Motilux: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects and Composition

Description of Motilux

Motilux is a drug which belongs to a class of drugs called dopamine receptor antagonist.

It contains Domperidone as its active ingredient. It also contains inactive ingredients called excipients in sufficient quantities.

Motilux comes in different dosage forms such as tablets, oral suspension and drops for babies.

It also comes as suppositories for adults who may have swallowing difficulties.

Unlike Motilux tablets that come in 10mg, suppositories of Motilux come in 30mg strengths. Oral suspension contains 1mg of Domperidone per ml.

Motilux is an antiemetic and prokinetic drug as it has activities against nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal motility respectively.

Uses of Motilux

  1. Motilux is used for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease as it increases peristalsis
  2. It is also used to treat nausea and vomiting (especially drugs induced ones)
  3. It is equally used to induce or to increase breast milk production in women who are not producing enough milk for their babies
  4. In addition, it is used to increase stomach emptying in patients with gastroparesis.
  5. In patients with Parkinson’s disease, Domperidone is used to relieve nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal symptoms associated with the medical condition
  6. Domperidone is also used to treat recurring cases of indigestion with no obvious cause

Dosage of Motilux

Your physician will recommend an ideal dose of Motilux you are to take for your medical condition.

He might use your body weight, condition severity, or age in determining the best dosage for you. This is called dose individualization.

Domperidone is better taken on an empty stomach, about 10 to 15 minutes before meal. This increases its absorption.

Motilux dosage for adults

Tablets:

  • Nausea and vomiting: 10mg taken 8 hourly daily
  • Gastrointestinal motility disorders: 10mg taken 8 hourly daily
  • Lactation induction or breast milk production increase: 10mg taken 8 hourly daily

Suppositories

30mg (one suppository) inserted 12 hourly, daily.

Dosage for Children 12 years of age and older and weighing 35 kg or more

Tablets:

  • Nausea and vomiting: 10mg taken 8 hourly daily
  • Gastrointestinal motility disorders: 10mg taken 8 hourly daily

Suppositories

30mg (one suppository) inserted 12 hourly, daily.

Dosage for children

Children weighing less than 35kg are better dosed using their body weight.

To get the right dose for any child, multiple the child’s weight in kg by 250μg. What you get should be the child dose.

For instance, a child whose body weight is 10kg should get: 250ug × 10 = 2.5kg of Domperidone. This will be equivalent to 2.5ml of Domperidone oral suspension.

Note: your doctor can recommend a high dose of Domperidone for you. In some cases, he might recommend 20mg, to be taken 3 to 4 times daily. Always adhere to your doctor’s prescription as against what you get elsewhere, including this one here.

Side Effects of Motilux

The most common side effect associated with Motilux is dry mouth. You can chew sugarless gum, candy or lozenges to mitigate this.

Although not as common as dry mouth, patients on Domperidone can experience these side effects:

  • Drowsiness
  • Diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Somnolence
  • Loss of libido
  • Asthenia
  • Anxiety
  • Rash
  • Pruritus
  • Increase in plasma prolactin levels. This can cause patients to produce breast milk. This can equally cause patients to have breast pain, tenderness, and breast enlargement.

Few parents may experience:

  • Anaphylactic reaction
  • Agitation
  • Nervousness
  • Convulsion
  • Extrapyramidal disorder
  • Oculogyric crisis
  • Ventricular arrhythmias
  • Sudden cardiac death
  • QTC prolongation
  • Torsade de pointes
  • Urticaria
  • Angioedema
  • Urinary retention
  • Amenorrhea
  • Abnormal liver enzymes (leading to abnormal liver function test result)

When not to use Motilux and/or when to observe caution

  1. Patients who are 60 years and older and are using Domperidone have increased risk of having serious ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Domperidone should, therefore, be used with caution in this type of patients.
  2. Caution should be observed in patients taking more than 30mg of Domperidone orally, daily.
  3. Domperidone should not be used together with drugs that prolong QT interval.
  4. Don’t use Domperidone in patients with heart issues unless when it is certain that benefits of doing so outweigh the risks.
  5. Don’t use in patients with significant electrolyte imbalance or disturbances
  6. There are a group of drugs called CYP3A4 inhibitors. Ask your pharmacist about them if you care to know. Please don’t use Domperidone concomitantly with them. Doing so will increase the level of Domperidone in your blood, thereby exposing you to chancing of having serious side effects.
  7. Do not exceed the recommended dose (even if you don’t feel better).

Can pregnant women take Motilux?

It is not recommended, so do not take it when you’re pregnant.

You should take note that Domperidone is not found to be teratogenic in humans but data supporting this is not enough.

Can breastfeeding women take Motilux?

If your doctor didn’t recommend it for you, for the purpose of increasing your breast milk production, please don’t use it when breastfeeding.

This is to prevent your breastfed infant from having adverse effects associated with its use.

Note: women who have used Domperidone during breastfeeding reported no adverse effects in their babies. This could be because little amount of Domperidone is secreted in breast milk.

References

  1. Choi JS et al. Fetal and neonatal outcomes in women taking domperidone during pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2013 Feb;33(2):160-2. Accessed online December 8, 2022.
  2. NHS.uk. Domperidone. Accessed online: December 8, 2022.

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