Consumer Medicine Information
Catapres® 150 Tablets
Clonidine Hydrochloride
This leaflet answers some common questions about Catapres 150 tablets. It does not contain all available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist. Keep this information with your Catapres tablets. You may need to read it again later.
To find out more about Catapres Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions about your medicine or if you have any trouble before, during or after using Catapres.
What Catapres is used for
Catapres lowers high blood pressure, also called hypertension.
Everyone has blood pressure. This pressure helps your blood move around your body. Your blood pressure may be different at different times of the day. You have hypertension when your blood pressure stays higher than normal, even when you are calm or relaxed.
There are usually no signs of hypertension. The only way of knowing that you have hypertension is to have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. You may feel fine and have no symptoms, but if high blood pressure is not treated, it can lead to serious health problems (such as heart disease).
Catapres works by relaxing and widening blood vessels and so helps to lower your blood pressure.
Your doctor may prescribe Catapres for other reasons. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Catapres has been prescribed for you.
Before you take Catapres
When you must not take Catapres
Only take Catapres if it has been prescribed for you by a doctor. Never give it to someone else even if their symptoms seem to be the same as yours.
Do not take Catapres if you are allergic to clonidine or to any of the other ingredients in Catapres. These ingredients are listed in full at the end of this leaflet. If you are uncertain as to whether you have these allergies you should raise those concerns with your doctor. Do not take Catapres if you have the rare hereditary condition of galactose intolerance. Do not take Catapres if you have certain heart problems, such as irregular/slow heart beat.
Do not take Catapres after the EXPIRY DATE on the carton or blister strips has passed. Do not take Catapres if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering.
Before you start to take Catapres
Before taking Catapres, you must tell your doctor if you have, or have had, any of the following conditions:
- heart failure or any heart or circulation problem
- stroke, or transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
- mental depression
- sugar diabetes
- nerve damage, which may lead to weakness in the arms and legs
- phaeochromocytoma (a rare tumour of the adrenal gland)
- any problems with your kidneys
If you are not sure if you have, or have had, any of these conditions you should ask your doctor. Before taking Catapres it is advisable to tell your doctor if you are taking any other medicines, obtained with or without a doctor's prescription. Some medicines and Catapres may interfere with each other. These include:
- other medicines for high blood pressure
- medicines for heart problems
- alcohol
- medicines used to control mood swings and some types of depression
- medicines used to relieve pain, swelling or other symptoms of inflammation
These medicines may be affected by Catapres, or may affect how well it works. You may need different amounts of your medicine, or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist will be able to tell you what to do if you are taking Catapres with other medicines.
Pregnancy / breastfeeding
Ask for your doctor's advice if you are pregnant, intend to become pregnant, are breastfeeding or intend to breast-feed during your course of medication. Your doctor will discuss the possible risks and benefits of using Catapres during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Catapres passes into breast milk.
Children
Catapres is not recommended for use in children and teenagers up to 18 years of age. Serious side effects have been observed when clonidine, the active ingredient in Catapres, is used with methylphenidate in children with ADHD. Therefore, Catapres in this combination is not recommended.
Taking Catapres
Recommended Dose
Your doctor will tell you how much of your medicine you need to take every day. This depends on your condition and whether you are taking other medicines. The usual starting dose is 75 micrograms (half a tablet), two or three times a day. Your doctor may increase the daily dosage by half-tablet increments, depending on how your blood pressure responds. The recommended long-term dose is 150 micrograms (one tablet) to 300 micrograms (two tablets), three times a day.
Follow all directions given to you by your doctor carefully. They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet. If you do not understand the instructions, ask your doctor or pharmacist for help.
How to take Catapres
Take Catapres at about the same time each day. Catapres should be swallowed with a glass of water.
If you forget to take a dose
It is important to take Catapres as directed. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if you remember when it is almost time for your next dose, take only your usual dose at that time. Do not take a double dose of Catapres to make up for a dose that you missed.
How long to take Catapres
Catapres helps control your high blood pressure but does not cure it. Therefore Catapres must be taken every day. Continue taking Catapres for as long as your doctor prescribes it. If your doctor tells you to stop taking Catapres, you should reduce the dose of medicine gradually over a period of a week or more. This is to avoid a sudden increase in your blood pressure. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns.
Overdose
Seek medical advice if you have taken more than the recommended or prescribed dose of Catapres. Advice can be provided by a doctor, pharmacist or Poisons Information Centre (telephone 0800 POISON or 0800 764 766).
Signs of overdose may include slow heart beat, drowsiness, temporarily stopping breathing and coma. Other signs include dizziness, weakness, lethargy, feeling cold, vomiting, looking pale, or having an irregular heart beat.
While you are taking Catapres
Things you must do
Have your blood pressure checked as instructed by your doctor, to make sure Catapres is working. If you feel light-headed, dizzy or faint, get up slowly when getting out of bed or standing up. You may feel light-headed or dizzy when you begin to take Catapres or if the dose is increased. This is because your blood pressure is falling suddenly. Standing up slowly will help your body get used to the change in position and blood pressure. The problem usually goes away after the first few days.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you begin taking any other medicine while you are taking Catapres.
Effects on Ability to Drive or Operate Machinery
You should not drive or operate machinery until you know how Catapres affects you.
It is possible that Catapres, like other medicines used to treat high blood pressure, may cause dizziness or drowsiness in some people.
Side effects
You should be aware that all prescription medicines carry some risks and that all possible risks may not be known at this stage despite thorough testing. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking Catapres against the expected benefits.
Ask for the advice of your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns about the effects of taking this medicine. The more frequently reported side effects of Catapres are drowsiness, dryness of the mouth, nausea and vomiting. Less frequently reported side effects of Catapres include the following:
- blurred vision
- lightheadedness when you stand up suddenly
- dizziness
- confusion
- headache
- sleep disturbances
- mental depression
- irrational or abnormal thoughts
- irritability
- decreased sexual drive / impotence
- generally feeling unwell
- thinning of hair
- rash / hives / itching
- constipation
- dryness of the nose and eyes
- pain in the salivary glands
- tingling or numbness of the hands or feet
- larger breasts than normal, in men
- slow or irregular heart beat
- blood glucose increased
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you experience any side effects during or after taking Catapres, so that these may be properly treated. In addition, unexpected effects, not listed above, can occur with any medicine. You should tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything unusual, during or after taking Catapres.
After taking Catapres
Storage
Leave the tablets in the blister strip until it is time to take a dose. The blister strip protects the tablets. Keep your medicine in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 30°C. Do not store in direct sunlight or heat. Do not leave your medicine in the car or on the window sill.
Keep your Catapres where young children cannot reach it.
Disposal
If you have been told by your doctor that you will not be taking Catapres anymore, the unused medicine should be returned to your pharmacist so that it can be disposed of safely.
Product Description
What is Catapres
Catapres is the brand name of your medicine. Catapres 150 tablets are white, round tablets, marked with the Boehringer Ingelheim logo on one side and 15C/15C on the other.
Catapres 150 tablets are available in blister packs of 100 tablets.
Ingredients
Each Catapres 150 tablet contains 150 micrograms clonidine hydrochloride. The other ingredients are maize starch, colloidal anhydrous silica, povidone, stearic acid, calcium phosphate and lactose.
Manufacturer
Catapres 150 tablets are made in Germany.
Catapres 150 tablets are supplied in New Zealand by:
BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM (N.Z.) LIMITED
PO Box 76-216
Manukau City
Auckland
Ph 0800 802461
This leaflet was prepared on 5 December 2008.
© Boehringer Ingelheim 2009