Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets

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 symptoms 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.

1. What Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets are and what they are used for
2. What you need to know before you take Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets
3. How to take Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets
6. Contents of the pack and other information

• if you know you are allergic to sulphonamides, sulphonamide derivatives including acetazolamide or to any of the ingredients in the medicine (listed in Section 6)
• if you have severe liver problems
• if you have or have ever had severe kidney problems
• if you have a particular type of glaucoma known as chronic non congestive angle closure glaucoma (your doctor will be able to advise you)
• if you have reduced function of the adrenal glands – glands above the kidneys – (also known as Addison’s disease)
• if you have low blood levels of sodium and/or potassium or high blood levels of chlorine (your doctor will advise you).

Speak to your doctor if any of the above applies to you.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets

• if you have or have ever had kidney problems such as kidney stones
• if you have lung problems such as chronic bronchitis or emphysema, which cause difficulty in breathing
• if you are over the age of 65
• a small number of people being treated with anti-epileptics such as Acetazolamide have had thoughts of harming or killing themselves, if at any time you have these thoughts, immediately contact your doctor.

Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets may affect some medical tests. If you visit a hospital or clinic for any medical tests, you should tell the doctor concerned that you are taking Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets.

A decrease in vision or eye pain could be symptoms of fluid accumulation in the vascular layer of the eye (choroidal effusion or choroidal detachment). This can happen within hours of taking Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets. Talk to your doctor promptly if you experience these symptoms.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.

The effects of any of these medicines may change, particularly if you are taking, or using, any of the following:

• medicines for your heart such as cardiac glycosides (e.g. digoxin)
• medicines to reduce blood pressure
• medicines to thin your blood (e.g. warfarin)
• medicines to lower the sugar in your blood (e.g. metformin, gliclazide)
• medicines for epilepsy or fits (in particular, phenytoin, primidone or carbamazepine or topiramate)
• Drugs which interfere with folic acid, eg methotrexate, pyrimethamine, or trimethoprim
• steroids such as prednisolone
• aspirin and related medicines, eg salicylic acid or choline salicylate for mouth ulcers
• other drugs in the group of medicines called carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (e.g. dorzolamide or brinzolamide which are also used to treat glaucoma)
• amphetamines (a stimulant), quinidine (treats an irregular heart beat), methenamine (prevents urine infections) or lithium (treats severe mental problems)
• sodium bicarbonate therapy (used to treat high states of acid in your body)
• ciclosporin (used to suppress the immune system).

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.

Pregnancy

Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets SHOULD NOT be taken if you are pregnant, think you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant.

Breast feeding

It may be taken when breast feeding but only on the advice of the doctor.

If Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets make you feel drowsy or confused you should not drive or operate machines. Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets can occasionally cause short-sightedness; if this happens and you feel that you can no longer drive safely, you should stop driving and contact your doctor.

This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per dose, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.

Get medical help immediately, either by calling your doctor or going to the nearest hospital casualty department. Take any remaining tablets and this leaflet with you so that the medical staff know exactly what you have taken.

You should take it as soon as you remember. However, if this is within two hours of your next dose you should skip the missed tablet and carry on taking the rest of your tablets as usual.

Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine

The active substance is acetazolamide. Each tablet contains 250mg acetazolamide.

The other ingredients are dicalcium phosphate, corn starch, magnesium stearate, sodium starch glycolate, povidone.

Acetazolamide 250mg Tablets are white, circular shallow biconvex tablets with quarter breakline on one side and engraved “FW” and “147” on other side. They usually come in amber glass bottles with metal screw on caps or plastic bottles with plastic caps, containing 112 tablets.