Active ingredient
- nifedipine
Legal Category
POM: Prescription only medicine
POM: Prescription only medicine
The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) is the leaflet included in the pack with a medicine. It is written for patients and gives information about taking or using a medicine. It is possible that the leaflet in your medicine pack may differ from this version because it may have been updated since your medicine was packaged.
Below is a text only representation of the Patient Information Leaflet. The original leaflet can be viewed using the link above.
The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL 00010/0174.
Adalat LA 30 mg prolonged-release tablets
Due to regulatory changes, the content of the following Patient Information Leaflet may vary from the one found in your medicine pack. Please compare the 'Leaflet prepared/revised date' towards the end of the leaflet to establish if there have been any changes.
If you have any doubts or queries about your medication, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.
Package leaflet: Information for the user
Adalat® LA 30 mg
Prolonged-release tablets
Nifedipine
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.
What is in this leaflet
1. What Adalat LA is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you take Adalat LA
3. How to take Adalat LA
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Adalat LA
6. Contents of the pack and other information
1. What Adalat LA is and what it is used for
Adalat LA contains nifedipine, which belongs to a group of medicines called calcium antagonists.
Adalat LA is used to treat high blood pressure or angina (chest pain).
For high blood pressure: Adalat LA works by relaxing and expanding the blood vessels. This makes the blood flow more easily and lowers blood pressure. Lower blood pressure reduces the strain on your heart.
For angina: Adalat LA works by relaxing and expanding the arteries supplying the heart. This allows more blood and oxygen to reach the heart and decreases the strain on it. Your angina attacks will be less severe and less frequent if there is less strain on the heart.
2. What you need to know before you take Adalat LA
Do not take Adalat LA:
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor before taking Adalat LA
Tell your doctor:
Also tell your doctor:
Other medicines and Adalat LA
Tell your doctor if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
Some medicines may affect the way Adalat LA works. Tell your doctor if you are taking:
Adalat LA with food and drink
You can take Adalat LA with or without food.
Do not drink grapefruit juice or eat grapefruit while taking Adalat LA.
Do not start taking Adalat LA within 3 days of drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit. Tell your doctor if you have had grapefruit or grapefruit juice in this time. Also, do not drink grapefruit juice or eat grapefruit whilst taking Adalat LA. Grapefruit juice is known to increase the blood levels of the active ingredient, nifedipine. This effect can last for at least 3 days.
Adalat LA 30 contains 9.4 mg of sodium (main component of cooking/table salt). This is less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per tablet, that is to say essentially 'sodium-free'. Increasing the daily dose to 90 mg nifedipine results in an intake of 28.2 mg sodium. This is equivalent to 1.41 % of the recommended maximum daily dietary intake of sodium for an adult. Tell your doctor if you are on a low-salt diet.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before taking this medicine.
You may be able to use Adalat LA but only after special consideration and agreement by your doctor.
Do not take Adalat LA if you are breast-feeding. If you need to take Adalat LA, you should stop breast-feeding before you start taking this medicine.
Driving and using machines
Adalat LA may make you feel dizzy, faint, extremely tired or have visual disturbances. Do not drive or operate machinery if you are affected in this way.
This may be more likely when you first start treatment, if you change tablets, or if you have drunk alcohol.
3. How to take Adalat LA
Adalat LA is specially formulated so that you only have to take one dose each day.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor if you are not sure.
Take your dose at the same time each day, preferably in the morning.
Take your tablets with a glass of water. Do not take them with grapefruit juice.
You can take Adalat LA with or without food.
You may see what looks like a complete tablet in the toilet or in your stools. This is normal – it’s the outer shell of the tablet which is not digested by the body.
Use in children and adolescents: Adalat LA is not recommended for use in children and adolescents below 18 years of age, because there are only limited data on the safety and efficacy in this population.
If you take more Adalat LA than you should
Taking too many tablets may cause your blood pressure to become too low and your heartbeats to speed up or slow down. It may also lead to an increase in your blood sugar level or an increase in the acidity of your blood, swelling in the lungs, low blood oxygen levels and disturbances in consciousness, possibly leading to unconsciousness.
If you forget to take Adalat LA
Take your normal dose immediately and continue taking your tablets at the usual time of day, waiting at least 12 hours before taking the next dose.
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.
4. Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Serious side effects
If you notice:
If you develop:
Less serious side effects
Apart from the side effects listed above, these are the other side effects of Adalat LA, starting with the more common ones:
Common side effects
(These may affect up to 1 in 10 people)
Uncommon side effects
(These may affect up to 1 in 100 people)
Rare side effects
(These may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people)
Other side effects
(Frequency not known: frequency cannot be estimated from the available data)
All of these symptoms usually go away when treatment with Adalat LA is stopped.
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly (see details below). By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
United Kingdom
Malta
5. How to store Adalat LA
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not store above 30°C.
Store your medicine in its original container. Protect from strong light and only remove the tablet from the blister strip when you are about to take it.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on both the outer carton and on each blister strip of tablets 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 medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
6. Contents of the pack and other information
What Adalat LA contains
Adalat LA tablets contain the active ingredient, nifedipine.
Adalat LA tablets also contain propylene glycol, cellulose acetate, hypromellose, hydroxypropylcellulose, polyethylene oxide, macrogol, magnesium stearate, black printing ink Opacode (containing iron oxide black (E172) and shellac), titanium dioxide (E171), iron oxide (E172) and sodium chloride (see section 2).
What Adalat LA looks like and contents of the pack
Each prolonged-release tablet contains 30 mg of nifedipine. Each tablet is pink and round with a laser hole on one side and marked ‘Adalat 30’.
Each pack contains 28 tablets. Each tablet has the day of the week printed next to it to remind you when to take it.
Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer
Marketing authorisation holder:
Manufacturer:
This leaflet was last revised in November 2020.
Product licence number: PL 00010/0174
V 026_0
400 South Oak Way, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 6AD
+44 (0)118 206 3000