Product Details

What you need to know before you take Calcitriol

Do not take Calcitriol: if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to: • Calcitriol or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6). • Other ‘vitamin D metabolite’ medicines (used to treat bone disease). These include alfacalcidol and colecalciferol. Do not take Calcitriol if any of the above apply to you. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Calcitriol. Do not take Calcitriol if: • You have high levels of calcium in your blood (hypercalcaemia). • You have extra deposits of calcium in your body (metastatic calcification). • You are unwell because of high levels of vitamin D in your body. Do not take Calcitriol if any of the above apply to you. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Calcitriol. Warnings and precautions Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Calcitriol if: • You are finding it difficult to move about (for example, after an operation). • You have kidney problems (the doctor may need to monitor the phosphate levels in your blood and diet). Other medicines and Calcitriol Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines. This includes medicines that you buy without a prescription and herbal medicines. This is because Calcitriol can affect the way some medicines work. Also some other medicines can affect the way Calcitriol works. In particular, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of the following medicines: • Other medicines containing vitamin D. • Diuretics, also called ‘water tablets’ (used to treat high blood pressure). These include bendroflumethiazide, chlortalidone and indapamide. • Medicines like digoxin or digitoxin (used to treat heart disease). • Medicines containing magnesium, such as antacids (used to treat indigestion). • Steroid medicines, such as hydrocortisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone. • Cholestyramine, or other ‘ion-exchange resins’ (used to treat high levels of cholesterol in your blood). • Phosphate (the doctor may need to monitor phosphate levels in your blood). Also tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have taken a medicine containing vitamin D over the last few months that has long-lasting effects. These medicines include ergocalciferol and colecalciferol. Calcitriol with food and drink • Do not take any vitamin or food supplementsthat contain vitamin D while you are taking Calcitriol. • Do not eat food which has vitamin D added (food which is ‘fortified’ with vitamin D) while you are taking Calcitriol. • It is very important to keep to any diet that your doctor has given to you. • If you change how much calcium or vitamin D you have in your diet this can increase the risk of side effects (for example, if you eat more dairy products like milk and cheese, or take vitamins without your doctor knowing). • Drink plenty of fluids (such as water) as it is important not to become dehydrated. This does not apply if you have kidney problems. Pregnancy and breast-feeding • Talk to your doctor before taking Calcitriol if you are pregnant, think you are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant. Your doctor will then decide if you should take Calcitriol. • You can take Calcitriol if you are breast-feeding. However, your doctor will take blood samples from you and your child to check that there are no unwanted effects. Driving and using machines Calcitriol is not likely to affect you being able to drive or use any tools or machines.