Oxybutynin - Adverse Effects

Adverse Effects

Common adverse effects associated with oxybutynin and other anticholinergics include: dry mouth, difficulty in urination, constipation, blurred vision, drowsiness, and dizziness. Anticholinergics have also been known to induce delirium. These are dose-related and sometimes severe; in one population studied, after six months more than half of the patients had stopped taking the medication due to side effects and calcium defects. An intake of calcium of 800 to 1000 mg is suggested. Dry mouth may be particularly severe; one estimate is that over a quarter of patients who begin oxybutynin treatment may have to stop because of dry mouth.

N-Desethyloxybutynin is an active metabolite of oxybutynin that is thought to be responsible for much of the adverse effects associated with the use of oxybutynin. N-Desethyloxybutynin plasma levels may reach as much as six times that of the parent drug after administration of the immediate-release oral formulation. Alternative dosage forms have been developed in an effort to reduce blood levels of N-desethyloxybutynin and allow for a more steady concentration of oxybutynin to be achieved than is possible with the immediate release form. The long-acting formulations also allow once-daily administration instead of the twice-daily dosage required with the immediate-release form. The transdermal patch, in addition to the benefits of the extended-release oral formulations, bypasses the first-pass hepatic effect that the oral formulations are subject to. In those with overflow incontinence due to diabetes or neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis or spinal cord trauma, oxybutin can worsen overflow incontinence since the fundamental problem is the bladder is not contracting.