What should I avoid while taking acetaminophen and propoxyphene?

This medication can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Do not use any other over-the-counter cough, cold, allergy, or pain medication without first asking your doctor or pharmacist. Acetaminophen is contained in many medicines available over the counter. If you take certain products together you may accidentally take too much acetaminophen. Read the label of any other medicine you are using to see if it contains acetaminophen. Avoid drinking alcohol while taking acetaminophen and propoxyphene. Alcohol may increase your risk of liver damage while taking acetaminophen. Cold or allergy medicine, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, or seizure medication can add to sleepiness caused by propoxyphene, or could slow your breathing. Tell your doctor if you need to use any of these other medicines together with acetaminophen and propoxyphene.

What are the possible side effects of acetaminophen and propoxyphene?

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 any of these serious side effects:

shallow breathing, slow heartbeat;
feeling light-headed, fainting;
confusion, unusual thoughts or behavior;
seizure (convulsions); or
nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, itching, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

Less serious side effects include:

feeling dizzy or drowsy;
mild nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, constipation;
headache;
blurred vision; or
dry mouth.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

What other drugs will affect acetaminophen and propoxyphene?

Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:

aspirin or a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin);
carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol);
glycopyrrolate (Robinul);
mepenzolate (Cantil);
atropine (Donnatal, and others), benztropine (Cogentin), dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), methscopolamine (Pamine), or scopolamine (Transderm-Scop);
bladder or urinary medications such as darifenacin (Enablex), flavoxate (Urispas), oxybutynin (Ditropan, Oxytrol), tolterodine (Detrol), or solifenacin (Vesicare);
a bronchodilator such as ipratropium (Atrovent) or tiotropium (Spiriva); or
irritable bowel medications such as dicyclomine (Bentyl), hyoscyamine (Anaspaz, Cystospaz, Levsin, and others), or propantheline (Pro-Banthine).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with acetaminophen and propoxyphene. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

Your pharmacist can provide more information about acetaminophen and propoxyphene.

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.

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