Aldactone vs. Inspra (Eplerenone)

• Are Aldactone and Eplerenone (Inspra) the Same Thing?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Aldactone?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Eplerenone (Inspra)?
• What Is Aldactone?
• What Is Eplerenone (Inspra)?
• What Drugs Interact with Aldactone?
• What Drugs Interact with Eplerenone (Inspra)?
• How Should Aldactone Be Taken?
• How Should Eplerenone (Inspra) Be Taken?

Aldactone (spironolactone) and eplerenone are aldosterone receptor blockers used to reduce fluid retention (edema) caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, and high blood pressure (hypertension).

Aldactone is also used to treat certain patients with hyperaldosteronism.

A brand name for eplerenone is Inspra.

Common side effects of Aldactone include:

• skin rash,
• headache,
• dizziness,
• nausea,
• vomiting,
• gas, and
• stomach pain.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Aldactone including irregular heart rate, muscle pain or weakness, urinating less than usual, shallow breathing, tremors, confusion, or a severe skin reaction, hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood), and numbness.

Common side effects of Eplerenone (Inspra) include:

• headache,
• dizziness,
• diarrhea,
• stomach pain,
• nausea,
• cough or flu-like symptoms (such as fever, chills, body aches, unusual tiredness),
• vaginal bleeding, or
• breast swelling or tenderness.

Tell your doctor if you have rare but serious side effects of Inspra including:

• abnormal vaginal bleeding,
• enlarged or sore breasts in males, or
• symptoms of a high potassium blood level (such as muscle weakness, slow/irregular heartbeat).

Aldactone (spironolactone) is an aldosterone receptor antagonist that causes the kidneys to remove water and sodium from the body, with reduced losses of potassium. Aldactone is used to reduce edema caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure (hypertension), and certain patients with hyperaldosteronism.

Inspra (eplerenone) is an aldosterone receptor blocker, which is an antihypertensive, used to treat congestive heart failure after a heart attack, and is also used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Inspra is available in generic form.

Aldactone may interact with lithium or steroids.

Aldactone may also interact with other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold or allergy medicine, sedatives, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression, or anxiety), digoxin, ACE inhibitors, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Inspra may interact with lithium, other blood pressure medications, antibiotics, antifungals, ACE inhibitors, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), HIV/AIDS medicines, or antidepressants. Tell your doctor all medications you are taking.

Aldactone is available in 25, 50 and 100 mg tablets. Because of tumor formation in experimental animals, use in pregnancy should be avoided unless the benefits outweigh the potential risks to the fetus; women who are breastfeeding are advised not to use Aldactone. In addition, the drug should not be used to decrease the normal edema of pregnancy. An active metabolite of Aldactone appears in breast milk. Breastfeeding while using Aldactone is not recommended. If use of Aldactone is deemed essential, an alternative method of infant feeding should be used.

Treatment with Inspra is initiated at 25 mg once daily and adjusted to the recommended dose of 50 mg once daily, preferably within 4 weeks as tolerated by the patient.