PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET

Gliclazide Tablets 80mg

• Please read this leaflet carefully before you start to take your medicine.
• It gives you important information about your medicine.
• If you want to know more, or you are not sure about anything, ask your pharmacist or doctor.
• Keep the leaflet until you have finished the medicine.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MEDICINE

Gliclazide Tablets are circular, white uncoated tablets which come in one strength. Each tablet contains 80mg of the active ingredient gliclazide.

They also contain: maize starch, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, E460.

Gliclazide Tablets are available in a pack size of 28s, 60s.

Gliclazide is one of a group of medicines called sulphonylureas.

ABOUT YOUR MEDICINE

The name of your medicine is Gliclazide Tablets which is the generic (common) name. Your doctor may have given you this medicine before from another company and it may have looked slightly different. Either brand will have the same effect.

Gliclazide Tablets are used to lower the blood sugar level.

They are used for:

• the treatment of maturity onset diabetes in patients not controlled by diet alone.

They are not for use in children or in patients with diabetes requiring insulin.

BEFORE TAKING YOUR MEDICINE

Make sure you have told your doctor if you:

• are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast feeding.
• have had allergic reactions after taking other sulphonylurea drugs or are sensitive to any other ingredients in the product.
• suffer from liver or kidney disease.
• suffer from porphyria.
• are taking other medicines such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors (eg captopril), Angiotensin-II antagonists (eg losartan), azapropazone and other NSAIDs, sulfinpyrazone, aminoglutethimide, testosterone, co-trimoxazole, fluconazole, nifedipine, loop diuretics, octreotide, rifamycins, lithium, chloramphenicol, cimetidine, clofibrate, corticosteroids, coumarin derivatives, disopyramide, laxatives, mono-amine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), oral forms of miconazole, oral contraceptives (the pill), phenothiazine derivatives, phenylbutazone, salicylates, sulphonamides, tetracycline compounds, diazoxide, thiazide diuretics, thyroid hormones, and including any that you can buy without prescription.

If you see another doctor or go into hospital, let them know what medicines you are taking.

TAKING YOUR MEDICINE

Your doctor has decided the dose which is best for you. Always follow your doctor’s instructions exactly, and those which appear on the pharmacy label. If you do not understand any of these instructions, or you are in any doubt, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

These tablets should be taken as instructed, followed by a glass of milk or water before meals. You should continue to take these tablets for as long as your doctor tells you to.

If you forget to take a dose, take another as soon as you remember and then your next dose at the usual time. NEVER take two doses at the same time.

If you are elderly, it is particularly important to take this medicine exactly as directed by the doctor.

If you accidentally take more than your prescribed dose, contact your nearest hospital casualty department, or tell your doctor, immediately. Take any remaining tablets and the container with you.

AFTER TAKING YOUR MEDICINE

Like many medicines, Gliclazide Tablets may occasionally cause side-effects in some patients, particularly when you first start taking it. These may include nausea, headache, fever, hepatitis, photosensitivity skin reactions, jaundice, skin rashes, stomach upsets, symptoms of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar level) – sweating, trembling, weakness, double vision, palpitations, confusion. Gliclazide may rarely affect the cells in your blood, which can cause anaemia or mean that you are more likely to catch infections or have a fever or sore throat, or develop bruising or bleeding. You should consult your doctor if these are troublesome or continue.

If you get any other unusual effects, tell your doctor immediately and seek advice.

If you have an infection, an operation or a serious injury, tell your doctor that you take gliclazide.

STORING YOUR MEDICINE

Do not use these tablets after the expiry date shown on the product packaging.

These tablets should be kept below 25°C in a dry place, in the original packaging.

KEEP THEM IN A SECURE PLACE WHERE CHILDREN CANNOT GET AT OR SEE THEM. REMEMBER, this medicine is for YOU only. NEVER give it to anyone else. It may harm them, even if their symptoms are the same as yours. Unless your doctor tells you to, do not keep tablets that you no longer need. Give them back to the pharmacist for safe disposal.