Tadalafil for pulmonary hypertension

About tadalafil for pulmonary hypertension

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a rare condition where there is too high a blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply your lungs from your heart.

Tadalafil relaxes the muscle cells in the walls of the blood vessels to your lungs, allowing them to become wider (dilated). This reduces the pressure in these blood vessels and allows blood to flow more easily through them. In turn, this increases the supply of blood to your lungs and improves your ability to do physical activities. It will be prescribed for you by a specialist doctor.

Tadalafil can also be prescribed for men with two completely different conditions - please see the separate medicine leaflet called Tadalafil for erectile dysfunction or enlarged prostate if you have been prescribed tadalafil tablets for either of these reasons.

Before taking tadalafil

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine can only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking tadalafil it is important that your doctor knows:

• If you are pregnant, trying for a baby, or breastfeeding.

• If you have any other heart problem or blood vessel condition.

• If you have had an eye condition causing a loss of vision.

• If you have problems with the way your liver works, or if you have problems with the way your kidneys work.

• If you have recently had a heart attack.

• If you have any disease, injury or deformity of your penis.

• If you have sickle cell disease.

• If you have ever had bone marrow cancer or leukaemia.

• If you are taking or using any other medicines. This includes any medicines you are taking which are available to buy without a prescription, as well as herbal and complementary medicines, and recreational drugs.

• If you have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine.

How to take tadalafil

• Before you take tadalafil, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside your pack. It will give you more information about the tablets and will provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you could experience from taking them.

• Take the tablets exactly as your doctor tells you to. The usual dose is two 20 mg tablets taken together, once daily.

• Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, you can generally take tadalafil at a time of day that suits you. You should, however, try to take your doses at the same time of day, each day.

• You can take tadalafil either with or without food. Swallow the tablets with a drink of water.

• If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember as long as it is still within eight hours of the time you should have taken it. If when you remember, it is more than eight hours later, leave out the missed dose. Do not take two doses together to make up for a forgotten dose.

Getting the most from your treatment

• It is recommended that you do not drink grapefruit juice with tadalafil. This is because there is a chemical in grapefruit juice which may increase the amount of tadalafil in your bloodstream. This could make side-effects more likely.

• Try to keep your regular appointments with your doctor. This is so your doctor can check on your progress.

• If you are due to have an operation or some other medical treatment, it is important that you tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking tadalafil.

• Each time you collect a new supply of tablets from the pharmacy, make sure it looks to be the same as you have had before. If you are unsure, ask your pharmacist to check for you.

• If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable to take with your other medicines.

Can tadalafil cause problems?

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the more common ones associated with tadalafil. The best place to find a full list of the side-effects which can be associated with your medicine, is from the manufacturer's printed information leaflet supplied with the medicine. Alternatively, you can find an example of a manufacturer's information leaflet in the reference section below. Speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

Important: if you experience any of the following, contact a doctor for medical attention straightaway:

• An allergic-type reaction such as a rash or swelling around your face.

• Chest pains

• A sudden loss of vision or hearing

• An erection lasting for more than four hours.

If you experience any other symptoms which you think may be due to the tablets, speak with your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.

How to store tadalafil

• Keep all medicines out of the reach and sight of children.

• Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct heat and light.
  

Important information about all medicines