Generic name: labetalol (taken by mouth or injected) [la-BAY-ta-lol]
Brand names: Trandate and Normodyne are brand names.
Dosage forms: intravenous solution (100 mg/100 mL-NaCl 0.72%; 200 mg/200 mL-D5%; 200 mg/200 mL-NaCl 0.72%; 200 mg/200 mL-NaCl 0.9%; 300 mg/300 mL-NaCl 0.72%; 5 mg/mL; 500 mg/500 mL-NaCl 0.9%), oral tablet (100 mg; 200 mg; 300 mg)
Type of Drug: Non-cardioselective beta blockers are a type of drug.
Describe labetalol
Labetalol is a beta-blocker used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Labetalol is sometimes given with other medicines to treat high blood pressure.
When high blood pressure is very bad, labetalol is injected.
Labetalol can also be used for other things that aren’t in this book.
Warnings
Only use how it says to. Tell your doctor if you take any other drugs or if you have any other health problems or illnesses.
Before you take this drug
If you are allergic to labetalol or if you have:
• asthma;
• “AV block” (2nd or 3rd degree);
• heart failure that can’t be stopped;
• blood pressure that is very low;
• slow heartbeats that made you pass out;
• If your heart isn’t pumping blood well enough.
You should tell your doctor if you have ever:
• heart failure with swelling;
• angina (chest pain);
• disease of the liver;
• asthma, pneumonia that lasts for a long time, or other breathing problems;
• a growth of the adrenal gland called pheochromocytoma;
• diabetes;
• surgery to bypass a coronary artery, which is sometimes called “CABG”;
• kidney disease; or
• allergies.
Your eyes can be affected by labetalol. If you need eye surgery, you should tell the doctor that you used to take labetalol, even if you don’t take it anymore.
If a mother takes labetalol while she is pregnant, it could cause her baby to have low blood pressure, low blood sugar, a slow heart rate, or trouble breathing. If you are pregnant or want to get pregnant, you should tell your doctor.
Ask your doctor if you can still nurse while taking this medicine.
Anyone younger than 18 is not allowed to use it.
How am I supposed to take labetalol?
Follow all of the rules on the package of your medicine, and read any tips or instruction sheets that come with it. Your doctor may change your dose from time to time. Follow the directions to the letter.
Labetalol taken by mouth is called “oral.”
When high blood pressure is very bad, a doctor will put labetalol into a vein. After the shot, you might have to lie down for up to three hours. When you first stand up, you might feel dizzy.
You will need to have your blood pressure checked often, and you may also need other tests. If you have diabetes, you should always check your blood sugar.
Even if you feel fine, you should keep taking this medicine as recommended. Often, there are no signs of high blood pressure.
Labetalol can give false results on some pee tests, like a test to see if you are using drugs. Tell the people who work in the lab that you take labetalol.
If you are going to have surgery, you should tell your doctor.
Do not stop taking labetalol all of a sudden. Your situation might get worse if you stop all of a sudden.
Keep at room temperature and away from heat and moisture.
What will happen if I don’t take a dose?
Take the medicine as soon as you can, but skip the dose you missed if your next dose is almost due. Take only one amount at a time.
What happens if I overdose?
Get help from a doctor right away or call 1-800-222-1222 to reach the Poison Help line.
Some signs of an overdose are a slow heart rate, coughing, tightness in the chest, trouble breathing, extreme dizziness, seizures, or passing out.
What should I stay away from while I’m taking labetalol?
Don’t drive or do anything else dangerous until you know how labetalol will make you feel. Your responses could be slowed down.
If you get up too quickly after sitting or lying down, you might feel dizzy.
If you drink alcohol, it can drop your blood pressure even more and may make some of the side effects of labetalol worse.
Labetalol side effects
If you have rashes, trouble breathing, or swelling in your face, lips, tongue, or throat, you may be having an allergic response.
Labetalol could have some very bad side effects. Call your doctor right away if:
• feeling dizzy and like you might pass out;
• slow heart rate, weak pulse, fainting, and slow breathing (breathing may stop);
• shortness of breath (even with light activity), swelling, and fast weight gain;
• a strong headache, hazy vision, pounding in your neck or ears, or
• Loss of hunger, pain in the upper right side of the stomach, flu-like symptoms, itching, dark urine, and jaundice, which is when the skin or eyes turn yellow.
Older people may be more likely to feel very dizzy or pass out.
Some of the most common side effects of labetalol are:
• feeling sick, sleepy, or tired;
• nausea, vomiting;
• sudden heat, red skin, and sweating;
• being numb; or
• a tingling sensation in your head.
This isn’t a full list of all possible side effects, and there may be others. You should talk to your doctor about any side effects. You can call 1-800-FDA-1088 to tell the FDA about side affects.
How will other medicines change labetalol?
Tell your doctor about all the drugs you are taking, especially:
• any other medicine for high blood pressure;
• theophylline and aminophylline;
• cimetidine;
• medicine for the heart;
• insulin or diabetes pills you take by mouth;
• an antidepressant like amitriptyline, doxepin, desipramine, imipramine, nortriptyline, or others; or
• a bronchodilator, such as albuterol, formoterol, levalbuterol, metaproterenol, olodaterol, salmeterol, and others.
This list doesn’t have everything. Other drugs, such as prescription and over-the-counter meds, vitamins, and herbal items, may interact with labetalol. Not every drug combination that could happen is on this list.
For more details
Remember to keep this and all other medicines out of reach of children, to never give your medicines to other people, and to only use this medicine for what it was given for.
Talk to your doctor or other healthcare source to make sure that the information on this page applies to your situation.
Copyright from 1996 to 2023 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 11.02.
