Vesicare 10mg Film-Coated Tablets
VESICARE® 10MG FILM-COATED TABLETS
(solifenacin succinate)
PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER
Vesicare film-coated Tablets are available in the following strengths: 5mg and 10mg. Vesicare 10mg film-coated tablets will be referred to as Vesicare throughout the 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.
What is in this leaflet
1. What Vesicare is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you take Vesicare
3. How to take Vesicare
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Vesicare
6. Contents of the pack and other information
1. What Vesicare is and what it is used for
The active substance of Vesicare belongs to the group of anticholinergics. These medicines are used to reduce the activity of an overactive bladder. This enables you to wait longer before having to go to the bathroom and increases the amount of urine that can be held by your bladder.
Vesicare is used to treat the symptoms of a condition called overactive bladder. These symptoms include: having a strong, sudden urge to urinate without prior warning, having to urinate frequently or wetting yourself because you could not get to the bathroom in time.
2. What you need to know before you take Vesicare
Do not take Vesicare
■ if you have an inability to pass water or to empty your bladder completely (urinary retention)
■ if you have a severe stomach or bowel condition (including toxic megacolon, a complication associated with ulcerative colitis)
■ if you suffer from the muscle disease called myasthenia gravis, which can cause an extreme weakness of certain muscles
■ if you suffer from increased pressure in the eyes, with gradual loss of eye sight (glaucoma)
■ if you are allergic to solifenacin or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6)
■ if you are undergoing kidney dialysis
■ if you have severe liver disease
■ if you suffer from severe kidney disease or moderate liver disease AND at the same time are being treated with medicines that may decrease the removal of Vesicare from the body (for example, ketoconazole). Your doctor or pharmacist will have informed you if this is the case.
Inform your doctor if you have or ever had any of the above mentioned conditions before treatment with Vesicare starts.
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Vesicare
■ if you have trouble emptying your bladder (= bladder obstruction) or have difficulty in passing urine (e.g. a thin urine flow). Risk of accumulation of urine in the bladder (urinary retention) is much higher.
■ if you have some obstruction of the digestive system (constipation).
■ if you are at risk of your digestive system slowing down (stomach and bowel movements). Your doctor will have informed you if this is the case.
■ if you suffer from severe kidney disease.
■ if you have moderate liver disease.
■ if you have a stomach tear (hiatus hernia) or heartburn.
■ if you have a nervous disorder (autonomic neuropathy).
Children and adolescents
Vesicare is not to be used in children or adolescents under 18 years.
Inform your doctor if you have or ever had any of the above mentioned conditions before treatment with Vesicare starts.
Before starting Vesicare, your doctor will assess whether there are other causes for your need to pass urine frequently (for example heart failure (insufficient pumping power of the heart) or kidney disease). If you have a urinary tract infection, your doctor will prescribe you an antibiotic (a treatment against particular bacterial infections).
Other medicines and Vesicare
Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken or might take other medicines.
It is especially important to inform your doctor if you are taking:
■ other anticholinergic medicines, effects and side effects of both medications can be enhanced.
■ cholinergics as they can reduce the effect of Vesicare.
■ medicines, like metoclopramide and cisapride, which make the digestive system work faster. Vesicare can reduce their effect.
■ medicines, like ketoconazole, ritonavir, nelfinavir, intraconazole, verapamil and diltiazem, which decrease the rate at which Vesicare is broken down by the body.
■ medicines like rifampicin, phenytoin and carbamazepine, as they may increase the rate at which Vesicare is broken down by the body.
■ medicines such as bisphosphonates, that can cause or exacerbate inflammation of the gullet (oesophagitis).
Vesicare with food and drink
Vesicare can be taken with or without food, depending on your preference.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
You should not use Vesicare if you are pregnant unless clearly necessary. Do not use Vesicare if you are breast-feeding as solifenacin may get into your breast milk.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
Driving and using machines
Vesicare may cause blurred vision and sometimes sleepiness or tiredness. If you suffer from any of these side effects, do not drive or operate machinery.
Vesicare contains lactose monohydrate.
If you have been told by your doctor that you have a rare hereditary problem of galactose intolerance, Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption you should not use this medicine.
3. How to take Vesicare
Instructions for proper use
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
You should swallow the whole tablet with some liquid. It can be taken with or without food, according to your preference. Do not crush the tablets.
The usual dose is 5mg per day, unless your doctor told you to take 10mg per day.
If you take more Vesicare than you should
If you have taken too much Vesicare or if a child has accidentally taken Vesicare, contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Symptoms of overdose may include: headache, dry mouth, dizziness, drowsiness and blurred vision, perceiving things that are not there (hallucinations), over-excitability, seizures (convulsions), difficulty breathing, elevated heart rate (tachycardia), accumulation of urine in the bladder (urinary retention) and dilated pupils (mydriasis).
If you forget to take Vesicare
If you forget to take a dose at the usual time, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is time to take your next dose. Never take more than one dose per day. If you are in doubt, always consult your doctor or pharmacist.
If you stop taking Vesicare
If you stop taking Vesicare, your symptoms of overactive bladder may return or worsen. Always consult your doctor, if you are considering stopping the treatment.
If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
4. Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
If you experience an allergic attack, or a severe skin reaction (e.g. blistering and peeling of the skin), you must inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Angioedema (skin allergy that results in the swelling that occurs in the tissue just below the surface of the skin) with airway obstruction (difficulty in breathing) has been reported in some patients on solifenacin succinate (Vesicare). If angioedema occurs, solifenacin succinate (Vesicare) should be discontinued immediately and appropriate therapy and/or measures should be taken.
Vesicare may cause the following other side effects:
Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)
■ dry mouth
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)
■ blurred vision
■ constipation, nausea, indigestion with symptoms such as abdominal fullness, abdominal pain, burping, nausea, and heartburn (dyspepsia), stomach discomfort
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)
■ urinary tract infection, bladder infection
■ sleepiness, impaired sense of taste (dysgeusia)
■ dry (irritated) eyes
■ dry nasal passages
■ reflux disease (gastro-oesophageal reflux), dry throat
■ dry skin
■ difficulty in passing urine
■ tiredness, accumulation of fluid in the lower legs (oedema)
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people)
■ lodging of a large amount of hardened stool in the large intestine (faecal impaction)
■ build up of urine in the bladder due to inability to empty the bladder (urinary retention)
■ dizziness, headache
■ vomiting
■ itching, rash
Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people)
■ hallucinations, confusion
■ allergic rash
Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data)
■ decreased appetite, high levels of blood potassium which
can cause abnormal heart rhythm
■ increased pressure in the eyes
■ changes in the electrical activity of the heart (ECG), irregular heartbeat, feeling your heartbeat, faster heart beat
■ voice disorder
■ liver disorder
■ muscle weakness
■ renal disorder
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any side effects not listed in this leaflet.
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 Vesicare
■ There are no special precautions for storage.
■ Keep out of the sight and reach of children.
■ Do not use Vesicare after the expiry date which is stated on the carton after Exp. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
■ If your doctor decides to stop your treatment, take any tablets you have left back to the pharmacy.
■ If your tablets appear to be discoloured or show any other signs of deterioration, take them back to your pharmacist who will advise you what to do.
■ 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 Vesicare contains
The active substance is solifenacin succinate.
Each film-coated tablet contains 10mg solifenacin succinate corresponding to 7.5mg solifenacin.
The other ingredients are: maize starch, lactose monohydrate, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, macrogol, talc, titanium dioxide (E171) and iron oxide (E172).
What Vesicare looks like and contents of the pack
Vesicare are round, light pink tablets marked with a logo and code 151 on one side and plain on the reverse.
Vesicare is supplied in blister packs of 30 tablets.
Manufacturer
Manufactured by: Astellas Pharma Europe BV, Elisabethhof 19, 2353 EW Leiderdorp, The Netherlands or
Astellas Pharma Europe B.V., Sylviusweg 62, 2333 BE Leiden,
The Netherlands.
Procured from within the EU and repackaged by: Doncaster Pharmaceuticals Group Ltd., Kirk Sandall, Doncaster, DN3 1QR.
Product Licence holder: Landmark Pharma Ltd., 7 Regents Drive, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 6PX.
PL No: 21828/0508
Leaflet revision & issue date (Ref): 08.01.14
Vesicare® is a registered trademark of Astellas Pharma Europe B.V.
POM
FREE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Patient,
Your doctor has prescribed Vesicare to help treat your bladder symptoms.
To help ensure you have the best possible information about your condition, you can join the Vesicare Information Programme (VIP). By joining the programme you will be entitled to receive any of a number of items from our Information Service (see examples below).
This service is completely confidential and free of charge.
No personal details will be disclosed to any third party.
To join ring our
FREEPHONE NUMBER - 0800 072 7740.
Or visit the VIP website at www.astellas-vip.co.uk To gain entry to the site or to join by calling the freephone number, you will need the batch number found on the end of your Vesicare pack.
Some of the support items available free to Vesicare-treated patients when they join the Vesicare Information Programme include:
VIP Helpful Hints Leaflet - Provides background information and support on your condition.
VIP DVD Programme - Includes tips from a Continence Advisor and a General Practitioner, on bladder retraining and pelvic floor exercises.
VIP Symptom Progress Monitor - Helps you to record the impact of your treatment, over time.
VIP Website - As a Vesicare-treated patient you can gain access to information and support on your condition via the VIP website at www.astellas-vip.co.uk.
VIP Help Line - Allows you to telephone our free phone helpline on 0800 072 7740 with any questions you may have.
VIP Care Team - Telephone contact from a nurse to provide help and support.
VIP Reminder Emails, Letters or Texts - A reminder for you to
contact your doctor when your tablets are about to run out.
May we take this opportunity of wishing you the very best of health.
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