Patient Product Information

CLASTEON® 400mg capsules, hard Clodronic acid, disodium salt

What is in your medicine?

The name of this medicine is Clasteon. Clasteon capsules are oblong, white and blue, and contain 400mg of clodronic acid disodium salt (as the tetrahydrate). Clodronic acid disodium salt is one of a group of medicines known as bisphosphonates. Clasteon capsules also contain talc, maize starch, magnesium stearate and sodium starch glycolate. The capsule shell is made of gelatin and contains titanium dioxide (E171), indigotin (E132) and printing ink.

What does your medicine do?

Your bones are losing too much calcium into your blood. This can make you ill. In some people, it can also cause bone pain or bone damage. You have been given Clasteon to stop this.

Before taking your medicine

• Do you have any kidney problems?
• Are you pregnant or breast feeding?
• Do you have stomach pain or bowel disturbance?
• Have you been given any antibiotic injections recently?
• Have you been allergic to similar medicines before?
• Are you taking any other medicines containing bisphosphonates?
• Have you ever had pain or swelling of your jaw, or are you having or planning to have dental treatment or surgery?

If the answer is YES to any of these questions do not take this medicine until you have talked to your doctor about it.

Taking your medicine

Clasteon is for use in adults only. It is important to take your medicine as your doctor has told you to. The label will tell you how many capsules to take. The usual dose is 4 capsules daily, but your doctor may tell you to take fewer or more capsules.

Swallow the capsules whole, with liquid (except milk). Do not take the capsules with food or within one hour before or one hour after food or milk. Please take the capsules even if you are not eating at present.

 

Please DO NOT take the capsules with milk. If Clasteon is taken with drinks containing milk it is harder for the medicine to enter the blood and so it does not work so well.

You do not have to change the food you eat

You can continue to have food and drinks containing milk, milk products, etc. as long as you do not take your capsules within one hour before or one hour after a meal.

For the same reason, DO NOT take Clasteon with antacid indigestion capsules or mineral supplements as these may also make the medicine work less well.

If you miss taking a dose do not worry, just take the next dose at the usual time.

If you or anyone else take an overdose there may be a feeling of sickness, or actual sickness (nausea and vomiting). You should contact your doctor at once.

After taking your medicine

This medicine may cause side effects in a few people. These can include a feeling of sickness (nausea) or diarrhoea. If this happens it may help if you take half the number of capsules in the morning and the rest in the evening, at bedtime.

A few people may have an allergy to clodronic acid disodium salt (itching, rash or shortness of breath/wheezing).

If you do have side effects of this type which do not improve, or any other effects which concern you please tell your doctor.

In a very few people, the kidneys may start to work less well than normal. Sometimes this can happen if Clasteon is taken together with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). In these cases, your doctor may wish to check your kidneys from time to time.

Your doctor may also wish to test your blood from time to time, to check that Clasteon is working correctly (calcium levels, white blood cells and hormones called LDH AND PTH).

Storing your medicine

• Keep this medicine in a safe place where children cannot reach it.
• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date shown on the label.
• If your doctor decides to stop the treatment, return any leftover capsules to the pharmacist. Only keep them if your doctor tells you to.
• REMEMBER this medicine is for you. Only a doctor can prescribe it for you. Never give it to others. It may harm them even if their symptoms are the same as yours.