Glutethimide 187A severe overdose can produce what looks like skin burns, and muscle
spasms or even convulsions may occur. Case reports note that long-term use
of glutethimide can decrease a person’s calcium levels; one report tells of
bones softening in a person who took the drug routinely for 10 years, and
another report notes seizures occurring due to low calcium. The drug can also
reduce a body’s supply of vitamin D. After a dozen years of daily glutethimide
ingestion, one person had lost so much muscle control that speech was diffi-
cult, unassisted walking was impossible, and control of urination and bowel
movements was no longer possible. Similar case reports exist. Others, how-
ever, mention persons who took the drug for years without noticeable ill ef-
fect.
Abuse factors.Some illicit drug users take glutethimide withcodeine. The
combination supposedly produces a euphoria and stupor likeheroin’s. Users
of the combination report increased sociability and feelings of intellectual in-
sight in discussions that were actually about nothing. The drug mix can se-
riously impair breathing, and deaths are verified. Some of these deaths involve
dosages of each drug that were theoretically safe, outcomes implying that
glutethimide and codeine may boost each other’s actions. Users of the com-
bination have experienced typical unwanted actions of both drugs in addition
to headaches, grouchiness, tremors, cramps, and trouble sleeping.
Glutethimide tolerance and dependence can develop. Withdrawal has
symptoms similar to those seen with barbiturates. Seizures are noted in case
reports. Among persons taking medical doses of glutethimide for months, a
withdrawal syndrome can include hallucinations, fever, delirium, and con-
vulsions. Case reports tell of withdrawal experiences that included catatonia.
For addiction treatment,phenobarbitalcan be substituted for glutethimide,
and a person can then be gradually weaned off the phenobarbital.
Drug interactions.The drug reduces effectiveness of warfarin, a medicine
that fights heart attack and stroke by reducing blood clotting. Glutethimide is
also supposed to be avoided if someone is taking the anti-blood-clotting sub-
stance coumarin. A U.S. Army aerospace test found that using alcohol with
glutethimide did not harm breathing. That finding has rather narrow signifi-
cance for most persons, but a more generally relevant finding came from an
experiment showing that glutethimide raised blood alcohol levels of persons
who had been drinking. Alcohol and glutethimide may be a mix to avoid.
Antihistamines should be used cautiously with glutethimide. Animal experi-
mentation shows that injection ofmarijuana’s main active component THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol) increases the potency of glutethimide, thereby increas-
ing risk of overdose.
Cancer.Not enough scientific information to report.
Pregnancy.Glutethimide is related to thalidomide, perhaps the most noto-
rious pharmaceutical cause of human birth defects. In experimentation with
rats and rabbits glutethimide did not produce physically apparent birth de-
fects. The death rate among rabbit offspring was 6%, however, compared to
a 2% rate among offspring with no fetal drug exposure—a rate three times
higher for the glutethimide group than for the nondrug group. One experi-
ment found the death rate of rats with prenatal glutethimide exposure to be
three times that of rats with no drug exposure. Surviving rats with fetal ex-