Sabril 500mg Film-Coated Tablets
Ref: 1634/280416/1/F
Ref: 1634/280416/1/F
Visual field loss (loss of sight from the edges of your field of vision) may occur during treatment with Sabril. You should discuss this possibility with your doctor before you begin treatment with this medicine. This visual field loss may be severe and irreversible, so it must be found early. A deterioration of this visual field loss after treatment is discontinued cannot be excluded. It is important that you inform your doctor promptly if you become aware of any change to your vision. Your doctor should perform a Visual field examination before you start taking Sabril and at regular intervals during the treatment.
Bodyweight 10 - 15 kg 15 - 30 kg 30 - 50 kg greater than 50 kg
Sabril 500mg film-coated tablets
(vigabatrin)
Patient Information Leaflet
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.
Your medicine is called Sabril 500mg film-coated tablets but will be referred to as Sabril throughout the leaflet.
What is in this leaflet:
^ What Sabril is and what it is used for
What you need to know before you take Sabril ^ How to take Sabril Possible side effects How to store Sabril
Contents of the pack and other information
^ What Sabril is and what it is used for
Sabril is used to help control various forms of epilepsy. It is used together with your current medication to treat “difficult to control” epilepsy. It will initially be prescribed by a specialist. Your response to the treatment will be monitored. It is also used to control infantile spasms (West's syndrome).
Before you take Sabril
Do not take Sabril
* if you are allergic to vigabatrin or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in Section 6).
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor before taking Sabril if:
* You are breast-feeding
* You are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
* You have or have had depression or any other psychiatric illness in the past
* You have had any kidney problems
* You have had any problems with your eyes
If you develop symptoms like sleepiness, reduced consciousness and movements (stupor) or confusion consult your doctor who will decide upon a dose reduction or withdrawal. A small number of people being treated with antiepileptics such as vigabatrin have had thoughts of harming or killing themselves. If at any time you have had these thoughts, immediately contact your doctor.
Children
Movement disorders have been seen in young infant treated for infantile spasms (West's syndrome). If you observe unusual movement disorders in the child, consult your doctor who will decide if it is necessary to consider changing the treatment.
Other medicines and Sabril
Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines. Sabril should not be used in combination with other medicines that may have side effects related to the eye.
Pregnancy, breast-feeding and fertility
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. Do not take Sabril during pregnancy unless your doctor tells you to. Sabril may cause problems to unborn children. However, do not stop taking the medicine suddenly because this may risk the mother's health as well as the baby's health. Sabril passes into breast milk. If you are breast-feeding, ask your doctor for advice before taking this medicine. Breast-feeding should not be done during treatment.
Driving and using machines
Do not drive or operate machinery if your epilepsy is uncontrolled. Sabril sometimes causes symptoms like drowsiness or dizziness and your ability to concentrate and react may be reduced. If such symptoms occur whilst taking Sabril, you should not do any hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinery. Visual disorders, which can affect your ability to drive and use machines, have been found in some patients taking this medicine. If you wish to continue driving you must be tested regularly (every six months) for the presence of visual disorders even if you do not notice any changes to your vision.
a How to take Sabril
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
It is important to follow your doctor's instructions exactly. Never change the dose yourself. The doctor prescribes the dose and adjusts it individually for the patients.
The usual starting dose for adults is 1 g (2 tablets) daily.
However, your doctor may wish to increase or decrease the dose depending on your response; the usual adult daily dose is 2 to 3 g (4 to 6 tablets). The highest recommended dose is 3 g/day.
If you are older people and/or have kidney problems, your doctor may wish to give you a smaller dose.
Use in children Resistant partial epilepsy
For children, the dose is based on age and weight. The usual starting dose for children is 40 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight daily. The following table gives the number of tablets to give to a child according to his/her bodyweight. Remember that this is just a guideline. The child's doctor may wish to have slightly different doses.
0.5-1 g (1-2 tablets)/day 1-1.5 g (2-3 tablets)/day 1.5-3 g (3-6 tablets)/day 2-3 g (4-6 tablets)/day (adult dose)
Children with infantile spasms (West's Syndrome) The recommended starting dose for infants with West's Syndrome (infantile spasms) is 50 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight per day although higher doses may be used sometimes.
Method of administration
The route of administration is oral use (by mouth). Always swallow the tablet with at least a half of a drinking glass of water. You can take Sabril before or after meals. The daily dose can be taken as a single dose or divided in two doses.
If you take more Sabril than you should
If you or your child accidentally take too many Sabril tablets, tell your doctor immediately or go to your nearest hospital or Poison Information Centre. Possible signs of overdose include drowsiness or loss/ depressed level of consciousness.
If you forget to take Sabril
If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you do remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, just take one dose. Do not take a double dose to make up for the missed dose.
If you stop taking Sabril
Do not stop taking this medicine without talking to your doctor. If your doctor decides to stop your treatment you will be advised to gradually reduce the dose. Do not stop suddenly as this may cause your seizures to occur again.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Sabril 500mg film-coated tablets
(vigabatrin)
Patient Information Leaflet (continued)
[4 Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
As with other antiepileptic medicines, some patients may experience an increase in the number of seizures (fits) whilst taking this medicine. If this happens to you, or to your child, contact your doctor immediately.
Talk to your doctor immediately if you experience:
Very common side effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)
* Visual field changes - About A or 33 out of 100 patients treated with Sabril may have changes in the visual field (narrow visual field). This “visual field defect” can range from mild to severe. It is usually detected after months or years of treatment with Sabril. The changes in the visual field may be irreversible, so it must be found early. If you or your child experience(s) visual disturbances, contact your doctor or hospital immediately.
Other side effects include:
Very common side effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)
* Tiredness and pronounced sleepiness
* Joint pain
Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)
* Headache
* Weight gain
* Shaking (tremor)
* Swelling (oedema)
* Dizziness
* Sensation of numbness or tingling (pins and needles)
* Disturbance of concentration and memory
* Psychological disturbances including agitation, aggression, nervousness, irritability, depression, thought disturbance and feeling suspicious without reason (paranoia). These side effects are usually reversible when the dose is reduced or gradually discontinued. However, do not decrease your dose without first talking to your doctor. Contact your doctor if you experience these side effects.
* Nausea, Vomiting and abdominal pain
* Blurred vision, double vision, and uncontrolled movement of the eye, which may cause dizziness
* Speech disorder
* Decrease in the number of red blood cell count (anaemia)
Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)
* Lack of coordination in movements or fumbling
* More severe psychological disturbances such as feeling elated or over-excited which causes unusual behaviour, and feeling detached from reality
* Skin rash
Rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 1.000 people)
* Serious allergic reaction, which causes swelling of the face or throat: If you experience these symptoms, you should tell your doctor immediately.
* Hives or nettle rash
* Marked sedation, stupor and confusion. These side effects are usually reversible when the dose is reduced or gradually discontinued. However, do not decrease your dose without first talking to your doctor. Contact your doctor if you experience these side effects.
* Suicide attempt
* Other eye problems such as retinal disorder, for example poor vision at night and difficulty adjusting from bright to dim areas, sudden or unexplained loss of vision, loss of sight from the edges of your field of vision, sensitivity to light.
Very rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people)
* Other eye problems such as pain in your eyes (optic neuritis) and loss of vision, including colour vision (optic atrophy)
* Hallucinations (feeling, seeing or hearing things that are not there)
* Liver problems
Additional side effects in children Very common side effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)
* Excitation or restless
Not known frequency (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data) Movement disorders in young infants treated for infantile spasm.
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 via the Yellow Card Scheme (Tel: Freephone 0808 100 3352 or Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard). By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
How to store Sabril
Keep out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use Sabril after the expiry date which is stated on the blisters or carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of the month.
If your doctor tells you to stop taking this medicine, return any unused tablets to your pharmacist (chemist) for safe disposal. Only keep this medicine if your doctor tells you to.
This medicine does not require any special storage conditions.
If the medicine becomes discoloured or shows any other signs of deterioration, you should seek the advice of your pharmacist who will tell you what to do.
Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste.
Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines that are no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.
Contents of the pack and other information
What Sabril contains:
Each tablet contains 500mg of vigabatrin
Other ingredients are Povidone K30 (E1201), Microcrystalline cellulose (E460), Sodium starch glycollate (type A) Magnesium stearate,
Hypromellose 15 mPa.s (E464), Titanium dioxide (E171), Macrogol 8000
What Sabril look like and contents of the pack
Sabril is a film-coated tablet which is a white to off-white, oval, biconvex, tablet with a break-line on one side and “Sabril” engraved on the other side. Each pack contains 100 Tablets.
Manufacturer and Licence Holder
Manufactured by Patheon France S.A.S, 40 Boulevard De Champaret, Bourgoin-Jallieu F-38317, France'. and is procured from within the EU and repackaged by the Product Licence Holder: Lexon (UK) Limited, Unit 18, Oxleasow Road, East Moons Moat, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 0RE.
If you have any questions or are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist. They will have additional information about this medicine and will be able to advise you.
PL 15184/1634 Sabril 500mg film-coated tablets
[POM
Sabril is a registered trademark of Sanofi Revision date: 28/04/16