What precautions should I take with anagrelide?

Anagrelide (Agrylin) may make your skin sensitive to sunlight. Wear protective clothing, sunglasses and sunscreen and avoid long exposure to sun.

Do not take anagrelide if you breastfeed a child, are pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Use birth control during your treatment. If you become pregnant while taking anagrelide, call your doctor immediately.

Tell your doctor if you are allergic to anagrelide or other drugs. Bring a list of your drugs, including prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, supplements and herbs.

Inform your doctor if you take any of these medications: atazanavir (Reyataz), cilostazol (Pletal), cimetidine (Tagamet), clozapine (Clozaril) and cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril); fluoroquinolone antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin (Cipro), gatifloxacin (Tequin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin (Floxin) and others; fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Tofranil), inamrinone, mexiletine (Mexitil), milrinone (Primacor), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, in Prevacid NapraPAC), riluzole (Rilutek), sucralfate (Carafate), theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theo-24, Theolair, others) and ticlopidine (Ticlid). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you for side effects.

Share your health history with your doctor. Tell him or her if you have bleeding problems, high or low blood pressure, heart, kidney or liver disease, or cannot digest dairy products.

If you plan to have any kind of surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you take anagrelide.

Anagrelide may make you dizzy, especially when you first start taking it. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how it affects you.

Anagrelide may cause dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting when you get up too quickly from lying down. This is more common when you first start taking anagrelide. Get out of bed slowly and rest your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.