Mycobutin (Rifabutin)

• It is very important to take MYCOBUTIN exactly as your healthcare professional has told you to. Never change the dose by yourself. Do not stop taking MYCOBUTIN unless your healthcare professional tells you to because your infection could return.
• Take this drug at the same time every day.
• Swallow the MYCOBUTIN capsules (pills) whole with a drink of water.

Usual Dose:

• Take two MYCOBUTIN capsules (pills) by mouth once a day.
• If you have nausea, feel sick to your stomach, or throw up you can take one capsule (pill) by mouth twice a day. In this case, take with food.

Overdose:

If you think you have taken too much MYCOBUTIN, contact your healthcare professional, hospital emergency department or regional Poison Control Centre immediately, even if there are no symptoms.

Missed Dose:

If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is time for your next dose. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed dose.

These are not all the possible side effects you may feel when taking MYCOBUTIN. If you experience any side effects not listed here, contact your healthcare professional.

The most common side effect of MYCOBUTIN is a change in the colour of your urine from yellow to brown-orange. Colour changes like this may also affect bowel movements, spit, sweat, tears or skin. If you wear contact lenses, they may be permanently stained.

Other side effects include:

• A drop in the number of white blood cells (these fight infections).
• Skin rashes
• Stomach problems like upset stomach, burping, passing gas, nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting (throwing up) and belly pain.
• Ask your healthcare professional about how to tell if you have Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease and/or TB.
• Let your healthcare professional know if you get any of these side effects and symptoms.

If you notice symptoms such as severe diarrhea (bloody or watery) with or without fever, abdominal (belly) pain, or tenderness, you may have Clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile—bowel inflammation). If this occurs, stop taking MYCOBUTIN and contact your healthcare professional immediately.

Do not use Mycobutin if 

• If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to this drug.
• If you are allergic to any of the other ingredients in MYCOBUTIN
• If you are allergic to any drug containing rifamycin.

The following may interact with MYCOBUTIN:

• Drugs to treat diabetes
• Painkillers like acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and others
• Narcotics, including methadone
• Blood thinners (anticoagulants) like warfarin
• Steroids (to treat inflammation or allergy) like prednisolone
• Drugs to suppress the immune system like cyclosporine (ciclosporin) and tacrolimus
• Drugs for heart conditions like quinidine or digitalis (digoxin is okay)
• Drugs to treat skin infections or pneumonia like dapsone
• Drugs to treat epilepsy or seizures like phenytoin (Dilantin)
• Drugs to treat fungal infections like fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, ketoconazole and miconazole
• Drugs to treat viral infections like indinavir, saquinavir, ritonavir or amprenavir, fosamprenavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir and tipranavir/ritonavir
• The anti-HIV drug called delviradine
• The antibiotic drug called clarithromycin
• Birth control pills that have ethinyl estradiol and/or norethindrone. (These drugs may not be as effective if you are on MYCOBUTIN and your healthcare professional may recommend a different kind or an additional kind of birth control.)