Patient leaflet - CLONIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE 25 MICROGRAMSTABLETS
|5. How to store Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets |
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets after the expiry which is stated on the blister and carton after ‘EXP’. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away any medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
6. contents of the pack and other informationwhat clonidine hydrochloride tablets containthe active substance is clonidine hydrochloride. each tablet contains 25 micrograms of clonidine hydrochloride.
The other ingredients are: Microcrystalline cellulose, maize starch, pregelatinised maize starch, lactose monohydrate, talc, sodium starch glycolate Type A and magnesium stearate.
What Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets looks like and contents of the pack
Each box of Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets contains 112 white to off-white, circular tablets with ‘CD 25’ engraved on one side, in 4 blister strips of 28 tablets each.
Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer
Accord, Barnstaple, EX32 8NS, UK
This leaflet was last revised in October 2021.
If you would like a leaflet with larger text, please contact 01271 385257
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PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET
Clonidine Hydrochloride 25 microgram Tablets
Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it contains important information for you.
- Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
- If you have any further questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
- This medicine has been prescribed for you only. Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their signs of illness are the same as yours.
- If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.
- The full name of this medicine is Clonidine hydrochloride 25 microgram Tablets but within this leaflet it will be referred to as Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets.
What is in this leaflet:
-
1. What Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets are and what they are used for
2. What you need to know before you take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets
3. How to take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets
6. Contents of the pack and other information
|1. What Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets are and what they are used for|
Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets belong to a group of medicines called ‘vasodilators’, which cause widening of the blood vessels and therefore an increase in blood flow.
Your doctor has prescribed Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets for you to prevent attacks of migraine and similar types of headache. The tablets are also used to prevent hot flushes that may occur in women during the menopause (‘change of life’).
|2. What you need to know before you take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets^
Do not take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets if you:
- are allergic to clonidine hydrochloride or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6)
- have a slow heart rate resulting from a disease of the heart called ‘sick-sinus syndrome’ or severe heart problems.
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets if you have:
- Raynaud’s disease (a problem with circulation to the fingers and toes) or other blood circulation problems, including circulation to the brain
- heart or kidney problems
- or have ever had depression
- constipation
- a nerve disorder that causes your hands and feet to feel different (‘altered sensation’)
As you may get dry eyes whilst taking this medicine, this may be a problem if you wear contact lenses.
Children and adolescents
Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets are not recommended in children and adolescents under 18 years.
Other medicines and Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
In particular, you should tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines, as they can affect the way the tablets work:
- certain medicines used to lower blood pressure (antihypertensives and alpha-blockers); alphablockers are medicines also used to treat swelling of the prostate gland
- certain medicines that relax blood vessels (vasodilators)
- water tablets (diuretics)
- medicines which are often used to slow the heart rate or lower the blood pressure (beta blockers)
- medicines used to treat heart failure (cardiac glycosides)
- certain medicines used to treat depression (tricyclic antidepressants)
- other antidepressants, e.g. mirtazapine
- certain medicines used to relieve anxiety such as tranquillisers, hypnotics (and also alcohol) (neuroleptics)
Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets and alcohol
You may feel drowsy while taking Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets. Drinking alcohol while taking Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets can make this worse.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine. Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets can reach your baby and may lower your baby’s heart rate.
Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets are not recommended for use while breast-feeding. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding.
Driving and using machines
You may feel drowsy, dizzy or could have some disturbances of vision. If affected, you should not drive, operate machinery or take part in any activities where these may put you or others at risk.
Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets contain lactose
If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product.
Information on sodium content
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23mg) per capsule, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
|3. How to take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets~|
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
The recommended dose is:
Adults 18 years and over: Two to three tablets twice a day
The tablets should be swallowed whole with water, with or without food.
It may take 2 to 4 weeks for the medicine to work properly.
If you take more Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets than you should
If you take more tablets than you should or if a child accidentally swallows any, go to your doctor or nearest emergency department immediately and take your medicine pack with you. Symptoms of overdose include sleepiness (including coma), breathing difficulties, being sick, low blood pressure and dry mouth.
If you forget to take Clonidine hydrochloride Tablets
Take a dose as soon as you remember, then carry on as before. Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
|4.
Possible side effects |
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist immediately if you experience any of the following:
Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):
- Dizziness, feeling tired and more relaxed than usual (sedation)
- Feeling dizzy when you stand up (because your blood pressure has fallen sharply)
- Dry mouth
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
- Depression, sleeping problems
- Headache
- Constipation, feeling sick (nausea), pain below the ear (from the salivary gland), being sick (vomiting)
- Erectile dysfunction
- Fatigue
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
- Problems with understanding what is happening around you, hallucinations, nightmares
- Your hands and feet feeling different (‘altered sensation’)
- Regular unusually slow heartbeat
- Raynaud’s phenomenon (a problem with circulation to the fingers and toes)
- Itching, rash, urticaria (nettle rash)
- A feeling of discomfort and fatigue (‘malaise’)
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
- Breast growth (‘gynaecomastia’) in men
- Dry eyes
- Irregular heartbeat
- Drying out of the lining of the nose
- Pseudo-obstruction of the large bowel, which causes colicky pain, vomiting and constipation. Contact your doctor straight away if you have all these side effects.
- Hair loss
- Increase in your blood sugar
Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data):
- Confusion, loss of libido
- Blurred vision
- Abnormally slow heartbeat