Questran

Questran4goralpowdersachets Whenusedinrelievingitchinesslinkedtoliverproblems Questran(Kwesttran)isamedicinewhichisused inhypercholesterolaemia,relievingdiarrhoea associatedwithradiotherapy,ilealresection, Crohn'sdisease,vagotomyordiabeticvagal neuropathyandrelievingitchinesslinkedtoliver problems.Questrancontainscolestyramine anhydrous.ItissuppliedbyBristolMyersSquibb HoldingsLimited. Yourmedicine Questranreducestheamountofcholesterol absorbedintothebody.Itcanalsohelptorelieve certaintypesofdiarrhoeaandinpeoplewithliver problemsitcanhelptorelieveitchiness. OtherinformationaboutQuestran: peoplestartingtreatmentwiththisformofthis medicinemaybeprescribedalowdoseto reducethechanceofsideeffects Donotshareyourmedicinewithotherpeople.It maynotbesuitableforthemandmayharmthem. Thepharmacylabelonyourmedicinetellsyouhow muchmedicineyoushouldtake.Italsotellsyou howoftenyoushouldtakeyourmedicine.Thisis thedosethatyouandyourprescriberhaveagreed youshouldtake.Youshouldnotchangethedoseof yourmedicineunlessyouaretoldtodosobyyour prescriber. Ifyoufeelthatthemedicineismakingyouunwellor youdonotthinkitisworking,thentalktoyour prescriber. Whentotakeyourmedicine Somemedicinesworkbestiftheyaretakenata specifictimeofday.Gettingthemostfromyour medicinecanalsobeaffectedbywhatyoueat, whenyoueatandthetimesatwhichyoutakeother medicines.Makesureyoufollowanyspecific instructionsgiventoyoubyyourprescriberorthat areinthePatientInformationLeafletthatcomes withthismedicine. InthecaseofQuestran: takeothermedicinesatleastonehourbefore orfourtosixhoursafteryoutakeQuestran Howtotakeyourmedicine Somemedicineshavespecificinstructionsabout howtotakethem.Thisisbecausetheyworkbetter whentakencorrectly.Theseinstructionscaninclude gettingtherightdoseandspecialinstructionsfor preparingthemedicine.Makesureyoufollowany specificinstructionsgiventoyoubyyourprescriber orthatareinthePatientInformationLeafletthat comeswiththismedicine. Providedbywww.medicines.org.uk/guides InthecaseofQuestran: donottakethepowderintheoriginaldry form.Addthedosetoeitherwater,fruitjuice, thinsoups,skimmedmilkorpulpyfruitsthat haveahighwatercontentsuchasapple sauce.Mixwelltoauniformconsistency beforeyoutakeit Ifyouarehavingproblemstakingthismedicine,you shouldtalktoyourprescriberorpharmacist.They maybeabletogiveyouadviceonotherwaysto takeyourmedicineorothermedicinesthatare easierforyoutotake. Takingtoomuchofyourmedicine Takingextradosesofsomemedicinescanbe harmful.Insomecasesevenoneextradosecan causeyouproblems.Ifyoutakeextradosesofyour medicine,youmustgetmedicaladviceimmediately. Youmayneedatesttoassesstheeffectoftaking extradoses.Thisisbecausetheeffectsoftaking toomuchmedicineareverycomplexsoitisvery importantthatyouseekmedicaladvice. Contactyourprescriber,pharmacist,specialistclinic orNHSDirecton08454647foradvice. Makesureyoutakeallofyourmedicinecontainers withyouifyouareadvisedtogotohospital. Stoppingyourmedicine Suddenlystoppingyourmedicinemaycauseyour originalconditiontoreturn.Thisiswhyyoumust speaktoyourprescriberifyouarehavingany problemstakingyourmedicine. Ifyouarenothavinganyproblemstakingthis medicinethendonotstoptakingit,evenifyoufeel better,unlessadvisedtodosobyyourprescriber. Ifyouareinanydoubt,contactyourprescriber, pharmacist,specialistclinicorNHSDirecton0845 4647. Lookingafteryourmedicine Theinstructionsonhowyoushouldkeepyour medicineareonthepharmacylabel.Youshould keepyourmedicineintheoriginalcontainer.This willhelptokeepyourmedicineinthebestcondition andalsoallowyoutochecktheinstructions.Donot takethemedicineifthepackagingappearstohave beentamperedwithorifthemedicineshowsany signsofdamage.Makesurethatthemedicineisout ofthesightandreachofchildren. InthecaseofQuestran: donotstoreintemperaturesabove30C Youmustnottakethemedicineaftertheexpirydate shownonthepackaging.Ifyouhaveanyunused medicine,returnittoyourpharmacistwhowill disposeofitsafely. Whetherthismedicineissuitableforyou Questranisnotsuitableforeveryoneandsome peopleshouldneveruseit.Otherpeopleshould onlyuseitwithspecialcare.Itisimportantthatthe personprescribingthismedicineknowsyourfull medicalhistory. Yourprescribermayonlyprescribethismedicine withspecialcareormaynotprescribeitatallifyou: areallergicorsensitivetoorhavehada reactiontoanyoftheingredientsinthe medicine havebiliaryproblems haveafamilyhistoryoffructoseintolerance haveglucosegalactosemalabsorption problems havesucraseisomaltasedeficiency Furthermoretheprescribermayonlyprescribethis medicinewithspecialcareormaynotprescribeitat allforachildwhoisundersixyearsofage. OvertimeitispossiblethatQuestrancanbecome unsuitableforsomepeople,ortheymaybecome unsuitableforit.Ifatanytimeitappearsthat Questranhasbecomeunsuitable,itisimportantthat theprescriberiscontactedimmediately. Sideeffects Amedicineisonlymadeavailabletothepublicifthe clinicaltrialshaveshownthatthebenefitsoftaking themedicineoutweightherisks. Onceamedicinehasbeenlicensed,informationon themedicine'seffects,bothintendedand unintended,iscontinuouslyrecordedandupdated. Somesideeffectsmaybeseriouswhileothersmay onlybeamildinconvenience. Everyone'sreactiontoamedicineisdifferent.Itis difficulttopredictwhichsideeffectsyouwillhave fromtakingaparticularmedicine,orwhetheryou willhaveanysideeffectsatall.Theimportantthing istotellyourprescriberorpharmacistifyouare havingproblemswithyourmedicine. Thefrequencyofthesesideeffectsisunknown abnormallaboratorytestresults constipation diarrhoea gastrointestinalproblems increasedriskofbleeding metabolicproblemsifQuestranhasbeen takenforaprolongedperiodoftime skinirritation tastechanges Ifyoufeelunwellorifyouhaveconcernsabouta sideeffect,youwillneedtoseekadvice.Ifyoufeel veryill,getmedicalhelpstraightaway.Contactyour prescriber,pharmacist,nurseorcallNHSDirecton 08454647. Takingothermedicines Ifyouaretakingmorethanonemedicinetheymay interactwitheachother.Attimesyourprescriber maydecidetousemedicinesthatinteract,inother casesthismaynotbeappropriate. Thedecisiontousemedicinesthatinteractdepends onyourspecificcircumstances.Yourprescribermay decidetousemedicinesthatinteract,ifitisbelieved thatthebenefitsoftakingthemedicinestogether outweightherisks.Insuchcases,itmaybe necessarytoalteryourdoseormonitoryoumore closely. Tellyourprescriberthenamesofallthemedicines thatyouaretakingsothattheycanconsiderall possibleinteractions.Thisincludesallthemedicines whichhavebeenprescribedbyyourGP,hospital doctor,dentist,nurse,healthvisitor,midwifeor pharmacist.Youmustalsotellyourprescriberabout medicineswhichyouhaveboughtoverthecounter withoutprescriptions. ThefollowingmedicinesmayinteractwithQuestran: digitalis tetracycline chlorothiazide warfarin levothyroxine vitaminsA,DandK folicacid Thefollowingtypesofmedicinemayinteractwith Questran: medicinesthataremetabolisedbytheliver IfyouaretakingQuestranandoneoftheabove medicinesortypesofmedicines,makesureyour prescriberknowsaboutit. Complementarypreparationsandvitamins Medicinescaninteractwithcomplementary preparationsandvitamins. Makesureyoutellyourprescriberthenamesofall thecomplementarypreparationsandvitaminsthat youaretakingorareplanningtotake. Yourprescribercanthendecidewhetheritis appropriateforyoutotakecombinationsthatare knowntointeract. InthecaseofQuestran: Lastupdated28Aug12 Copyright2010Datapharm

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Questran
Questran4goralpowdersachets Whenusedinrelievingitchinesslinkedtoliverproblems thismedicinemayinteractwithfolicacidor fatsolublevitaminsA,DandK IfyouhavebeenprescribedQuestranyoushould onlytakesomethingontheabovelistonthespecific adviceofyourprescriberorpharmacist. Drivingandoperatingmachinery Whentakinganymedicineyoushouldbeawarethat itmightinterferewithyourabilitytodriveoroperate machinerysafely. LikeallmedicinesQuestrancancausesideeffects. Youshouldseehowthismedicineaffectsyouand thenjudgeifyouaresafetodriveoroperate machinery.Ifyouareinanydoubt,talktoyour prescriber. Diet Medicinescaninteractwithcertainfoods.Insome cases,thismaybeharmfulandyourprescribermay adviseyoutoavoidcertainfoods. InthecaseofQuestran: thismedicinemayreduceyourbody'sability toabsorbfatsolubleVitaminsA,DandK fromyourfoodiftakenforaprolongedperiod oftime thismedicinemayreducefolicacidlevelsin childrenwithfamilialhypercholesterolaemia Yourdoctormayrecommendthatyoutakevitamin A,DandKorfolicacidsupplementswhileyouare takingQuestran. Alcohol Alcoholcaninteractwithcertainmedicines. InthecaseofQuestran: therearenoknowninteractionsbetween alcoholandQuestran Familyplanningandpregnancy Mostmedicines,insomeway,canaffectthe developmentofababyinthewomb.Theeffecton thebabydiffersbetweenmedicinesandalso dependsonthestageofpregnancythatyouhave reachedwhenyoutakethemedicine. Carefulconsiderationneedstobegiventotherisks andthebenefitsofusingthismedicineduring pregnancy. Youneedtodiscussyourspecificcircumstances withyourdoctortomakeadecisionaboutwhether youaregoingtotakethismedicineduring pregnancy.Youshouldonlytakethismedicine duringpregnancyifyourdoctorthinksyouneedto takeit.Ifthedecisionisthatyoushouldnothave Questran,thenyoushoulddiscusswhetherthereis Providedbywww.medicines.org.uk/guides Page2of2 Lastupdated28Aug12 Copyright2010Datapharm analternativemedicinethatyoucouldtakeduring pregnancy. Breastfeeding Certainmedicinescanpassintobreastmilkand mayreachyourbabythroughbreastfeeding. Beforeyouhaveyourbabyyoushoulddiscuss breastfeedingwithyourdoctorormidwife.Theywill helpyoudecidewhatisbestforyouandyourbaby basedonthebenefitsandrisksassociatedwiththis medicine.Youshouldonlybreastfeedyourbaby whiletakingthismedicineontheadviceofyour doctorormidwife. Ingredientsofyourmedicine Medicinescontainactiveingredients.Theymayalso containother,additionalingredientsthathelpensure thestability,safetyandeffectivenessofthe medicine.Theyarealsoaddedtoimprovethe medicine'stasteandappearanceandtomakeit easiertotake.Somemaybeusedtoprolongthelife ofthemedicine. Youshouldcheckthatyouareabletotakethe ingredientsinyourmedicine,especiallyifyouhave anyallergies. Questrancontains: acacia citricacidanhydrous orangejuiceflavour polysorbate80 sucrose colestyramineanhydrous propyleneglycol alginate Ifyouarenotabletotakeanyoftheingredientsin yourmedicine,talktoyourprescriberorpharmacist toseeiftheycansuggestanalternativemedicine.If youhavereactedbadlytoQuestranbefore,donot takeQuestran.Talktoyourprescriber,pharmacist ornurseassoonaspossible.