Patient Information Leaflet on

Tagamet (cimetidine)

Effervescent Tablets 400 mg

This leaflet tells you about 'Tagamet' Effervescent

Tablets 400 mg. Please read it before taking your tablets.

If there is anything you do not understand, or if you want to know more about your tablets, ask your doctor or pharmacist (chemist) .

Please keep this leaflet. You may want to read it again.

What is in 'Tagamet' Effervescent Tablets 400 mg?

Your tablets contain the active ingredient cimetidine. Each tablet contains 400 milligrammes (mg) cimetidine. Your medicine also contains inactive ingredients. These are monosodium citrate (E331), sodium bicarbonate (E500), citric acid (E330), aspartame, potassium acesulfame, sodium benzoate (E211), orange and tangerine flavours and polyethylene glycol.

The sodium content of 'Tagamet' Effervescent Tablets 400 mg is 415 mg per tablet.

Your medicine is available in packs of 60 tablets, each pack containing four tubes of 15 tablets.

What is ‘Tagamet' and how does it work?

Your medicine is known as a histamine H2 antagonist. It works by reducing the natural production of acid in the stomach.

Who makes 'Tagamet' Effervescent Tablets 400 mg?

The Product Licence Holder is Smith Kline & French Laboratories Ltd, trading as SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England AL7 1EY

Your medicine is manufactured by SmithKline Beecham Laboratoires Pharmaceutiques, Pessac, France.

What is ‘Tagamet’ used for?

Your medicine is used to treat and relieve the symptoms of stomach and duodenal ulcers, oesophageal reflux disease and the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

It will also help the healing of ulcers and reduce the inflammation due to these conditions.

Your medicine may also be prescribed for a range of other medical conditions where the reduction of acid production in the stomach is needed.

Before taking your medicine

If you answer Yes to any of the following questions, Do not take this medicine until you have talked to your doctor. You may need to be given a different medicine or the dose may need to be changed.

Are you allergic to 'Tagamet' (cimetidine)?
Do you have a kidney problem?
Do you have a blood disease?
Have you had a stomach ulcer or a duodenal ulcer before? You should discuss this with your doctor, particularly if you are taking a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
Are you pregnant or do you think you may be?
Are you breast feeding?

Are you taking any of the medicines listed below?

Drugs that thin your blood (anticoagulants)

Drugs to prevent fits (anticonvulsants),

e.g. phenytoin

Theophylline

Lignocaine

Taking your medicine

The usual dose of 'Tagamet' Effervescent Tablets 400 mg is shown in the table below. Dissolve each tablet in a glass of water just before you take it.

continued

Patient type	Usual dose
Adults Elderly Children	One 490 mg tablet with breakfast and one 490 mg tablet at bedtime As for adults The dose of ‘Tagamet’ for children varies with body weight. The usual dose is 25-30 mg for each kg of body weight each day. This is given in divided doses. For example, a 20 kg child would have 600 mg ‘Tagamet’ a day in divided doses. (This may be given as tablets or more usually as a syrup).

The maximum recommended dose of 'Tagamet' is 2.4 g a day. The usual length of treatment with 'Tagamet' is at least four weeks though treatment may be longer (at least six to eight weeks) in some conditions.

Your doctor may reduce your dose when you start to feel better.

Doctors sometimes prescribe different doses to those described above. If this applies to you, you should discuss it with your doctor if you have not already done so.

The pharmacist's label on your pack will tell you how much your doctor would like you to take and when to take it. Please read the label carefully.

Do not take more than your doctor has recommended.
How long should you carry on taking it?

You may feel better after a few days, but you should keep taking your tablets until the prescribed course is finished. Your symptoms may come back if you stop your treatment too soon.

What if I have taken too much?

You should only take the dose that your doctor or pharmacist has told you. If you have taken too much tell your doctor or casualty department straight away Take your tablet pack with you.

What if you miss a dose?

If you forget to take a tablet leave out that dose completely. Take your next tablet at the normal time.

What unwanted effects might your medicine cause?

Side effects with your medicine are usually mild and do not last long. The most common unwanted effects are diarrhoea, dizziness, rash and tiredness.

Other, more rare side effects, are confusion, breast enlargement in men, blood changes, kidney disorders, liver disorders, inflammation of the pancreas, fever, headache, aching muscles, aching joints, heart effects and impotence. All these side effects should disappear when treatment is stopped.

Very rarely allergic reactions (rash, itching, shortness of breath and low blood pressure) and hair loss have occurred.

Tell your doctor if you notice any of these effects or any other unwanted effects not mentioned above.

Storing your medicine

Your tablets will have an expiry date on the pack. You should not use your tablets after this date.

Store your tablets in a dry place in their original pack. Make sure the cap is put back on properly after opening the tube. This will keep your tablets dry.

Remember this medicine has been prescribed just for you. Never offer your medicine to other people. It may not be suitable for them, even if the symptoms seem the same as yours.

Keep all medicines out d the reach of children. Preferably in a locked cupboard or medicine cabinet.

Leaflet prepared in May 1995

‘Tagamet’ and the SB logo are trade marks