anagrelide

Generic Name: anagrelide (an AH gre lide)

Brand Names: Agrylin

What is anagrelide?

Anagrelide lowers the number of blood clotting cells (platelets) in the body, which helps prevent blood clots from forming.

Anagrelide is used to treat a condition called thrombocythemia (also called thrombocytosis). Thrombocythemia is a blood cell disorder in which too many platelet cells are produced, causing bleeding or blood-clotting problems.

Anagrelide may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What is the most important information I should know about anagrelide?

You should not use anagrelide if you are allergic to it, or if you have moderate to severe liver disease.

Before you take anagrelide, tell your doctor if you have heart disease, kidney disease, or liver disease.

To be sure this medication is helping your condition and not causing harmful effects, your blood will need to be tested often. Your kidney and liver function may also need to be tested. Visit your doctor regularly. Tell any doctor or dentist who treats you that you are taking anagrelide, especially if you need to have any type of surgery.

Do not stop taking this medication without first talking to your doctor. Stopping suddenly can make your condition worse very quickly.

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as dry cough, trouble breathing, swelling, fast or pounding heartbeats, chest pain, sudden numbness or weakness, confusion, problems with speech or balance, severe stomach pain, seizure, fainting, blood in your urine or stools, easy bruising or bleeding, or unusual weakness.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking anagrelide?

You should not use anagrelide if you are allergic to it, or if you have moderate to severe liver disease.

To make sure you can safely take anagrelide, tell your doctor if you have any of these other conditions:

• liver disease;


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  heart disease or congestive heart failure;

  
  


• kidney disease; or


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  asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or other breathing disorder.

  
  

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether anagrelide will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication. It is not known whether anagrelide passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while you are using anagrelide.

How should I take anagrelide?

Take exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results.

To be sure this medication is helping your condition and not causing harmful effects, your blood will need to be tested often. Your kidney and liver function may also need to be tested. Visit your doctor regularly.

Do not stop taking anagrelide without first talking to your doctor. Stopping suddenly can make your condition worse very quickly. If you need to surgery, tell the surgeon ahead of time that you are using anagrelide. Tell any doctor or dentist who treats you that you are taking anagrelide. Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.

See also: Anagrelide dosage (in more detail)

What happens if I miss a dose?

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.

Overdose can cause vomiting, or fast heart rate.

What should I avoid while taking anagrelide?

Do not take aspirin unless your doctor has told you to. Follow your doctor's instructions about how much aspirin to take, and how often to take it. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before using any other pain, cold, allergy, or sleep medication. Aspirin (sometimes abbreviated as ASA) is contained in many combination medicines. Although aspirin is sometimes prescribed for use with anagrelide, taking these medications together may increase your risk of bleeding. Check the label to see if a medicine contains aspirin or ASA.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with anagrelide and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.

Anagrelide side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

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  sudden chest pain or discomfort, rapid breathing, wheezing, dry cough or hack;

  
  


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  swelling, rapid weight gain, feeling short of breath (even with mild exertion);

  
  


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  chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;

  
  


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  sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

  
  


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  sudden severe headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance;

  
  


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  sudden cough, wheezing, rapid breathing, coughing up blood;

  
  


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  severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, fast heart rate;

  
  


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  pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest;

  
  


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  easy bruising, unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum), purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin;

  
  


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  bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds;

  
  


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  fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; or

  
  


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  blood in your urine, painful or difficult urination.

  
  

Less serious side effects may include:

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  dizziness, mild headache;

  
  


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  nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite;

  
  


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  diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, gas, upset stomach;

  
  


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  mild rash or itching;

  
  


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  runny or stuffy nose, sore throat;

  
  


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  numbness or tingly feeling

  
  


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  back pain; or

  
  


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  vision problems, ringing in your ears.

  
  

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Anagrelide Dosing Information

Usual Adult Dose for Thrombocythemia:

Initial: 0.5 mg orally 4 times a day, or 1 mg orally twice a day, for a minimum of 7 days.

Maintenance: titrate to the lowest effective dosage required to reduce and maintain the platelet count at less than 600,000 cells/microliter, ideally down to normal levels. Increase the dosage by no more than 0.5 mg/day in any 1 week period.

The dosage should not exceed 10 mg/day or 2.5 mg in any single dose.

Usual Pediatric Dose for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia:

Study (n=12)
0.5 mg four times daily, to a maximum daily dose of 10 mg.

Usual Pediatric Dose for Thrombocythemia:

Study (n=12)
0.5 mg four times daily, to a maximum daily dose of 10 mg.

What other drugs will affect anagrelide?

Tell your doctor about all other medicines you use, especially:

• 
  

  dasatinib (Sprycel);

  
  


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  deferasirox (Exjade);

  
  


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  fluvoxamine (Luvox);

  
  


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  theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theo-24, Uniphyl);

  
  


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  tipranavir (Aptivus);

  
  


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  tizanidine (Zanaflex);

  
  


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  drugs to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, such as ibritumomab (Zevalin), or iodine I-131 tositumomab (Bexxar);

  
  


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  medication to treat congestive heart failure, such as amrinone (inamrinone, Inocor), enoximone (Perfan), or milrinone (Primacor);

  
  


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  medicines to treat or prevent blood clots, such as dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), fondaparinux (Arixtra), or tinzaparin (Innohep); or

  
  


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  other anti-platelet drugs such as abciximab (ReoPro), cilostazol (Pletal), danaparoid (Orgaran), eptifibatide (Integrelin), prasugrel (Effient), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), or tirofiban (Aggrastat).

  
  

This list is not complete and other drugs may interact with anagrelide. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal products. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.

More anagrelide resources

• Anagrelide Side Effects (in more detail)
• Anagrelide Dosage
• Anagrelide Use in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
• Drug Images
• Anagrelide Drug Interactions
• Anagrelide Support Group
• 0 Reviews for Anagrelide - Add your own review/rating

• anagrelide Advanced Consumer (Micromedex) - Includes Dosage Information


• Anagrelide Professional Patient Advice (Wolters Kluwer)


• Anagrelide MedFacts Consumer Leaflet (Wolters Kluwer)


• Anagrelide Prescribing Information (FDA)


• Agrylin Monograph (AHFS DI)


• Agrylin Prescribing Information (FDA)

Compare anagrelide with other medications

• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
• Thrombocythemia

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about anagrelide.

See also: anagrelide side effects (in more detail)