Stalevo Side Effects (Cont.)

Serious Stalevo Side Effects

Some side effects with Stalevo are potentially serious and should be reported immediately to your healthcare provider. Although most of these serious side effects are rare, a few may be common. Many of these side effects have occurred with carbidopa-levodopa products, which have been available for a long time, and are expected to also be a problem with Stalevo, which contains carbidopa-levodopa in combination with entacapone. These serious side effects of Stalevo (or of carbidopa-levodopa alone) include but are not limited to:
 
  • Severe diarrhea
  • Severe muscle pain
  • Psychiatric problems, such as:
 
    • Hallucinations
    • Delusions
    • Paranoia
    • Agitation
    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
 
  • Low blood pressure (hypotension) or high blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Fainting
  • Bleeding in the digestive tract
  • Intestinal ulcers (known as duodenal ulcers)
  • Low white blood cell, red blood cell, or blood platelet counts
  • Seizures
  • Heart attack
  • Malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer)
  • A painful penile erection that does not go away (known as priapism)
  • Falling or balance problems
  • Symptoms of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), which may occur if Stalevo is stopped too abruptly, such as:
 
    • A high fever
    • Stiff muscles
    • Confusion
    • Irregular pulse or blood pressure
    • A fast heart rate (tachycardia)
    • Sweating
    • Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
 
  • Signs of an allergic reaction, such as:
 
    • An unexplained rash
    • Hives
    • Itching
    • Swelling of the mouth or throat
    • Wheezing
    • Difficulty breathing.
 
(Stalevo Side Effects Continued: Page 3)

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;