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Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/850 mg and 50 mg/1000 mg film-coated tablets
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/850 mg film-coated tablets
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/1000 mg film-coated tablets
Sitagliptin hydrochloride/Metformin hydrochloride
1. What Sitagliptin/Metformin is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you take Sitagliptin/Metformin
3. How to take Sitagliptin/Metformin
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Sitagliptin/Metformin
6. Contents of the pack and other information
Sitagliptin/Metformin contains two different medicines called sitagliptin and metformin.
They work together to control blood sugar levels in adult patients with a form of diabetes called ‘type 2 diabetes mellitus’. This medicine helps to increase the levels of insulin produced after a meal and lowers the amount of sugar made by your body.
Along with diet and exercise, this medicine helps lower your blood sugar. This medicine can be used alone or with certain other medicines for diabetes (insulin, sulphonylureas, or glitazones).
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which your body does not make enough insulin, and the insulin that your body produces does not work as well as it should. Your body can also make too much sugar.
When this happens, sugar (glucose) builds up in the blood. This can lead to serious medical problems like heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.
Do not take Sitagliptin/Metformin if any of the above apply to you and talk with your doctor about other ways of managing your diabetes. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Sitagliptin/Metformin.
Cases of inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) have been reported in patients receiving Sitagliptin/Metformin (see section 4).
If you encounter blistering of the skin, it may be a sign for a condition called bullous pemphigoid.
Your doctor may ask you to stop Sitagliptin/Metformin.
Sitagliptin/Metformin may cause a very rare, but very serious side effect called lactic acidosis, particularly if your kidneys are not working properly. The risk of developing lactic acidosis is also increased with uncontrolled diabetes, serious infections, prolonged fasting or alcohol intake, dehydration (see further information below), liver problems and any medical conditions in which a part of the body has a reduced supply of oxygen (such as acute severe heart disease).
If any of the above apply to you, talk to your doctor for further instructions.
Stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin for a short time if you have a condition that may be associated with dehydration (significant loss of body fluids) such as severe vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, exposure to heat or if you drink less fluid than normal. Talk to your doctor for further instructions.
Stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin and contact a doctor or the nearest hospital immediately if you experience some of the symptoms of lactic acidosis, as this condition may lead to coma.
Symptoms of lactic acidosis include:
Lactic acidosis is a medical emergency and must be treated in a hospital.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Sitagliptin/Metformin:
If you need to have major surgery, you must stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin during and for some time after the procedure. Your doctor will decide when you must stop and when to restart your treatment with Sitagliptin/Metformin.
If you are not sure if any of the above apply to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Sitagliptin/Metformin
During treatment with Sitagliptin/Metformin, your doctor will check your kidney function at least once a year or more frequently if you are elderly and/or if you have worsening kidney function.
Children and adolescents below 18 years should not use this medicine. It is not effective in children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17 years. It is not known if this medicine is safe and effective when used in children younger than 10 years.
If you need to have an injection of a contrast medium that contains iodine into your bloodstream, for example, in the context of an X-ray or scan, you must stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin before or at the time of the injection. Your doctor will decide when you must stop and when to restart your treatment with Sitagliptin/Metformin.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines. You may need more frequent blood glucose and kidney function tests, or your doctor may need to adjust the dosage of Sitagliptin/Metformin. It is especially important to mention the following:
Avoid excessive alcohol intake while taking Sitagliptin/Metformin since this may increase the risk of lactic acidosis (see section “Warnings and precautions”).
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine. You should not take this medicine during pregnancy or if you are breast-feeding. See section 2, Do not take Sitagliptin/Metformin.
This medicine has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines. However, dizziness and drowsiness have been reported with sitagliptin, which may affect your ability to drive or use machines.
Taking this medicine in combination with medicines called sulphonylureas or with insulin can cause hypoglycaemia, which may affect your ability to drive and use machines or work without safe foothold.
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per tablet, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
You should continue the diet recommended by your doctor during treatment with this medicine and take care that your carbohydrate intake is equally distributed over the day.
This medicine alone is unlikely to cause abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia). When this medicine is used with a sulphonylurea medicine or with insulin, low blood sugar can occur, and your doctor may reduce the dose of your sulphonylurea or insulin.
If you take more than the prescribed dosage of this medicine, contact your doctor immediately. Go to the hospital if you have symptoms of lactic acidosis such as feeling cold or uncomfortable, severe nausea or vomiting, stomach ache, unexplained weight loss, muscular cramps, or rapid breathing (see section “Warnings and precautions”).
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If you do not remember until it is time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule. Do not take a double dose of this medicine.
Continue to take this medicine as long as your doctor prescribes it so you can continue to help control your blood sugar. You should not stop taking this medicine without talking to your doctor first. If you stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin, your blood sugar may rise again.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
STOP taking Sitagliptin/Metformin and contact a doctor immediately if you notice any of the following serious side effects:
Sitagliptin/Metformin may cause a very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people), but very serious side effect called lactic acidosis (see section “Warnings and precautions”). If this happens, you must stop taking Sitagliptin/Metformin and contact a doctor or the nearest hospital immediately, as lactic acidosis may lead to coma.
If you have a serious allergic reaction (frequency not known), including rash, hives, blisters on the skin/peeling skin and swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing, stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away. Your doctor may prescribe a medicine to treat your allergic reaction and a different medicine for your diabetes.
Some patients taking metformin have experienced the following side effects after starting sitagliptin: Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people): low blood sugar, nausea, flatulence, vomiting Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people): stomachache, diarrhoea, constipation, drowsiness
Some patients have experienced diarrhoea, nausea, flatulence, constipation, stomach ache or vomiting when starting the combination of sitagliptin and metformin together (frequency is common).
Some patients have experienced the following side effects while taking this medicine with a sulphonylurea such as glimepiride:
Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people): low blood sugar
Common: constipation
Some patients have experienced the following side effects while taking this medicine in combination with pioglitazone:
Common: swelling of the hands or legs
Some patients have experienced the following side effects while taking this medicine in combination with insulin:
Very common: low blood sugar
Uncommon: dry mouth, headache
Some patients have experienced the following side effects during clinical studies while taking sitagliptin alone (one of the medicines in Sitagliptin/Metformin) or during post-approval use of Sitagliptin/Metformin or sitagliptin alone or with other diabetes medicines:
Common: low blood sugar, headache, upper respiratory infection, stuffy or runny nose and sore throat, osteoarthritis, arm or leg pain
Uncommon: dizziness, constipation, itching
Rare: reduced number of platelets
Frequency not known: kidney problems (sometimes requiring dialysis), vomiting, joint pain, muscle pain, back pain, interstitial lung disease, bullous pemphigoid (a type of skin blister)
Some patients have experienced the following side effects while taking metformin alone:
Very common: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomachache and loss of appetite. These symptoms may happen when you start taking metformin and usually go away
Common: a metallic taste, decreased or low vitamin B12 levels in the blood (symptoms may include extreme tiredness (fatigue), a sore and red tongue (glossitis), pins and needles (paraesthesia) or pale or yellow skin). Your doctor may arrange some tests to find out the cause of your symptoms because some of these may also be caused by diabetes or due to other unrelated health problems.
Very rare: hepatitis (a problem with your liver), hives, redness of the skin (rash) or itching.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.co.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the blister and the carton after ‘EXP’. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not store above 30°C.
Do not throw away medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/850 mg film-coated tablets: Oval-shaped, biconvex, film-coated tablets approximately 20.5 mm x 9.5 mm, pink, debossed with “S476” on one side and plain on the other.
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/1000 mg film-coated tablets: Oval-shaped, biconvex, film-coated tablets approximately 21.5 mm x 10.0 mm, brown, debossed with “S477” on one side and plain on the other.
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/850 mg film-coated tablets are packaged in
Sitagliptin/Metformin 50 mg/1000 mg film-coated tablets are packaged in
Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
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This leaflet was last revised in 05/2024.