Zebeta

Zebeta is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure. Zebeta belongs to a group of drugs called beta blockers. It works to decrease blood pressure and heart rate by blocking beta receptors in the body.

This medication comes in tablet form. It is usually taken once daily, with or without food.

Common side effects include diarrhea, fatigue and dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how it affects you.

Zebeta is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take Zebeta exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The usual starting dose is 5 mg once daily. In some patients, 2.5 mg may be an appropriate starting dose. If the effect of 5 mg is inadequate, the dose may be increased to 10 mg and then, if necessary, to 20 mg once daily.

Serious side effects have been reported with Zebeta including the following:

• Heart Failure. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart failure, or if you develop signs/symptoms of heart failure. These include
  • sudden weight gain
  • feeling excessively tired and short of breath when doing things that are normally easy
  • needing to prop yourself up in bed to avoid feeling short or breath
  • persistent cough
  • swelling in the arms, legs, and other limbs 
• Worsening heart arrhythmias or chest pain. Stopping use of Zebeta can worsen conditions such as arrhythmias or chest pain. Do not stop taking this medication on your own without talking to your doctor first. 
• Peripheral Vascular Disease. Tell your doctor if you have a history of peripheral vascular disease or if you experience the following signs/symptoms of peripheral vascular disease:
  • cramping in the arms or legs that occurs with exercise and goes away with resting
  • pain at rest, especially in the feet
• Worsening of bronchospastic disease (such as asthma or COPD). Use of Zebeta and other beta blockers is not recommended in patients with bronchospastic diseases. Your doctor will want to monitor your condition if you are prescribed this medication and also have a bronchospastic disease.
• Risk for those with diabetes. This medication may mask some of the symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). It may also cause hypoglycemia for those especially for those at risk for developing hypoglycemia.
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). This medication may mask clinical signs of hyperthyroidism, such as a racing heart beat. Stopping this medication suddenly may worsen symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Other symptoms of hyperthyroidism include
  • sudden weight loss
  • increased appetite
  • nervousness, anxiety and irritability
  • tremors or shakes
  • sweating
  • heightened sensitivity to heat
  • more frequent bowel movements
  • fatigue, muscle weakness
  • trouble sleeping
  • skin thinning
  • fine, brittle hair

Do not take Zebeta if you:

• are allergic to Zebeta or to any of its ingredients
• have recently experienced cardiogenic shock
• have overt heart failure
• have second or third degree heart block
• have marked sinus bradycardia

Common side effects of Zebeta include:

• diarrhea
• fatigue
• dizziness
• muscle aches
• vomiting
• runny nose

This is not a complete list of Zebeta side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• other beta blockers such as
  • metoprolol (Toprol XL, Lopressor)
  • carvedilol (Coreg)
  • betaxolol (Kerlone)
  • nebivolol (Bystolic)
  • propranolol (Inderal)
• reserpine
• anti-arrhythmia medications such as procainamide (Procanbid, Procan), disopyramide (Norpace, Rythmodan), lidocaine (Xylocaine, Lidoderm), phenytoin (Dilantin), mexiletine (Mexitil), flecainide (Tambocor), propafenone (Rythmol), amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), sotalol (Betapace), dofetilide (Tikosyn), dronedarone (Multaq), digoxin (Lanoxin), and adenosine (Adenocard)
• calcium channel blockers such as verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Covera, Verelan) and diltiazem (Cardizem)
• diltiazem (Lanoxin)
• rifampin 

This is not a complete list of Zebeta drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

This medication falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

It is not known if Zebeta crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using Zebeta.

Do not stop taking Zebeta abruptly on your own without talking to your doctor first. Stopping use of Zebeta can worsen conditions such as Zebeta or chest pain.

This medication may mask some of the symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). It may also cause hypoglycemia for those especially for those at risk for developing hypoglycemia.

Zebeta can worsen bronchospastic disease (such as asthma or COPD).