor will check your progress at regular intervals.

This may increase the chance of you getting an unwanted side effect.

Some of the signs of an overdose could be dizziness, feeling sick (nausea), diarrhoea, stomach discomfort, itching on the whole body, sleepiness and flushing.

It may affect other medicines used during surgery.

All mentions of suicide or violence must be taken seriously.

Occasionally, the symptoms of depression may include thoughts of suicide or self-harm. It is possible that these symptoms continue or get worse until the full antidepressant effect of the medicine becomes apparent.

This is more likely to occur:

If you stop taking it suddenly, or reduce the amount you take, your condition may worsen.

Brintellix helps most people with depression, but it may have unwanted side effects in some people.

All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical treatment if you get some of the side effects.

The above list includes the more common side effects of your medicine.

Side effects are generally mild to moderate and occur within the first two weeks of treatment. They are usually temporary and generally do not require treatment cessation.

The above list includes serious side that may require medical attention.

The above list includes very serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation.

* The side effects marked with an asterisk (*) are a number of rare side effects that are known to occur with medicines that work in a similar way to Brintellix.

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some people.

If you take the tablets out of the box or blister pack they may not keep well.

Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.

A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above ground is a good place to store medicines.

Brintellix is available in blister packs of 28 tablets.

Brintellix also contains:

Brintellix does not contain lactose, gluten, sucrose, tartrazine or any other azo dyes.