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• Interactions

Vitamin and mineral supplements can interact with certain medications, or affect how medications work in your body. Before taking multivitamins with iron, tell your doctor if you also use:

• acetohydroxamic acid (Lithostat);

• cimetidine (Tagamet);

• deferoxamine (Desferal);

• etidronate (Didronel);

• diuretics (water pills);

• heart or blood pressure medications;

• tretinoin (Vesanoid);

• isotretinoin (Accutane, Amnesteen, Clavaris, Sotret);

• dimercaprol (an injection used to treat poisoning by arsenic, lead, or mercury);

• penicillamine (Cuprimine);

• pancrelipase (Cotazym, Creon, Ilozyme, Pancrease, Ultrase);

• trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (Cotrim, Bactrim, Septra, TMP/SMX); or

• an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), etodolac (Lodine), indomethacin (Indocin), ketoprofen (Orudis), and others.

This list is not complete and there may be other medications that can interact with or be affected by multivitamins. 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.

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 if you have serious side effects such as:

• bright red blood in your stools; or

• pain in your chest or throat when swallowing a ferrous fumarate tablet.

When taken as directed, multivitamins are not expected to cause serious side effects. Less serious side effects may include:

• constipation, diarrhea;

• nausea, vomiting, heartburn;

• stomach pain, upset stomach;

• black or dark-colored stools or urine;

• temporary staining of the teeth;

• headache; or

• unusual or unpleasant taste in your mouth.

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