Warnings

Trospium Chloride

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Harshi Dhingra, M.D.

Last Reviewed: Mar 20, 2025

Warnings

Trospium Risks, Warnings, and Complications

Trospium can cause or worsen health problems in some people. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about alternative treatments for overactive bladder if you are at an increased risk of adverse reactions from this drug.

URINARY RETENTION: Trospium should be used with caution in people with bladder outflow obstruction because of a risk of urinary retention. Before starting trospium, tell your doctor if you have a history of bladder problems.
ANGIOEDEMA: There are reports of angioedema (swelling of the face, eyes, lips, tongue, and throat) in people treated with trospium. Upper airway swelling due to angioedema can cause life-threatening breathing difficulties. Stop taking trospium and seek emergency medical care if you develop swelling.
DECREASED GASTROINTESTINAL MOTILITY: Trospium and other antimuscarinic drugs can cause decreased gastrointestinal motility. These drugs should be used with caution in people with preexisting decreased gastrointestinal motility due to a risk of gastric retention. Before starting trospium, tell your health care professional if you have any history of any stomach or intestinal conditions (ulcerative colitis, intestinal atony) or a neuromuscular disorder like myasthenia gravis.
UNCONTROLLED NARROW-ANGLE GLAUCOMA: Trospium should be used with caution in people with narrow-angle glaucoma and only if the benefits outweigh the risks. Glaucoma is an eye condition in which there is increased intraocular pressure.
EFFECTS ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: Trospium can cause dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, and hallucinations through its anticholinergic effects on the central nervous system. The risk of these CNS effects is highest when you first start treatment and after a dose adjustment. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how trospium affects you. Tell your doctor if these side effects are severe. Your doctor may reduce the dose or discontinue treatment.
KIDNEY DISEASE: Trospium is eliminated from the body by the kidneys. In people with decreased renal function, higher drug levels of trospium in the body can occur, resulting in side effects like dry mouth, indigestion, constipation, urinary tract infection, and urinary retention. Before starting treatment with trospium, tell your doctor if you have moderate to severe renal impairment (kidney disease).
ALCOHOL USE: Drinking alcohol while on trospium can result in excessive dizziness and drowsiness. Avoid drinking alcohol within 2 hours of taking trospium.

Precautions Before Starting Trospium

Tell your doctor if you have ever had allergic reactions to trospium, any of the active or inactive ingredients in trospium tablets or capsules, other antimuscarinic drugs, or any other medicines. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.

Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, which includes prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid possible interactions between trospium and your other medicines.

Give your doctor a complete medical history. Trospium may not be safe for people with certain medical conditions such as glaucoma, intestinal or stomach problems such as stomach or bowel blockage, a narrowing in the digestive system, chronic constipation, ulcerative colitis, blockage or narrowing in the urinary system, bladder problems, urinary retention, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), myasthenia gravis, kidney disease, or liver disease.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, plan to get pregnant, or are breast-feeding. It is unclear if trospium can harm an unborn baby or if trospium passes into breast milk.

Precautions During Use of Trospium

Keep all your medical and lab appointments while on trospium. Continue taking trospium even if your symptoms are well controlled. This medicine can help control symptoms of overactive bladder but does not cure the condition.

Trospium can cause dizziness, drowsiness, and blurred vision. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medicine affects you.

Trospium can make it harder for your body temperature to cool down. Avoid exposure to extreme heat or exercising in hot weather. Call your doctor or seek emergency medical care if you have signs of heat stroke such as fever, dizziness, headache, stomach upset, confusion, or fast heartbeat.

Avoid drinking alcohol within 2 hours of taking trospium.

Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while on trospium.

Tell all your healthcare providers you are on trospium before any surgery, including dental procedures.

Trospium Drug Interactions

Taking certain other medications with trospium can affect how the medicines work. Some interactions can cause the drug levels to rise to dangerous levels, while other interactions can make the drug less effective. Your doctor may adjust the doses of your medications, monitor you carefully for side effects, or switch you to different medicines if there are known interactions between trospium and your other drugs. Trospium can have interactions with the following drugs:

Antacids
Glycopyrronium tosylate and sofpironium bromide (topical medicines used to treat hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating)
Pramlintide, an injectable medication for diabetes
Revefenacin (Yupelri) prescribed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Secretin hormone
Other medications that have sedative effects, like muscle relaxants

The above list may not include all the potential interactions of trospium. Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, nutritional supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare professional if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription medications.

Find the best discount on Trospium Chloride »