Butalbital
Butalbital is a medicine which belongs to the group of barbiturates. The barbiturates are kind of medicines which have the function of depressants of the central nervous system. For this cause they have great efficiency in inducing an array of effects from mild sedation to total anesthesia. Aside from that, they also have the function of anxiolytics, anticonvulsants and even as powerful hypnotics. They also have high addiction potential and usage within a longer period than that prescribed by your doctor might cause the patient to experience both physical and psychological addiction to a drug from this group in particular.
Since senior patients and pregnant women come to question, they must be aware that their use of barbiturates might seriously put their health and even their lives at great risks. Now, you would surely ask what the age of a patient has to do with the intake of this drug. Well, as the patient gets older, his/her body becomes less immune to getting rid of a barbiturate after its use. Namely, if it is used by people who have passed the age of 65, the use of this medicine might cause problems concerning addiction to this drug as well as cause the consequences of using this drug which are harmful. Since the pregnant women come to question, this drug might cause serious consequences affecting both the mother and the baby. The baby receives this medicine through their mother’s blood while in the uterus and it does not stop there. The unpleasant effects of the barbiturates might come even after the baby is being born represented by breathing difficulties and withdrawal symptoms.
Butalbital is a drug which comes more often in the market as a drug combination with aspirin, codeine, or acetaminophen (paracetamol) than as a clear butalbital drug and all these combinations have the purpose of treating headache issues or pains which are not very strong. The combination of butalbital and codeine is a drug approved from the Food and Drugs Administration for treating tension and headache.
Since the drug combinations are the more frequent form Butalbital can be found in, we are going to mention some of the more renowned as well as their trade names.
The most renowned combination is the drug combination of butalbital and acetaminophen and can be found under these trade names: Phrenilin, Phrenilin Forte, Axocet, Cephadyn, Dolgic, Bucet and Bupap.
The next drug combination consists of combining three drugs: butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine. This drug combination can be found under these trade names: Esgic, Esgic Plus and Fioricet (the last one being most frequently encountered).
Next goes the combination of butalbital and aspirin, a drug combination which is found under the brand name of Axotal.
There is also a combination of butalbital, aspirin and caffeine and it can be found under various brand names, however, the most frequently encountered is a drug combination under the brand name of Fiorinal. Some of the other brand names under which this combination can be found are Fiormor, Laniroif and Fiortal.
There are many other combinations this drug can participate in, however, these that were mentioned are those most often encountered and apparently the most effective in the market.
You should bear in mind that the consequences of the irresponsible way of intake of this drug are inevitable. Some of them are: nausea, euphoria, drowsiness, dizziness, sedation, feeling as if being intoxicated, light-headedness, a severe impairment of judgment, then constipation, diarrhea, and many more. The list of all possible symptoms might have no end, however, the symptoms which are mentioned above are the general ones that can happen to every patient irrespectively of the specific condition he/she is in.