LoginColgout
Generic Name: colchicine
Product Name: Colgout
Indication: What Colgout is used for
Colgout contains colchicine as the active ingredient. Colgout is used for the relief of pain in acute attacks of gout. It is not an analgesic and does not provide relief from other types of pain.
Colgout has a preventative effect that helps to reduce the incidence of acute attacks. It will not reduce the amount of uric acid in the body.
Colgout belongs to a group of medicines called antigout drugs.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Colgout has been prescribed for you.
Your doctor may have prescribed it for another reason.
This medicine is only available with a doctor’s prescription.
There is no evidence that it is addictive.
Action: How Colgout works
Colchicine decreases leucocyte chemotaxis and phagocytosis and thereby inhibits the formation and release of a chemotactic glycoprotein that is produced during the phagocytosis of urate crystals. Colchicine also inhibits urate crystal deposition, which is enhanced by a low pH in the tissues, probably by inhibiting oxidation of glucose and subsequent, lactic acid production in leucocytes.
Colchicine is not an analgesic, though it relieves pain in acute attacks of gout. It is not a uricosuric agent and will not prevent progression of gout to chronic gouty arthritis. It does have a prophylactic, suppressive effect that helps to reduce the incidence of acute attacks and to relieve the residual pain and mild discomfort that patients with gout occasionally feel.
Each tablet contains 0.5 mg of the active ingredient colchicine. It also contains the inactive ingredients magnesium stearate, lactose, starch-maize, and povidone.
Dose advice: How to use Colgout
Before you take it
When you must not take it
Do not take Colgout if you have an allergy to:
- Any medicine containing colchicine;
- Any of the ingredients listed here.
Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips or tongue; skin rash, itching or hives.
Do not give this medicine to children.
This medication may be dangerous to children. It is important that it is kept out of reach of children at all times.
Do not take Colgout if you have:
- Combined kidney and liver disease;
- Serious kidney or liver disease;
- Serious heart disease;
- Severe stomach disorder;
- A blood disorder.
Do not take this medicine 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 this medicine if the bottle shows signs of having been tampered with.
If you are not sure whether you should start taking this medicine, talk to your doctor.
Before you start to take it
Tell your doctor if you are allergic to any other medicines or any foods, preservatives or dyes.
Tell your doctor if you have or have had any of the following medical conditions:
- Stomach problems;
- Kidney or liver disease;
- Heart disease;
- Alcoholism.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
Colgout may affect your developing baby if you take it during pregnancy.
Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.
Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of you taking Colgout when breastfeeding.
If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell them before you start taking Colgout.
Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including any that you buy without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
Some medicines may interfere with Colgout. These include:
- Cyclosporin, a medicine used to suppress the immune system;
- Erythromycin, clarithromycin and telithromycin, antibiotics used to treat bacterial infection;
- Protease inhibitors, including atazanavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir, used to treat HIV and other viral infections;
- Ketoconazole and itraconazole, used to treat certain fungal infections;
- Knefazodone used to treat depression;
- Acidifying and alkalinising agents, such as ammonium chloride, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), sodium bicarbonate;
- Medicines to help you sleep;
- Alcohol;
- NSAIDs or aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat pain;
- Medicines used to treat cancer including radiation therapy;
- Vitamin B12;
- Anticoagulants such as coumarin, heparin;
- Antithyroid medicines.
These medicines may be affected by Colgout or may affect how well it works. You may need to take different amounts of your medicines or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist has a more complete list of medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking Colgout.
Use in elderly or debilitated patients
Elderly or debilitated patients may be more sensitive to the effects or side effects of this medicine.
How to take it
Follow all directions given to you by your doctor 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 much to take
Your doctor will tell you how much Colgout to take.
Do not take more than your doctor tells you to.
Do not take more than 12 tablets in total over 4 days.
How to take it
Swallow the tablet whole with a full glass of water.
When to take it
Colgout may be taken before or after food.
How long to take it
Continue taking your medicine for as long as your doctor tells you.
This will depend on your condition and your response to the treatment.
Colgout helps to control your condition but does not cure it.
Immediately stop taking Colgout at the first sign of stomach pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. Do this even if your symptoms have not been relieved.
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.
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 the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26) for advice, or go to Accident and Emergency at the nearest hospital if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much Colgout. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.
You may need urgent medical attention.
Symptoms of an overdose may include:
- Severe nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhoea;
- Burning feeling or rawness in the mouth and throat;
- Difficulty in breathing or swallowing;
- Fever;
- Muscle weakness;
- Mental confusion, delirium, convulsions.
While you are taking it
Things you must do
Immediately stop taking Colgout at the first sign of stomach pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. Do this even if your symptoms have not been relieved.
Remember to take note of the number of tablets you took before the onset of these symptoms so that you can take fewer tablets during subsequent attacks.
Tell any other doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking this medicine, especially if you are being started on any new medicines.
Tell your doctor, surgeon or anaesthetist that you are taking Colgout if you are about to undergo surgery or an operation.
Tell your doctor immediately if you become pregnant while taking Colgout.
If you are about to have any blood tests, remind your doctor that you are taking Colgout.
It may interfere with the results of some tests.
Keep all of your doctor’s appointments so that your progress can be checked.
Your doctor may do some tests from time to time to make sure the medicine is working and to prevent unwanted side effects.
Things you must not do
Do not take Colgout to treat any other complaints unless your doctor tells you to.
Do not give your medicine to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you.
Things to be careful of
Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how Colgout affects you.
Check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking alcohol while you are taking Colgout.
If you drink alcohol while taking this medicine, you may develop stomach problems.
This medication may be dangerous to children. It is important that it is kept out of reach of children at all times.
After taking it
Storage
Keep your tablets in the bottle until it is time to take them.
If you take the tablets out of the bottle they may not keep well.
Keep your tablets in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 30°C.
Do not store Colgout or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink. Do not leave it on a windowsill or in the car.
Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.
Keep it where children cannot reach it.
A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
Disposal
If your doctor tells you to stop taking Colgout or the expiry date has passed, ask your pharmacist what to do with any medicine that is left over.
Schedule of Colgout
Colgout is an (S4) Prescription Only Medicine.
Side effects of Colgout
Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Colgout.
This medicine helps most people with gout, 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.
If you are elderly you may have an increased chance of getting side effects.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.
Immediately stop taking Colgout at the first sign of stomach pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. Do this even if your symptoms have not been relieved.
The above list includes the more common side effects of your medicine.
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you notice any of the following:
- Loss of appetite;
- Loss of hair.
The above list includes more serious side effects which may require medical attention.
Tell your doctor immediately, or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital if you notice any of the following symptoms:
- Burning feeling in the stomach or throat;
- Severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting;
- Severe diarrhoea with bloody or black tarry stools;
- Itchy skin, skin rash, hives, unusual bleeding or bruising under the skin;
- Difficulty in passing urine or blood in urine;
- Confusion, convulsions;
- Fever;
- Numbness or weakness in the fingers and toes.
These are all very serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything else that is making you feel unwell.
Some people may get other side effects while taking Colgout.
Some of these side effects (e.g. changes in thyroid function or in the blood) can only be found when your doctor does tests from time to time to check your progress.
Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects.
You may not experience any of them.
For further information talk to your doctor.
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