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LEVITRAŽ Ž

LEVITRAŽ TABLETS
(Vardenafil hydrochloride trihydrate)

WHAT IS IN THIS LEAFLET
This leaflet answers some common questions about LEVITRAŽ.

This leaflet 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 LEVITRAŽ against the benefits they expect it will have for you.

As LEVITRAŽ is a prescription medicine, it should only be used under medical supervision.

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 LEVITRAŽ IS USED FOR
LEVITRAŽ is used to treat erectile dysfunction sometimes known as impotence in men. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to obtain and or maintain a hard erect penis for sexual activity.

LEVITRAŽ tablets contain the active ingredient vardenafil (present as vardenafil hydrochloride trihydrate) which belongs to a group of medicines called phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. These work by relaxing the blood vessels in the penis when you are sexually aroused. This allows blood to flow into the penis, allowing you to get an erection in the natural way.

LEVITRAŽ will only work if you are sexually excited. It will not increase your sex drive.

LEVITRAŽ is not approved for use in women.

LEVITRAŽ tablets are not addictive.

BEFORE YOU TAKE LEVITRAŽ

When you must not take it

Because sexual activity may place a strain on your heart, your doctor will need to check whether you are fit enough to use LEVITRAŽ.

Do not take LEVITRAŽ if you are being treated for angina (chest pain) or other heart conditions with certain medicines called nitrates.

Nitrate medicines include glyceryl trinitrate (also called nitroglycerine). These medicines can be sold under tradenames:

Anginine tablets
Glytrin Spray
Minitran patches
Nitrocor patches
Nitro-Dur patches
Nitroderm TTS patches
Nitrolingual pump spray
Rectogesic ointment
Transiderm-Nitro patches

Other nitrate medicines include sodium nitroprusside, isosorbide mononitrate and isosorbide dinitrate. Isosorbide mononitrate tablets can be sold under tradenames:

Corangin
Duride
Imdur Durules
Imtrate SR
ISMO 20
Isomonit
Monodur

Isosorbide dinitrate tablets can be sold under tradenames:

Coronex
Isordil
Sorbidin

There may be other tradenames not listed here.

Do not take LEVITRAŽ if you are using the unapproved drug amyl nitrite. Amyl nitrite is also known as 'poppers', 'amyl' or 'rush'.

Do not take LEVITRAŽ if you are taking an alpha-blocker (a particular type of medicine used to treat an enlarged prostate or high blood pressure). Examples of alpha-blockers are terazosin, tamsulosin, and prazosin.

You should not use LEVITRAŽ together with other treatments for erectile dysfunction.

Do not take LEVITRAŽ if you have an allergy to vardenafil or other phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, or any of the ingredients in LEVITRAŽ tablets listed at the end of this leaflet. Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include skin rash, itching, or difficulty breathing.

Do not give LEVITRAŽ to children, growing adolescents or women.

Do not take your LEVITRAŽ tablets after the expiry date printed on the pack. The EXPIRY date is marked on the strip of tablets as well as on the label of the carton. For example, 11 05 refers to the eleventh month of 2005.

Do not take your tablets if the packaging is torn or shows sign of tampering.

Before you start to take LEVITRAŽ

Tell your doctor if you:

have any allergies to vardenafil or any other ingredients in LEVITRAŽ tablets, or to any other medicines that you have used in the past, or to any other substances such as food, preservatives or dyes
have any heart or blood vessel problems
have ever suffered a heart attack or stroke
have any kidney or liver problems
have leukaemia (cancer of the blood cells)
have multiple myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow)
have any disease or deformity of your penis
have low blood pressure
have sickle cell anaemia
have stomach ulcers
have a serious eye condition called retinitis pigmentos
are receiving any other treatment for impotence

If you have not told your doctor or pharmacist about any of the above, tell them before you start taking LEVITRAŽ.

Taking other medicines

Do not take LEVITRAŽ if you are using nitrate or nitric oxide donor medicines for angina.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including those that you buy without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.

Some medicines may be affected by LEVITRAŽ or vice versa. These medicines include:

ketoconazole and itraconazole, used to treat fungal infections
erythromycin, an antibiotic
ritonavir and indinavir and other protease inhibitors used for the treatment of HIV infection
alpha-blockers, medicines used to treat an enlarged prostate (BPH) or high blood pressure.Examples of alpha-blockers areterazosin, tamsulosin and prazosin.

You may need to use different amounts of your medicine, or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor will be able to advise you. Your doctor or pharmacist will also have a more complete list of medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking LEVITRAŽ.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist, if you are not sure if you are taking any of these medicines.

HOW TO TAKE LEVITRAŽ

How much to take
Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how much and how often you should take LEVITRAŽ. Follow the directions given to you by your doctor or pharmacist carefully. They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet.

The dose ranges from 5 mg to 20 mg. Your doctor will determine the correct dose for you depending on your condition and response.

Do not take more than one dose of LEVITRAŽ a day.

When to take it
Take your dose of LEVITRAŽ 25 to 60 minutes before you wish to have sex. Swallow the tablet whole with a glass of water.

Sexual stimulation is required for a natural response to treatment with LEVITRAŽ.

LEVITRAŽ can be taken with or without food.

The medicine may be taken anywhere between 15 minutes to up to 5 hours before sexual activity. The amount of time LEVITRAŽ takes to start working varies from person to person, but it normally takes between 25 to 60 minutes.

If you are not sure what to do, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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

If you take too much (overdose)
Immediately telephone your doctor, or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone in Australia 13 11 26, in New Zealand 0800 POISON or 0800 764 766), or go to the accident and emergency department at your nearest hospital, if you think you or anyone else may have taken too much LEVITRAŽ. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.

You may need urgent medical attention.

WHILE YOU ARE USING LEVITRAŽ

Things you must do
Tell all the doctors, dentists and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking LEVITRAŽ.

If you are about to start taking any new medicines, especially nitrates, tell your doctor or pharmacist that you are taking LEVITRAŽ. See "BEFORE YOU TAKE LEVITRAŽ" for a list of common nitrate medications.

If LEVITRAŽ does not help you get an erection, or if your erection does not last long enough to complete sexual intercourse, tell your doctor. In these cases, your doctor may need to adjust your dose.

Things you must not do
Do not use the unregistered drug amyl nitrite (sometimes called 'poppers', 'amyl' or 'rush') while you are taking LEVITRAŽ.

If you get an angina attack whilst taking LEVITRAŽ, do not take nitrate medicines to relieve the pain. Tell your doctor immediately. Make sure that your doctor knows you are taking LEVITRAŽ.

Do not take more than one dose of LEVITRAŽ a day. If LEVITRAŽ does not help you get an erection, or if your erection does not last long enough to complete sexual intercourse, tell your doctor.

Do not give your LEVITRAŽ tablets to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you.

What to be careful of
Drinking alcohol can temporarily impair the ability to get an erection. To reduce impairment do not drink large amounts of alcohol before sexual activity.

Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how LEVITRAŽ affects you. LEVITRAŽ tablets may cause dizziness or faintness in some patients. The ability to drive and/or operate machinery may be impaired. If you drink alcohol, dizziness or faintness may be worse.

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

LEVITRAŽ helps most men with erectile dysfunction, but it may have unwanted side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need to stop taking the tablets or have medical treatment if you get some of the serious side effects.

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

headache
flushing
dyspepsia (heartburn)
nauseadizziness or light-headedness
a stuffy or runny nose
sensitivity of the eye to sunlight
high or low blood pressure
stiffness in muscles
pain in the joints
rash
stomach or abdominal pain

These are the more common side effects of LEVITRAŽ. They are usually mild and short-lived.

Very rarely, your erection may persist for longer than usual. If your erection continues for longer than four hours, or if you have a painful erection, you should seek medical attention.

Tell your doctor immediately, or go to the accident and emergency department at your nearest hospital if you notice any of the following:

severe chest pain
anginairregular heart beats
loss of consciousness

These are serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalization.

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. Tell your doctor if you notice anything else that is making you feel unwell.

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

AFTER USING LEVITRAŽ

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

Keep your tablets in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 30°C. Do not leave the tablets in the car on hot days. Do not store it or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink. Heat and damp can destroy some medicines.

Keep your tablets where children cannot 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 LEVITRAŽ tablets or the tablets have passed their expiry date, ask your pharmacist what to do with any that are left over.

SOURCE: www.medsafe.govt.nz

Ž Registered trademark of Bayer AG, Germany