Consumer medicine information

LIPRACE™

lisinopril 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg

Consumer Medicine Information

What is in this leaflet

This leaflet answers some common questions about LIPRACE. It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking LIPRACE against the benefits they expect it will have for you.

If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Keep this leaflet with the medicine. You may need to read it again.

What LIPRACE is used for

LIPRACE lowers high blood pressure, which doctors call hypertension. It is also used to treat heart failure in patients who have just had a heart attack.

LIPRACE belongs to a group of medicines called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Your doctor may prescribe LIPRACE for another reason. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why LIPRACE has been prescribed for you.

There is no evidence that LIPRACE is addictive.

Before you take LIPRACE

When you must not take it

Do not take LIPRACE if:

  • You have taken any medicines called ‘ACE inhibitors’ for high blood pressure or heart failure before, which caused your face, lips, tongue, throat, hands or feet to swell up, or made it hard for you to breathe.
  • You have had an allergic reaction to LIPRACE or another ACE inhibitor before. Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include skin rash, itchiness, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat.
  • You have an allergy to any of the ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet.
  • You have a history of swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, hands or feet, for no apparent reason.
  • You are pregnant or breast-feeding.
    Your baby may absorb this medicine in the womb or from breast milk and therefore there is a possibility of harm to the baby.
  • The packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering.
  • The tablets show visible signs of deterioration.
  • The expiry date on the pack has passed.
    If you take this medicine after the expiry date has passed, it may not work, or it may make you sick.

If you are not sure whether you should start taking LIPRACE, talk to your doctor.

Before you start to take it

Your doctor must know about all of the following before you start to take LIPRACE.

  1. If you are pregnant, or you intend to become pregnant or intend to breast-feed. LIPRACE should not be used during pregnancy or while breast-feeding.
  2. If you suffer from:
    – kidney disease, or are undergoing dialysis
    – low blood pressure (you may notice this as faintness or dizziness, especially when standing)
    – liver disease
    – aortic stenosis, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
    – any other medical conditions
  3. If you are taking any other medicines, including any that you have bought from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop. Some of the common medicines that may interfere with LIPRACE include:
    – other medicines used to treat high blood pressure
    – diuretic tablets – also called fluid or water tablets
    – lithium, a medicine used to treat some types of depression
    – potassium tablets such as Slow-K, Span-K, KSR, K-Mag or Chlorvescent
    – potassium-containing salt substitutes such as Pressor K
    – any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or COX-2 medicines
    These medicines may be affected by LIPRACE, or may affect how well it works.
    You may need to take different amounts of your medicine, or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist has a more complete list of medicines to avoid while taking LIPRACE.
  4. If you are following a very low salt diet.
  5. If you have had an allergy to any other medicines or any other substances, such as foods, preservatives or dyes.
  6. If you are going to receive desensitization treatment for an allergy, e.g. to insect stings.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are currently taking any NSAID or COX-2 medicine. Your doctor may advise a blood test to check your kidney function before you start to take LIPRACE.

If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell him/her before you take any LIPRACE.

How to take LIPRACE

How much to take

Your doctor will tell you how many tablets you need to take each day. This depends on your condition and whether you are taking other medicines.

Take LIPRACE only when prescribed by your doctor.

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 pack, ask your doctor or pharmacist for help.

How to take it

Take your LIPRACE at about the same time each day. Taking your tablets at the same time each day will have the best effect. It will also help you remember when to take the tablets.

Swallow the prescribed dose with a glass of water.

It does not matter if you take LIPRACE before or after food.

How long to take it

LIPRACE helps control your high blood pressure and helps improve your heart failure, but does not cure it. Therefore LIPRACE must be taken every day.

Continue taking LIPRACE for as long as your doctor prescribes.

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. Otherwise, take it as soon as you remember, and then go back to taking your tablets as you would normally.

If you are not sure whether to skip the dose, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose that you missed.

If you have trouble remembering to take your tablets, ask your pharmacist for some hints.

If you take too much (overdose)

Immediately telephone your doctor or Poisons Information Centre (telephone number 13 11 26) or go to casualty at your nearest hospital, if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much LIPRACE. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.

Keep telephone numbers of these places /services handy. If you take too many tablets you will probably feel light-headed or dizzy, or you may faint.

While you are using LIPRACE

Things you must do

Have your blood pressure checked when your doctor says to, to make sure LIPRACE is working.

Tell your doctor immediately if you feel any light-headedness or dizziness after you take your first dose of LIPRACE or if your dose is increased. This is especially important if you are taking LIPRACE for heart failure.

If you feel light-headed, dizzy or faint, get up slowly when getting out of bed or standing up.

You may feel light-headed or dizzy, especially if you are also taking a diuretic (fluid tablet).

This is because your blood pressure is falling suddenly. Standing up slowly, especially when you get up from bed or chairs, will help your body get used to the change in position and blood pressure. If this problem gets worse or continues, talk to your doctor.

If you become pregnant while taking LIPRACE tell your doctor immediately.

If you are about to be started on any new medicine tell your doctor and pharmacist that you are taking LIPRACE.

If you plan to have surgery (even at the dentist) that needs a general anaesthetic, tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking LIPRACE.

Your blood pressure may drop suddenly. Make sure you drink enough water during exercise and hot weather when you are taking LIPRACE, especially if you sweat a lot.
If you do not drink enough water while taking LIPRACE, you may faint or feel light-headed or sick. This is because your blood pressure is dropping suddenly. If you continue to feel unwell, tell your doctor.

If you have excessive vomiting and/or diarrhoea while taking LIPRACE, tell your doctor.

This can also mean that you are losing too much water and may drop your blood pressure too much.

Go to your doctor regularly for a checkup. Your doctor may occasionally do a blood test to check your potassium level in the blood and see how your kidneys are working.

Things you must not do

Do not give LIPRACE 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 LIPRACE affects you.

LIPRACE may cause dizziness or light-headedness in some patients, especially after the first dose or if the dose is increased.

Make sure you know how you react to LIPRACE before you drive a car, operate machinery, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or light-headed. If you drink alcohol, dizziness or light-headedness may be worse.

Side Effects

Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking LIPRACE.

LIPRACE helps most people with high blood pressure and heart failure, 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.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.

Tell your doctor if you notice any of the following and they worry you:

  • light-headedness or dizziness
  • headache
  • fatigue
  • dry cough
  • mild stomach upsets such as feeling sick, diarrhoea, or stomach pains

These are usually mild side effects of LIPRACE, but may be serious.

Tell your doctor immediately or go to casualty at your nearest hospital if you notice any of the following:

  • chest pain, angina
  • changes in the way your heart beats, for example, if you notice it beating faster
  • difficulty breathing
  • wheeziness due to tightness in the chest
  • itchy skin rash or other skin problems
  • signs of frequent or worrying infections such as fever, severe chills, sore throat or mouth ulcers
  • tingling or numbness of the hands and feet
  • passing less urine than is normal for you
  • bruising more easily than normal
  • severe abdominal pain
  • collapse, numbness or weakness of arms or legs

These are all serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention. Serious side effects are rare.

If any of the following happen, stop taking LIPRACE and tell your doctor immediately or go to casualty at your nearest hospital:

  • swelling of the face, lips, mouth or throat which may cause difficulty in swallowing or breathing
  • swelling of the hands, feet or ankles
  • pinkish, itchy swellings on the skin, also called hives or nettle rash
  • fainting
  • yellowing of the skin and/or eyes, also called jaundice

These are all very serious side effects. If you have them, you may have a serious allergic reaction to LIPRACE. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation. All of these side effects are rare.

Also tell your doctor if you notice:

  • hair loss or thinning
  • impotence
  • psoriasis and other serious skin conditions
  • changes in the way things taste
  • feeling sleepy or difficulty in going to sleep, strange dreams
  • runny nose or sinus pain

These are other side effects that have been reported with LIPRACE.

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. Tell your doctor if you notice any other effects.

Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.

After using LIPRACE

Storage

Keep your tablets in the pack until it is time to take them. If you take the tablets out of the pack they may not keep well.

Keep in a cool, dry place where the temperature stays below 25°C.

Do not store it or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink and do not leave it in the car or on window sills. Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.

Keep your tablets in a safe place where children cannot see or reach them. 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 the tablets or the tablets have passed their expiry date, ask your pharmacist what to do with any tablets that are left over.

Further Information

This is not all the information that is available on LIPRACE. If you have any more questions or are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Product Description

What it looks like

  • LIPRACE 5 mg tablets are white, round, biconvex shaped tablets and are available in packs of 30 tablets.
  • LIPRACE 10 mg tablets are light pink, round, biconvex shaped tablets and are available in packs of 30 tablets.
  • LIPRACE 20 mg tablets are pink, round, biconvex shaped tablets and are available in packs of 30 tablets.

Ingredients

Active ingredient:
Lisinopril (5, 10 or 20 mg per tablet)

Inactive ingredients:

  • mannitol
  • calcium hydrogen phosphate
  • croscarmellose sodium
  • pregelatinised maize starch
  • magnesium stearate
  • iron oxide yellow CI77492 [10 mg and 20 mg only]
  • iron oxide red CI77491 [10 mg and 20 mg only]
  • iron oxide black CI77499 [10 mg and 20 mg only]

Australian Registration Numbers

  • LIPRACE 2.5 mg tablets blister AUST R 91374
    LIPRACE 2.5 mg tablets bottle AUST R 91375
  • LIPRACE 5 mg tablets blister AUST R 91376
    LIPRACE 5 mg tablets bottle AUST R 91377
  • LIPRACE 10 mg tablets blister AUST R 91378
    LIPRACE 10 mg tablets bottle AUST R 91379
  • LIPRACE 20 mg tablets blister AUST R 91380
    LIPRACE 20 mg tablets bottle AUST R 91381

Supplier

Douglas Pharmaceuticals Australia Ltd
3/10 Inglewood Place
Norwest Business Park
Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

Date of leaflet preparation:
10 May 2005

Published by MIMS February 2015