Loniten 10mg Tablets 100 (Authority Script) - Minoxidil

Consumer Medicine Information

What is in this leaflet
This leaflet answers some common questions about Loniten.

It does not contain all the available information.

It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking Loniten against the benefits they expect it will have for you.

If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Keep this leaflet with the medicine. You may need to read it again.

What Loniten is used for
Loniten lowers high blood pressure. High blood pressure is also called hypertension.

Loniten works by relaxing the muscles of your blood vessels. This makes it easier for your blood to flow around your body and results in a decrease in your blood pressure.

Loniten is reserved for use in severe cases of high blood pressure where it is used in combination with other blood pressure lowering agents.

Your doctor may have prescribed Loniten for another purpose. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Loniten has been prescribed for you.

This medicine is available only with a doctor's prescription.

This medicine is prescribed for you and should not be given to others.

Before you take Loniten
When you must not take it
Do not take Loniten if:

You have phaeochromocytoma (a rare tumour of the adrenal gland, which sits near the kidney)
You have pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the vessels of the lung) which is due to a narrowing of the valve between the main blood vessel from the lung and the heart
You have an allergy to minoxidil, the active ingredient in Loniten, or any of the other ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet.
Do not take Loniten after the expiry date (EXP) printed on the pack. If you take this medicine after the expiry date has passed, it may not work as well.

Do not take Loniten if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering.

If you are not sure whether you should start taking Loniten, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Before you start to take it
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if:

1.you have allergies to:
any other medicines
any other substances, such as foods, preservatives or dyes
2.you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant.
Loniten is not recommended for use during pregnancy. If it is necessary for you to take Loniten, your doctor or pharmacist will discuss the risks and benefits of taking it during pregnancy.
3.you are breast- feeding or plan to breast-feed.
Loniten is not recommended while you are breast-feeding. It is not known whether Loniten passes into breast milk or if it has a harmful effect on the baby. If there is a need to consider Loniten while you are breast-feeding, your doctor will discuss with you the benefits and risks of taking it.
4.you have or have had any other medical conditions, especially the following:
unstable or mild hypertension
symptoms of heart failure
a heart attack
renal failure
if you have regular dialysis
If you have not told your doctor or pharmacist about any of the above, tell them before you start taking Loniten.

Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking/using any other medicines, including any that you buy without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop. Some medicines may affect the way others work. Your doctor or pharmacist will be able to tell you what to do when taking Loniten with other medicines.

How to take Loniten
How much to take
The usual adult dosage range of Loniten is between 5 mg and 40 mg per day. The maximum recommended dosage is 100 mg per day.

Your doctor will adjust the dose to suit your individual needs. Dosage adjustments are usually made at intervals of 3 days or longer.

Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how many tablets you will need to take each day. This depends on your condition and whether or not you are taking any other medicines.

Follow all directions given to you by your doctor or pharmacist carefully. They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet.

If you do not understand the instructions on the bottle, ask your doctor or pharmacist for help.

How to take it
Swallow Loniten tablets with a glass of water.

How long to take it
Loniten helps control your high blood pressure, but does not cure it. Therefore you must take Loniten every day. Continue taking the tablets for as long as your doctor or pharmacist tells you.

Do not stop taking it unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you to.

If you forget to take it
If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take your next dose when you are meant to. Otherwise, take it as soon as you remember, and then go back to taking your medicine as you would normally.

Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose that you missed. This may increase the chance of you getting an unwanted side effect.

If you are not sure what to do, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

If you have trouble remembering to take your medicine, ask your pharmacist for some hints.

If you take too much (overdose)
Immediately telephone your doctor or pharmacist or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26), or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital, if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much Loniten. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention.

While you are taking Loniten
Things you must do
Tell any other doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking Loniten.

If you are about to be started on any new medicine, tell your doctor, dentist or pharmacist that you are taking Loniten.

If you plan to have surgery that needs a general anaesthetic, tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking Loniten.

If you become pregnant while taking Loniten, tell you doctor.

Things you must not do
Do not give Loniten to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you.

Do not take Loniten to treat any other complaints unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you to.

Do not stop taking Loniten, or lower the dosage, without checking with your doctor or pharmacist.

Things to be careful of
Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how Loniten affects you. As with some other blood pressure lowering medicines, Loniten may cause dizziness or light-headedness in some people. Make sure you know how you react to Loniten before you drive a car, operate machinery, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or light-headed.

While you are taking Loniten your doctor may recommend that you reduce the amount of salt in your diet.

If you feel that you are gaining weight due to the retention of water, tell your doctor. Your doctor may need to adjust the medicines you are taking.

Side effects
Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Loniten. Loniten helps most people with high blood pressure, but it may have unwanted side effects in a few people. All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical treatment if you get some of the side effects.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.

Most patients taking Loniten experience unusual growth, thickening and darkening of fine body hair. This is usually first noticed on or around your face about 3 to 6 weeks after you start to take Loniten. This effect may slow after long-term use and will be reversed approximately 1 to 3 months after stoping Loniten therapy.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice any of the following and they worry you:

increase in heart rate
puffiness or swelling of your face, eyes, ankles, hands or feet
onset or worsening of angina (chest pain, or a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest)
dizziness or light headedness (particularly when standing up from a sitting position)
weight gain
tiredness
shortness of breath
nausea or vomiting
rash
breast tenderness
Other side effects not listed above may occur in some patients. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything that is making you feel unwell.

Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.

After using Loniten
Storage
Keep your tablets in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 30°C.

Do not store Loniten or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink.

Do not leave it in the car on hot days or on window sills. Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.

Keep your Loniten tablets where children cannot reach them. A locked cupboard at least one and a half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.

Disposal
If your doctor or pharmacist tells you to stop taking Loniten or the tablets have passed their expiry date, ask your pharmacist what to do with any that are left over.

Product description
What it looks like
Loniten tablets are white in colour and have a circular, half oval shape.

One side of the tablet is marked with U and 137, the other side is marked with the number 10.

Ingredients
Each tablet of Loniten contains 10 mg of the active ingredient minoxidil.

In addition to minoxidil, the tablets also contain the following inactive ingredients: microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal anhydrous silica, lactose, maize starch and magnesium stearate.

Identification
Loniten tablets can be identified by the Australian Register number on the box, AUST R 12309.

Distributor
Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd
ABN 50 008 422 348
38-42 Wharf Road
West Ryde NSW 2114
Australia

For medical enquiries call 1800 675 229

This leaflet was revised in November 2005.

© Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd

® Registered trademark