| Information for
patients
|
| Drug Information |
Methylprednisolone contain methylprednisolone.Methylprednisolone belongs to a group of medicines called steroids.Their full name is corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are produced naturally in your body and are important for many body functions.Boosting your body with extra corticosteroid such as Methylprednisolone can help if your body cannot produce enough corticosteroid due to problems with your adrenal glands (e.g. adrenal insufficiency).Corticosteroids can also help following surgery (e.g. organ transplants), injuries or other stressful conditions. These include inflammatory or allergic conditions affecting the:
•brain (e.g. meningitis)
•bowel and gut (e.g. ‘Crohn’s disease’ and ‘ulcerative colitis’)
•blood or blood vessels (e.g. leukaemia)
•eye (e.g. optic neuritis, uveitis or iritis)
•joints (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever)
•lungs (e.g. asthma, tuberculosis)
•muscle (e.g. dermatomyositis and polymyositis)
•skin (e.g. eczema)
Methylprednisolone may be prescribed to treat conditions other than those listed above. Ask your doctor if you are unsure why you have been given this medicine. |
| Drug Alert |
| Alert |
??You think you have ever suffered an allergic reaction, or any other type of reaction after being given Methylprednisolone, any other steroid medicine or any of the ingredients in Methylprednisolone. An allergic reaction may cause a skin rash or reddening, swollen face or lips or shortness of breath.
??You have any fungal infection (such as thrush) or any other infection which is not being treated with an antibiotic or antiviral medicine. |
| Before Consuming
the Medicine
|
| Avoid Drug |
??You think you have ever suffered an allergic reaction, or any other type of reaction after being given Methylprednisolone, any other steroid medicine or any of the ingredients in Methylprednisolone. An allergic reaction may cause a skin rash or reddening, swollen face or lips or shortness of breath.
??You have any fungal infection (such as thrush) or any other infection which is not being treated with an antibiotic or antiviral medicine. |
| Drug Special Care |
•Chickenpox, measles, shingles or a herpes eye infection. If you think you have been in contact with someone with chickenpox, measles or shingles and you have not already had these illnesses, or if you are unsure if you have had them.
•Severe depression or manic depression (bipolar disorder). This includes having had depression before while taking steroid medicines like Methylprednisolone, or having a family history of these illnesses.
•Diabetes (or if there is a family history of diabetes).
•Epilepsy.
•Glaucoma (increased blood pressure in the eye) or if there is a family history of glaucoma.
•You recently suffered a heart attack.
•Heart problems, including heart failure or infections.
•Hypertension (high blood pressure).
•Hypothyroidism (an under-active thyroid).
•Kidney or liver disease.
•Karposi’s sarcoma (a type of skin cancer).
•Muscle problems (pain or weakness) have happened while taking steroid medicines like Methylprednisolone in the past.
•Myasthenia gravis (a condition causing tired and weak muscles).
•Osteoporosis (brittle bones).
•Skin abscess.
•Stomach ulcer or other serious stomach or intestinal problems.
•Thrombophlebitis - vein problems due to thrombosis (clots in the veins) resulting in phlebitis (red, swollen and tender veins).
•Tuberculosis (TB) or if you have suffered tuberculosis in the past. |
| Drug Drug Interactions |
•Acetazolamide - used to treat glaucoma and epilepsy
•Aminoglutethimide – used for treating cancer
•Anticoagulants - used to ‘thin’ the blood such as acenocoumarol, phenindione and warfarin
•Anticholinesterases - used to treat myasthenia gravis (a muscle condition) such as distigmine and neostigmine
•Antibiotics (such as erythromycin)
•Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (also called NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen used to treat mild to moderate pain
•Barbiturates, carbamazepine, phenytoin and primidone – used to treat epilepsy
•Carbenoxolone and cimetidine - used for heartburn and acid indigestion
•Ciclosporin - used to treat conditions such as severe rheumatoid arthritis, severe psoriasis or following an organ or bone marrow transplant
•Digoxin - used for heart failure and/or an irregular heart beat
•Diltiazem or mibefradil – used for heart problems or high blood pressure
•Diuretics – sometimes called water .
•Ketoconazole or itraconazole – used to treat fungal infections
•Pancuronium – or other medicines called neuromuscular blocking agents which are used in some surgical procedures
•Rifampicin and rifabutin – antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis (TB)
•Vaccines - tell your doctor or nurse if you have recently had, or are about to have any vaccination. You should not have ‘live’ vaccines while using this medicine. Other vaccines may be less effective |
| Drug Pregnancy Interaction |
You must tell your doctor if you are pregnant, think you might be pregnant or are trying to become pregnant as this medicine could slow the baby’s growth. |
| Drug Breast feeding Interaction |
Tell your doctor if you are breast feeding as small amounts of corticosteroid medicines may get into breast milk. |
| Drug Machinery Interaction |
no data available |
| Drug More Information |
If you are being treated for diabetes, high blood pressure or water retention (oedema) tell your doctor as he/she may need to adjust the dose of the medicines used to treat these conditions.
Before you have any operation tell your doctor, dentist or anesthetist that you are taking Methylprednisolone.
If you require a test to be carried out by your doctor or in hospital it is important that you tell the doctor or nurse that you are taking Methylprednisolone. This medicine can affect the results of some tests |
| How to take the
Medicine
|
| Consumption Info |
Remember to always carry a Steroid Treatment Card. Make sure your doctor or pharmacist has filled out the details of your medicine, including the dose and how long you will require steroid treatment. |
| Drug quanitty |
Adults
The normal daily dose is between 4 mg and 360 mg per day, depending on your condition and how severe it is. Your doctor will prescribe the lowest dose possible.Your doctor may tell you to take your daily dose all in one go, split your daily dose throughout the day, or take it every other day at 8.00am. Swallow the whole with a drink of water.If you are being given Methylprednisolone because your body cannot make its own corticosteroids, your doctor may also want you to take a second type of steroid to help your salt balance. Your doctor may prescribe a higher dose at the start of your treatment to bring your condition under control.
When your doctor is happy that your condition has improved your dose will be reduced gradually. Normally the dose will be reduced by not more than 2 mg every 7 to 10 days.
Elderly:
Your doctor may want to see you more regularly to check how you are getting on with your .
Children:
Corticosteroids can affect growth in children so your doctor will prescribe the lowest dose that will be effective for your child. Your doctor may tell you to give your child this medicine on every other day. |
| Drug Dose |
You should show your steroid card to anyone who gives you treatment (such as a doctor, nurse or dentist) while you are taking Methylprednisolone, and for 3 months after you stop taking the .
If you are admitted to hospital for any reason always tell your doctor or nurse that you are taking Methylprednisolone. You can also wear a medic-alert bracelet or pendant to let medical staff know that you are taking a steroid if you have an accident or become unconscious. |
| Excess Drug Consumption |
It is important that you do not take more than you are told to take. If you accidentally take too many , seek medical attention straight away. |
| Forgot Drug Consumption |
Wait and take the next dose as normal. Do not take a dose to make up for the forgotten one but tell your doctor or pharmacist what had happened |
| Stop Drug Consumption |
•have had more than 6 mg Methylprednisolone daily for more than 3 weeks;
•have been given high doses of Methylprednisolone (more than 32 mg daily) even if it was only for 3 weeks or less;
•have already had a course of corticosteroid or injections in the last year;
•already had problems with your adrenal glands (adrenocortical insufficiency) before you started this treatment;
•take repeat doses in the evening.
You will need to come off Methylprednisolone slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms may include itchy skin, fever, muscle and joint pains, runny nose, sticky eyes, sweating and weight loss.If your symptoms seem to return or get worse as your dose of Methylprednisolone is reduced tell your doctor immediately.
Your doctor will decide when it is time to stop your dose. |
| Possible Side
Effects
|
| General Information |
•Allergic reactions, such as skin rash, swelling of the face or wheezing and difficulty breathing. This type of side effect is rare, but can be serious.
•Acute pancreatitis, stomach pain spreading to your back, possibly accompanied by vomiting, shock and loss of consciousness.
•Burst or bleeding ulcers, symptoms of which are stomach pain (especially if it seems to spread to your back), bleeding from the back passage, black or bloodstained stools and/or vomiting blood.
•Infections. This medicine can hide or change the signs and symptoms of some infections, or reduce your resistance to the infection, so that they are hard to diagnose at an early stage. Symptoms might include a raised temperature and feeling unwell. Symptoms of a flare up of a previous TB infection could be coughing blood or pain in the chest. Methylprednisolone may also make you more likely to develop a severe infection.
•Pulmonary embolus (blood clots in the lung), symptoms of include sudden sharp chest pain, breathlessness and coughing up blood.
•Raised pressure within the skull of children (pseudotumour cerebri) symptoms of which are headaches with vomiting, lack of energy and drowsiness. This side-effect usually occurs after treatment is stopped.
•Thrombophlebitis (blood clots or thrombosis in a leg vein), symptoms of which include painful swollen, red and tender veins. |
| Common Drug Side Effects |
Blood, heart and circulation
•Problems with the pumping of your heart (heart failure) symptoms of which are swollen ankles, difficulty in breathing and palpitations (awareness of heart beat) or irregular beating of the heart, irregular or very fast or slow pulse.
•High blood pressure, symptoms of which are headaches, or generally feeling unwell.
•Increased numbers of white blood cells (leucocytosis).
Body water and salts
•Swelling and high blood pressure, caused by increased levels of water and salt content.
•Cramps and spasms, due to the loss of potassium your body. In rare cases this can lead to congestive heart failure (when the heart cannot pump properly).
Digestive system
•Nausea (feeling sick) or vomiting (being sick).
•Ulcers or thrush in the gullet (discomfort on swallowing).
•Indigestion.
•Bloated stomach.
•Persistent hiccups, especially when high doses are taken.
Eyes
•Glaucoma (raised pressure within the eye, causing pain in the eyes and headaches).
•Swollen optic nerve (papilloedema, indicated by sight disturbance).
•Damage to the optic nerve or cataracts (indicated by failing eyesight).
•Thinning of the clear part at the front of the eye (cornea) or of the white part of the eye (sclera).
•Worsening of viral or fungal eye infections.
•Protruding of the eyeballs (exophthalmos).
Hormone and metabolic system
•Slowing of normal growth in infants, children and adolescents which may be permanent.
•Irregular or no periods in women.
•Increased hair on the body and face in women (hirsutism).
•Round or moon-shaped face (Cushingoid facies).
•Increased appetite and weight gain.
•Diabetes or worsening of existing diabetes.
•Prolonged therapy can lead to lower levels of some hormones which in turn can cause low blood pressure and dizziness. This effect may persist for months.
•The amount of certain chemicals (enzymes) called alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase that help the body digest drugs and other substances in your body may be raised after treatment with a corticosteroid. The change is usually small and the enzyme levels return to normal after your medicine has cleared naturally from your system. You will not notice any symptoms if this happens, but it will show up if you have a blood test.
Immune system
•Increased susceptibility to infections which can hide or change normal reactions to skin tests, such as that for tuberculosis.
Muscles and bones
•Muscle weakness or wasting.
•Brittle bones (bones that break easily).
•Broken bones or fractures.
•Breakdown of bone due to poor circulation of blood, this causes pain in the hip.
•Torn muscle tendons causing pain and/or swelling.
•Muscle cramps or spasms.
Nervous system
Steroids including methylprednisolone can cause serious mental health problems. These are common in both adults and children. They can affect about 5 in every 100 people taking medicines like methylprednisolone.
•Feeling depressed, including thinking about suicide.
•Feeling high (mania) or moods that go up and down.
•Feeling anxious, having problems sleeping, difficulty in thinking or being confused and losing your memory.
•Feeling, seeing or hearing things which do not exist. Having strange and frightening thoughts, changing how you act or having feelings of being alone.
Skin
•Acne.
•Poor wound healing.
•Thinning of skin with stretch marks.
•Bruising.
•Small purple/red patches on the skin or inside the mouth.
•Pale or darker patches on your skin, or raised patches which are an unusual color.
It is important if you are to have a blood test that you tell the doctor or nurse that you have been given treatment with Methylprednisolone.If you notice any of these problems talk to a doctor straight away. |
| Rare Drug Side Effects |
no data available |
| Very Rare Drug Side Effects |
no data available |
| Drug Side Effects Symptoms |
•These illnesses can be serious.
•Usually they start within a few days or weeks of starting the medicine.
•They are more likely to happen at high doses.
•Most of these problems go away if the dose is lowered or the medicine is stopped. However if the problems do happen they might need treatment.
Talk to a doctor if you (or someone using this medicine) shows any signs of mental problems. This is particularly important if you are depressed, or might be thinking about suicide. In a few cases mental problems have happened when doses are being lowered or stopped. |
| How to Store the
Medicine
|
| How to Store the Medicine |
Methylprednisolone should not be used after the expiry date ‘EXP’ shown on the carton and blister strip. Keep your blister strips securely in the outer carton. If your medicine is out of date take it to your pharmacist who will dispose of it safely. Keep your medicine in a safe place where children cannot reach or see it. Store your medicine in a cool place below 25°C. Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help protect the environment. |
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