What Is Antenex Used For?

Antenex contains diazepam and belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines, which work by affecting brain chemicals to help manage various conditions.

Primary Uses

Antenex is used to manage anxiety, relieve symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal such as acute agitation and tremor, relax muscles, and treat panic attacks. Note that anxiety or tension from normal everyday stress usually doesn’t require medication treatment.

How It Works

Benzodiazepines like Antenex are thought to work by their action on brain chemicals to provide calming and muscle-relaxing effects.

How to Take Antenex

Take Antenex exactly as your doctor has prescribed. Your doctor will determine the right dose and frequency based on your age, condition being treated, and other medications you may be taking.

Dosage Instructions

The usual adult dose is between 5 and 40 mg daily. Children, elderly patients, and those with kidney or liver problems may need lower doses. Antenex can be taken up to three times a day. Tablets should be swallowed whole with a glass of water and can be taken with or without food. Treatment should typically be for short periods only (2-4 weeks) unless your doctor advises otherwise.

What If You Miss a Dose?

If it’s almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose as scheduled. Otherwise, take the missed dose as soon as you remember, then return to your normal schedule. If you’re unsure what to do, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Available Tablet Strengths

Side Effects

Like all medications, this medicine can cause side effects. Most are mild and temporary, but some require medical attention.

Common Side Effects

These side effects occur relatively frequently and usually don’t require emergency care:

• drowsiness and tiredness
• dizziness and unsteadiness
• loss of memory and inattentiveness
• confusion and lack of concentration
• headache
• hangover feeling in the morning
• slurred speech
• unpleasant dreams

Important Warnings

There are several important warnings and precautions to be aware of before taking Antenex.

Who Should Not Take Antenex

Do not take Antenex if you are allergic to diazepam, any other benzodiazepine medicine, or any ingredients in the tablets. Also avoid if you have severe and chronic lung or airway disease, severe liver disease, temporary stops in breathing during sleep (sleep apnoea), severe muscle weakness, or drug or alcohol addiction.

Medical Conditions to Discuss

Tell your doctor if you have liver, kidney or lung disease, high or low blood pressure, glaucoma, depression, schizopenia or other mental illness, epilepsy, or a history of alcohol or drug abuse. Antenex is not recommended as first choice treatment for patients with depression and/or psychosis as it can increase suicide risk.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Antenex may affect your unborn baby and cause complications in newborns including low blood pressure, poor muscle tone, reduced breathing function, and low body temperature. Withdrawal symptoms in newborns have been reported with prolonged use. Antenex is not recommended during breastfeeding as it may pass into breast milk and cause drowsiness and feeding difficulties in your baby.

Drug Interactions

Some medicines may interfere with Antenex and affect how it works, while Antenex may affect other medicines.

• other sleeping tablets, sedatives or tranquillisers
• medicines for depression
• other medicines for anxiety
• medicines used to treat epilepsy (e.g. phenytoin)
• antihistamines for allergies, hayfever, colds or travel sickness
• pain relievers
• muscle relaxants
• cimetidine and omeprazole (for reflux or stomach ulcers)
• disulfiram (used in alcohol abuse treatment)
• cisapride (for gastric reflux)
• ketoconazole (for fungal infections)
• opioids like morphine and pethidine (for severe pain)

Alcohol & Driving

Antenex can affect your ability to drive safely and may interact dangerously with alcohol.

Alcohol

Alcohol may increase the effects of Antenex. Your doctor may suggest that you avoid alcohol or reduce the amount you drink while taking Antenex. Combining Antenex and alcohol may cause severe sedation, breathing difficulties, heart problems, coma and death.

Driving and Operating Machinery

Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how Antenex affects you. Antenex may cause drowsiness, dizziness or loss of concentration in some people. Make sure you know how you react to Antenex before driving or doing anything that could be dangerous if you are drowsy, dizzy or not alert. Children should be careful when riding bicycles or climbing trees.

Storage

Store Antenex in a cool, dry place below 30°C, where children cannot reach it. Keep tablets in the original packaging until it’s time to take them. Don’t store in the bathroom, near a sink, in the car, or on window sills as heat and dampness can destroy the medicine. A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good storage location.

Overdose Information

If you think you or anyone else has taken too much Antenex, urgent medical attention is needed. Overdose symptoms may include feeling drowsy, tired, confused, dizzy, having difficulty breathing, feeling weak or becoming unconscious. When combined with other CNS depressants, overdose effects are likely to be severe and may prove fatal. Immediately phone the Poisons Information Centre (Australia telephone 13 11 26), contact your doctor, or go to the Emergency Department at your nearest hospital, even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.

Frequently Asked Questions