Agomelatine

Common side effects which generally affect 10% of patients include:

• Drowsiness or feeling tired
• Avoid driving, or taking part in activities that requires concentration.
• Nausea or vomiting
• Take the medication with or after food.
• Take small but frequent meals and avoid fatty or spicy food
• Diarrhoea
• Drink plenty of water to replace the loss of fluid
• Constipation (difficulty passing motion)
• Drink more water (if you do not have any fluid restriction), eat more high- fibre foods, and exercise regularly
• Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you need medication to relieve your condition.
• Dizziness
• Get up slowly from sitting or lying down position
• Mild nervousness
• May occur at the start of treatment and improves over time
• Headache, increased sweating, back pain or difficulty in sleeping
• Speak to your doctor if any of these affect your daily life

Most of the side effects listed here will improve with time. Speak with your doctor if they continue, get worse or are affecting your daily life.

Very rarely (affect less than 1% of patients) this medication may cause:

• Feelings of intense agitation or anxiety, restlessness or inability to sit still
• Talking, feeling, and acting with excitement that you cannot control
• Yellowing of skin or eyes, pain in your upper stomach or dark brown and/or pale grey/clay-coloured stools (signs and symptoms of liver damage)
• Severe weakness or dizziness
• Blurred or double vision

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 consult your healthcare professional immediately.

Inform your healthcare professional if:

• You are allergic to this medication or any of the other ingredients of this medication
• You are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. If you are pregnant and/or breastfeeding, your doctor would have discussed the potential benefits and side-effects with you and should you have further questions or concerns, do consult your doctor.
• You have or have ever had:
• Other drug allergies
• Kidney or liver disease
• Other mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder or abnormally high or excited mood (mania)

IMPORTANT:

In some cases, particularly in young people below the age of 25 years, this medication may cause the following changes to a person's mental condition, especially in the first few weeks of treatment or during dose changes:

• New or worsening thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life
• Worsening agitation, restlessness, violent behaviour, or
• Other changes in mood or behaviour

Please inform your doctor as soon as possible, or for your family or caregiver to inform your doctor if you are unable to seek treatment on your own.

Do not stop taking this medication on your own without discussing with your doctor.

It is important to note that your doctor has prescribed this medication as he/she feels you will benefit more from taking this medication over the possible risks that it may cause, which have a low chance of occurring, and most people take this medication without any of such problems.

Avoid drinking alcohol while taking this medication as it may make you feel very drowsy. This medication may interact with other medications. If you intend to take any over the counter medication, supplements, herbal remedy or traditional Chinese medicine, consult your doctor or healthcare professional first to confirm that it is safe to take with Agomelatine.

• Follow the instructions on your medication label and take this medication as prescribed by your doctor.
• This medication may be taken with or without food. It is usually taken before sleeping.
• This medication needs to be taken regularly for a few weeks before you feel its full benefits. You should not stop taking this medication even if you do not feel better at the beginning. Continue to take this medication even after you feel better to prevent your symptoms from returning.
• Do check with your doctor on how long you will have to be on this medication.
• Do not stop taking your medication without checking with your healthcare professional.

If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if it is more than half of the time to the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the next dose at your usual timing. Do not take two doses to make up for the missed dose.

Pack this medication into a black trash bag and seal it tightly before throwing into the rubbish chute or bin.