Trientine (oral route)
Available brands
Syprine
About this medication
Trientine is used to treat Wilson's disease, a disease in which there is high levels of copper in the body in patients who are de-coppered and dependent to penicillamine. This medicine combines with excess copper in the body and may prevent your body from absorbing the copper in the foods you eat. Removing copper from the body prevents damage to the liver, brain, and other organs. The combination of copper and trientine is then easily removed by the kidneys and it passes from the body in urine. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription. This product is available in the following dosage forms:
Before using this medication
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered: Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of trientine in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of trientine in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have age-related liver, kidney, or heart problems, which may require caution and an adjustment in the dose for patients taking this medicine. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
How to use this medication
Take this medicine exactly as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. Take this medicine on an empty stomach, at least1 hour before or 2 hoursafter meals and at least1 hour before or afterany other medicine, food, or milk. Trientine will not cure Wilson's disease, but it will help remove the excess copper from your body. Therefore, you must continue to take this medicine regularly, as directed. You may have to take trientine for the rest of your life. If Wilson's disease is not treated continually, it can cause severe liver damage and can cause death. Do not stop taking this medicine without first checking with your doctor. It is very important for you to follow any special instructions from your doctor, such as following a low-copper diet. You may need to avoid foods known to be high in copper, such as chocolate, mushrooms, liver, molasses, broccoli, cereals enriched with copper, shellfish, organ meats, and nuts. If you have any questions about this, check with your doctor. Swallow thetabletwhole. Do not crush, chew, or dissolve it. Take this medicine at least2 hours before or 2 hours aftertaking iron supplements. Take this medicine at least1 hour before or 2 hours aftertaking calcium, magnesium, or zinc. If you are unable to swallow thetablet, you may divide the it into half. The starting dose ofCurvior™ tabletswill depend on the amount of penicillamine you are currently taking. You should stop taking penicillamine before starting treatment withCurvior™ tablets. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. Keep from freezing. Remove thetabletfrom the blister pack only at the time of dosing. Do not store it for future use after opening the blister.
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