Mesna (patient information)

About your treatment

Your doctor has ordered the drug mesna to help treat your illness. Mesna can be injected into a vein or the liquid can be mixed in juice and taken by mouth. Depending on your treatment schedule, mesna will be given prior to and after each dose of chemotherapy or mixed in the same bag with your chemotherapy.

This medication is used to protect the bladder wall from the harmful effects of some cancer-fighting drugs.

Precautions

Before taking mesna:

• tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to mesna or any other drugs.
• tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking, including vitamins.
• tell your doctor if you have or have ever had liver or kidney disease.
• tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. You should not plan to have children while receiving chemotherapy or for a while after treatments. (Talk to your doctor for further details.) Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy.
• do not have any vaccinations (e.g., measles or flu shots) without talking to your doctor.

Side effects

Minor side effects

Side effects from mesna are common and include:

• bad taste in the mouth
• diarrhea or soft stools
• headache
• nausea
• vomiting

Tell your doctor if the following symptom is severe or lasts for several hours:

• fatigue

Severe side effects

If you experience the following symptom, call your doctor immediately:

• blood in urine

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at http://www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].

In case of emergency/overdose

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.

Brand names

• Mesnex®