Verapamil

Verapamil comes in a class of drugs, known as calcium channel blockers. It is used to relax the blood vessels, so that the heart can pump easily, and to reduce the load on the heart. The medication is used to treat hypertension, angina, and also helpful to control irregular heartbeats. Doctors also prescribe the medication for some other purposes that are not listed above.

Inform your doctor if you have kidney or liver disease, sick sinus syndrome, aortic stenosis, heart failure, heart block, wolff-parkinson-white syndrome, coronary artery disease, low blood pressure, muscular dystrophy, other disease of heart or blood vessel. In these conditions, you cannot take the medication or you need special monitoring during treatment with Verapamil. The medication belongs to FDA pregnancy category C which means that it is not known whether it is harmful to unborn baby or not, so if you are pregnant or planning to be pregnant then you should discuss with your doctor before taking the medication. The medication appears in the milk of nursing mother, so if you are breast-feeding a baby then tell your doctor.



Take the medication according to the prescription of your doctor and if you cannot understand the instruction on the label, then take help from your pharmacist. Take each dose with one glass of water. You can take the medication with or without food, but better way is to take the medication with food in order to lessen the stomach upset. You should take Covera-HS and verelan PM at bedtime. If you can’t swallow the capsule form of the medication then you can open the capsule and sprinkle the drugs onto cold and soft food like applesauce, and don’t try to chew the medicine and take the mixture without wasting the time. The Covera-HS form of the medication is specially formulated to release the drugs slowly in the body. To obtain best effects of the medication, you should take the medication on regular basis. Don’t stop to take the medication suddenly and without the consent of your doctor, because your condition can be worse. You should avoid grapefruit while taking Verapamil, because it can interact with the medication and you can get serious consequences, so don’t increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit in your diet without consent of your doctor. You should carry out blood tests and other medical evaluation during the treatment with the medication, in order to monitor the progress and side effects of the medication.

If you miss a dose then take it as soon as you remember and if the time is near to take the next scheduled dose then skip the missed dose and follow your regular scheduled dose and avoid taking double doses at the same time. If you suspect overdose, then get emergency medical help. The symptoms of overdose include dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, fainting, irregular heartbeat, coma, slurred speech, confusion, chest pain. You should avoid alcohol during the treatment, because it can lower your blood pressure and may cause drowsiness and dizziness.