Take this medicine exactly as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. Also, do not stop taking abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination without checking with your doctor first.

This medicine works best when there is a constant amount in the blood. To help keep the amount constant, do not miss any doses. If you need help in planning the best times to take your medicine, check with your health care professional.

Only take medicine that your doctor has prescribed specifically for you. Do not share your medicine with others.

Dosing

Abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination contains a fixed amount of each medicine.

• For oral dosage form (tablets):

• For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection:

• Adults, teenagers, and children who weigh more than 40 kilograms (kg) (88 pounds) 300 milligrams (mg) of abacavir, 150 mg of lamivudine, and 300 mg of zidovudine (equal to one tablet) two times a day.
• Adults, teenagers, and children who weigh 40 kg (88 pounds) or less Use is not recommended.

Missed dose

If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.

Storage

To store this medicine:

• Keep out of the reach of children.
• Store away from heat and direct light.
• Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
• Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination the following should be considered:

Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to abacavir, lamivudine, or zidovudine. This medicine should not be taken if you have ever had an allergic reaction to it or to abacavir, because it could cause another severe reaction that may result in death.Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy Abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination has not been studied in pregnant women. However, abacavir has been found to cause birth defects and other problems in animals at doses many times the human dose, and zidovudine has been studied in animals and causes birth defects when given in very high doses. Before taking this abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

Breast-feeding Zidovudine passes into human breast milk. It is not known whether abacavir or lamivudine passes into human breast milk. However, if your baby does not already have the AIDS virus, there is a chance that you could pass it to your baby by breast-feeding. Talk to your doctor first if you are thinking about breast-feeding your baby.

Children Abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination contains a fixed amount of each medicine that cannot be decreased. Therefore, this medicine is not recommended for patients who weigh less than 40 kilograms (88 pounds) because the amounts of abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine in this product cannot be adjusted for smaller body sizes.

Older adults Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Amphotericin B by injection (e.g., Fungizone) or
• Antineoplastics (cancer medicine) or
• Azathioprine (e.g., Imuran) or
• Chloramphenicol (e.g., Chloromycetin) or
• Clozapine (e.g., Clozaril) or
• Colchicine or
• Didanosine (e.g., Videx) or
• Eflornithine (e.g., Ornidyl) or
• Flucytosine (e.g., Ancobon) or
• Ganciclovir (e.g., Cytovene) or
• Interferon (e.g., Intron A, Roferon-A) Using any of these medicines with the combination medicine may cause blood problems to become worse

• Abacavir (e.g., Ziagen) or
• Lamivudine (e.g., Epivir) or
• Zidovudine (e.g., Retrovir) Using additional abacavir, lamivudine, or zidovudine with the combination medicine may increase the chance of side effects of abacavir, lamivudine, or zidovudine

• Doxorubicin (e.g., Adriamycin) or
• Ribavirin (e.g., Virazole) or
• Stavudine (e.g., Zerit) Use of these medicines with abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination may result in these medicines or the combination not working as well as they should

• Blood problems, including anemia and decreased bone marrow production Abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine combination may make these conditions worse

• Kidney disease or
• Liver disease Patients with kidney or liver disease may have more side effects