Calcichew-D3 Chewable Tablets
Calcichew-D3® Chewable Tablets
(calcium carbonate / colecalciferol) Equivalent to 500mg Calcium / 200IU colecalciferol
Your medicine is known by the above name, but will be referred to as
Calcichew-D3 throughout this:
Patient Information Leaflet
Read all of this leaflet carefully because it contains important information
for you
- Always take this medicine exactly as described in this leaflet or as your doctor or pharmacist have told you. Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
- Ask your pharmacist if you need more information or advice.
- You must talk to a doctor if you do not feel better or if you feel worse after two weeks.
- 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.
In this leaflet:
1) What Calcichew-D3 is and what it is used for
2) What you need to know before you take Calcichew-D3
3) How to take Calcichew-D3
4) Possible side-effects
5) How to store Calcichew-D3
6) Contents of the pack and other information
1) What Calcichew-D3 is and what it is used for
Calcichew-D3 Chewable Tablets are orange flavoured chewable tablets containing calcium and vitamin D3 which are both important substances in bone formation. Both are found in the diet and vitamin D is also produced in the skin after exposure to the sun.
Calcichew-D3 is used to treat and prevent vitamin D/calcium deficiency, which may occur when your diet or lifestyle does not provide enough, or when body requirements are increased. This medicine may also be prescribed or recommended for certain bone conditions, for example osteoporosis, or during pregnancy.
2) Before you take Calcichew-D3 Do not take Calcichew-D3 if you:
• are allergic to calcium, vitamin D, or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).
• have severe kidney problems
• have a condition that causes excessive amounts of calcium in your blood or urine (hypercalcaemia or hypercalciuria) e.g.
• renal (kidney) failure
• cancer that has affected your bones
• have excessive amounts of Vitamin D in your blood
• have kidney stones.
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Calcichew-D3:
• if you have phenylketonuria (a deficiency in the enzyme which breaks down phenylalanine) as these tablets contain aspartame, a source of phenylalanine
• if you have osteoporosis (brittle bones) and are also unable to move around
• if you are on long term treatment, especially if you are taking medicines for a heart disorder (cardiac glycosides), or diuretics (used in the treatment of high blood pressure or oedema)
• if you have signs of impaired renal function or a high tendency to kidney stone (calculus) formation
• if you have cancer or any other conditions that may have affected your bones.
• if you have sarcoidosis (an immune system disorder which may cause increased levels of vitamin D in the body).
If you have any of the following conditions your serum calcium or phosphate levels, or urinary calcium excretion must be monitored. Calcichew-D3 should be taken under close medical supervision.
• sarcoidosis (an immune system disorder which may affect your liver, lungs, skin or lymph nodes)
• kidney problems
• you are on long-term treatment with Calcichew-D3
• you are already taking additional doses of calcium or vitamin D.
If you have increased calcium levels in the blood or develop signs of kidney problems, the dose of Calcichew-D3 should be reduced or the treatment discontinued.
Other medicines and Calcichew-D3
Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
In particular, the following medicines may interact with Calcichew-D3:
• thiazide diuretics (water tablets); your serum calcium levels should be monitored regularly.
• cardiac glycosides (heart medicines); you should be monitored by electrocardiogram (ECG) and your serum calcium levels measured.
• tetracycline antibiotics; these should be taken at least two hours before, or four to six hours afterwards. Calcium carbonate may interfere with the absorption of tetracycline preparations if taken at the same time.
• levothyroxine (hormone used to treat thyroid deficiency); these should be taken at least four hours before or after taking Calcichew-D3.
• quinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, iomefloxacin, norfloxacin, sparfloxacin): the effect of these medicines may be reduced if taken at the same time as calcium. Take quinolone antibiotics two hours before or six hours after taking Calcichew-D3.
• bisphosphonates; should be taken at least one hour before Calcichew-D3.
• Calcium salts may decrease the absorption of iron, zinc and strontium ranelate. Consequently iron, zinc or strontium ranelate preparations should be taken at least two hours before or after Calcichew-D3.
• Orlistat (used to treat obesity) may disturb the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, e.g. vitamin d3.
If you are taking any of the above-mentioned medicines, your doctor will give you further instructions.
Taking Calcichew-D3 with food and drink
Calcichew-D3 can be taken with or without food and drink.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
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 Calcichew-D3.
If you are pregnant, you may use Calcichew-D3 in case of a calcium and vitamin D deficiency. During pregnancy you should not take more than 2500 mg calcium and 4000 IU vitamin D per day, as overdoses may harm the unborn child.
Calcichew-D3 can be used during breastfeeding. Calcium and vitamin D3 pass into breast milk. This should be considered when giving additional vitamin D to the child.
Driving and using machines
Calcichew- D3 has no known influence on the ability to drive or use machines.
Calcichew-D3 contains isomalt, sorbitol, sucrose and aspartame.
Calcichew-D3 contains sorbitol, isomalt (E953) and sucrose (E420): if you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, talk to your doctor before taking this medicine. May be harmful to teeth.
Calcichew-D3 contains aspartame (E951), a source of phenylalanine, which may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria (a defciency in the enzyme which breaks down phenylalanine).
3) How to take Calcichew-D3
Always take Calcichew-D3 exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Dosage
The recommended dose is two or three tablets a day, preferably one tablet in the morning, one at midday and one in the evening.
Children
The recommended dose is two tablets a day, preferably one tablet in the morning and one tablet in the evening. The tablet may be chewed or sucked.
If you take more than you should
If you have taken more Calcichew-D3 than you should, talk to your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
If you forget to take Calcichew-D3
Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten tablet.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
4) Possible side-effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Stop taking your medicine and see a doctor immediately if you
experience:
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Headache
• Loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting
• Unusual tiredness or weakness, along with elevated levels of calcium in the blood and kidney impairment.
Side effects include:
Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
• excessive amounts of calcium in your blood (hypercalcaemia) or in your urine (hypercalcuria) may occur with large doses
Rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
• nausea
• stomach ache
• constipation
• heartburn (dyspepsia)
• diarrhoea
• wind (flatulence)
• rash
• hives
• itching
Very rare side-effects (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):
• Milk alkali syndrome (also called Burnett's Syndrome and usually only seen when excessive amounts of calcium have been ingested), symptoms are frequent urge to urinate, headache, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, unusual tiredness or weakness, along with elevated levels of calcium in the blood and kidney impairment.
Side effects with frequency not known (cannot be estimated from the available data):
• Hypersensitivity reactions such as swelling of the face, tongue, lips (angioedema) or swelling of the throat (laryngeal oedema).
• If you have impaired renal function, you may be at risk of increased amounts of phosphate in the blood, renal stone formation and increased amounts of calcium in the kidneys.
Reporting of side effects
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 at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
5) How to store Calcichew-D3
• Keep all medicines out of the sight and reach of children.
• Do not store above 30°C. Keep the container tightly closed to protect from moisture.
• Do not use Calcichew-D3 after the expiry date which is stated on the label after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month. If the tablets have changed shape or colour do not use.
• Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.
6) Contents of the pack and other information What Calcichew-D3 contains:
The active ingredients in each tablet are:
Each chewable tablet contains 1250mg calcium carbonate (equivalent to 500mg calcium) and 200IU colecalciferol (equivalent to 5 micrograms Vitamin D3).
The other ingredients are: sorbitol (E420), povidone, isomalt (E953), orange flavour, magnesium stearate, aspartame (E951), fatty acid mono-and diglycerides, rac-a-tocopherol, medium chain triglycerides, sucrose, modified maize starch, sodium ascorbate, and colloidal anhydrous silica (see also end of Section 2 “Important information about some of the ingredients of Calcichew-D3”).
What Calcichew-D3 looks like and contents of the pack
The tablets are round, white, uncoated, chewable tablets which are convex and orange flavoured with small specks.
The tablets are packed in white, plastic bottles of 100 tablets.
PL 10383/2144 Calcichew-D3 Chewable Tablets @
Who makes and repackages your medicine?
Your medicine is manufactured by Takeda Pharma AS, Jaama 55B, 63308 Polva, Estonia or Takeda Nycomed AS, Drammensveien 852, NO-1372 Asker, Norway. Procured from within the EU and repackaged by Product Licence Holder: Primecrown Ltd, 4/5 Northolt Trading Estate, Belvue Road, Northolt, Middlesex, UB5 5QS.
Leaflet date: 19.08.2016
Calcichew-D3® is a registered trademark of Takeda AS, Norway.