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Selenium Drug Interactions
When certain medications, such as aspirin or statin cholesterol medications, are taken with selenium, drug interactions may occur. Some of these interactions could reduce the effectiveness of the medicines or increase your risk for developing side effects. To avoid these complications, talk to your healthcare provider about potential selenium drug interactions that may apply to you.
An Introduction to Selenium Drug Interactions
Even though it is a dietary supplement, not a "drug," selenium can potentially interact with some medicines. Some of the medicines that may lead to selenium drug interactions include:- Medications that "thin" the blood (such as anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs), such as:
- Antithrombin (ATryn®, Thrombate III®)
- Apixaban (Eliquis®)
- Argatroban
- Aspirin (Bayer® and others)
- Bivalirudin (Angiomax®)
- Cilostazol (Pletal®)
- Clopidogrel (Plavix®)
- Dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa®)
- Dipyridamole (Persantine®)
- Drotrecogin alfa (Xigris®)
- Eptifibatide (Integrilin®)
- Fondaparinux (Arixtra®)
- Heparin or heparin-like products, including dalteparin (Fragmin®), enoxaparin (Lovenox®), or tinzaparin (Innohep®)
- Lepirudin (Refludan®)
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:
- Celecoxib (Celebrex®)
- Diclofenac (Cambia™, Cataflam®, Flector®, Solaraze® Gel, Voltaren®, Voltaren® Gel, Voltaren®-XR, Voltaren Ophthalmic®, Zipsor™)
- Ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®, Nuprin®)
- Indomethacin (Indocin®, Indocin SR®)
- Ketoprofen (Orudis®, Actron®, Oruvail®)
- Ketorolac (Toradol®)
- Meloxicam (Mobic®)
- Naproxen (Naprosyn®) or naproxen sodium (Aleve®, Anaprox®, Naprelan®)
- Several others (see List of NSAIDs for a more complete list of these medications)
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- Thrombolytics, such as:
- Alteplase (Activase®)
- Reteplase (Retavase®)
- Streptokinase (Streptase®)
- Tenecteplase (TNKase®)
- Ticagrelor (Brilinta®)
- Ticlopidine (Ticlid®)
- Barbiturates, such as:
- Niacin (nicotinic acid, Niacor®, Nicolar®, Niaspan®)
- Statin cholesterol medications, such as:
- Atorvastatin (Lipitor®) or combination medications that contain atorvastatin (Caduet®, Liptruzet™)
- Fluvastatin (Lescol®, Lescol® XL)
- Lovastatin (Altoprev®, Mevacor®) or combination medications that contain lovastatin (Advicor®)
- Pitavastatin (Livalo®)
- Pravastatin (Pravachol®)
- Rosuvastatin (Crestor®)
- Simvastatin (Zocor®) or combination medications that contain simvastatin (Juvisync®, Simcor®, Vytorin®).
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD