Eropid Tablet

Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure how to use this medicine.

The recommended dose for adults:

One 50 mg tablet, taken when required, approximately one hour before sexual activity. Do not take more than one dose within a 24 hour period.

The amount of time Sildenafil takes to work varies from person to person, but it normally takes between half an hour and one hour.

Depending on effectiveness and tolerability, the dose may be reduced to 25 mg or increased to 100 mg if necessary. Any dose adjustments should be made following advice from your prescriber.

Sildenafil may be taken with or without food. However, if taken with food, the onset of action may be delayed compared with taking it on an empty stomach.

You should avoid grapefruit juice while taking sildenafil, as it may affect how the medicine is processed in the body.

If you take more Sildenafil than you should

You may experience an increase in side effects and their severity. Doses above 100 mg do not increase the efficacy.

You should not take more tablets than your doctor tells you to. Contact your doctor if you take more tablets than you should.

Seeking medical attention

Prolonged erections and priapism have been reported with sildenafil. In the event of an erection that persists for longer than 4 hours, medical attention is required. This is to prevent penile tissue damage and permanent loss of potency.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Some of the side effects are temporary with continued treatment or disappeared when treatment is stopped.

Side Effects

Very Common

• Headache

Common

• nausea
• facial flushing
• hot flush
• indigestion
• effects on vision (including colour tinge to vision like blue vision blurred vision, visual disturbance)
• stuffy nose
• dizziness

Uncommon

Vomiting, skin rash, eye irritation, bloodshot eyes/red eyes, eye pain, seeing flashes of light, visual brightness, light sensitivity, watery eyes, pounding heartbeat, rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, muscle pain, feeling sleepy, reduced sense of touch, vertigo, ringing in the ears, dry mouth, blocked or stuffy sinuses, inflammation of the lining of the nose (symptoms include runny nose, sneezing and stuffy nose), upper abdominal pain, heartburn, pain in the arms or legs, nosebleed, presence of blood in urine, feeling hot and feeling tired.

Rare

Fainting, stroke, heart attack, irregular heartbeat, temporary decreased blood flow to parts of the brain, feeling of tightening of the throat, numb mouth, bleeding at the back of the eye, double vision, reduced sharpness of vision, abnormal sensation in the eye, swelling of the eye or eyelid, small particles or spots in your vision, seeing halos around lights, dilation of the pupil of the eye, discolouration of the white of the eye, penile bleeding, presence of blood in semen, dry nose, swelling of the inside of the nose, feeling irritable and sudden decrease or loss of hearing.

Serious Side Effects

If you experience any of the following serious side effects stop taking Sildenafil and seek medical help immediately:

Uncommon

• An allergic reaction

Symptoms include sudden wheeziness, difficulty in breathing or dizziness, swelling of the eyelids, face, lips or throat.

• Chest pains

If this occurs during or after intercourse, get in a semi-sitting position and try to relax. Do not use nitrates to treat your chest pain.

Rare 

• Prolonged and sometimes painful erections

If you have an erection which lasts for more than 4 hours, you should contact a doctor immediately.

• A sudden decrease or loss of vision
• Serious skin reactions

Symptoms may include severe peeling and swelling of the skin, blistering of the mouth, genitals and around the eyes, fever.

• Seizures or fits.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. 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.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.

Warning & Precautions

Do not take Sildenafil:

• if you are allergic to sildenafil or any of the other ingredients of this medicine
• if you are taking medicines called nitrates, as the combination may lead to a dangerous fall in your blood pressure. Tell your doctor if you are taking any of these medicines which are often given for relief of angina pectoris (or “chest pain”). If you are not certain, ask your doctor or pharmacist
• if you are using any of the medicines known as nitric oxide donors such as amyl nitrite (“poppers”) as the combination may also lead to a dangerous fall in your blood pressure
• if you are taking riociguat. This medicine is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (i.e. high blood pressure in the lungs) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (i.e. high blood pressure in the lungs secondary to blood clots). PDE5 inhibitors, such as sildenafil have been shown to increase the hypotensive effects of this medicine. If you are taking riociguat or are unsure tell your doctor.
• if you have a severe heart or liver problem
• if you have recently had a stroke or a heart attack, or if you have low blood pressure
• if you have certain rare inherited eye diseases (such as retinitis pigmentosa)
• if you have ever had loss of vision due to non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Sildenafil:

• if you have sickle cell anaemia (an abnormality of red blood cells), leukaemia (cancer of blood cells), multiple myeloma (cancer of bone marrow)
• if you have a deformity of your penis or Peyronie’s Disease
• if you have problems with your heart. Your doctor should carefully check whether your heart can take the additional strain of having sex
• if you currently have a stomach ulcer, or a bleeding problem (such as haemophilia).
• if you experience sudden decrease or loss of vision, stop taking Sildenafil and contact your doctor immediately.

You should not use Sildenafil with treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) containing sildenafil or any other PDE5 inhibitors.

You should not take Sildenafil if you do not have erectile dysfunction.

You should not take Sildenafil if you are a woman.

Age Restrictions

Men aged 18 years and over.

Other Medicine and Conditions

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.

Sildenafil tablets may interfere with some medicines, especially those used to treat chest pain.

In the event of a medical emergency, you should tell any healthcare professional treating your condition that you have taken Sildenafil and when you did. Do not take Sildenafil with other medicines unless your doctor tells you that you can.

You should not take Sildenafil if you are taking medicines called nitrates or nicorandil (a nitrate like medicine) as the combination of these products may lead to a dangerous fall in your blood pressure. Always tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of these medicines that are often used for the relief of angina pectoris (or “chest pain”).

You should not take Sildenafil if you are using any of the medicines known as nitric oxide donors such as amyl nitrite (“poppers”) as the combination may also lead to a dangerous fall in your blood pressure.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are already taking riociguat.

If you are taking medicines known as protease inhibitors, such as for the treatment of HIV, your doctor may start you on the lowest dose (25 mg) of Sildenafil.

Some patients who take alpha-blocker therapy for the treatment of high blood pressure or prostate enlargement may experience dizziness or light-headedness which may be caused by low blood pressure upon sitting or standing up quickly. Certain patients have experienced these symptoms when taking sildenafil with alpha-blockers. This is most likely to happen within 4 hours after taking Sildenafil. To reduce the chance that these symptoms might happen, you should be on a regular daily dose of your alpha-blocker before you start Sildenafil. Your doctor may start you on a lower dose (25 mg) of Sildenafil.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take medicines containing sacubitril/valsartan, used to treat heart failure.

Sildenafil with food and alcohol

Sildenafil can be taken with or without food. However, you may find that Sildenafil takes longer to start working if you take it with a heavy meal.

Drinking alcohol can temporarily impair your ability to get an erection. To get the maximum benefit from your medicine, you are advised not to drink excessive amounts of alcohol before taking Sildenafil.

Driving and using machines

Sildenafil can cause dizziness and can affect vision. You should be aware of how you react to Sildenafil before you drive or use machinery.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

This medicine is not suitable for use in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Patient Information Leaflet

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.7141.pdf

Ingredients

• Active Ingredients: Sildenafil
• Other Ingredients: Tablet Core: Cellulose Microcrystalline, Calcium Hydrogen Phosphate Anhydrous, Croscarmellose Sodium, Magnesium Stearate. Tablet Coating: Hypromellose (E464), Titanium Dioxide (E171), Indigo Carmine Aluminium Lake (E132), Triacetin.

Product Information

• Brand Name: Eropid (Generic)
• Route of Administration: Oral
• Legal Classification: P-med
• Strength: 50mg
• Dosage From: Tablet

Storage

• 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 carton and blister foil after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• This medicine does not require any special storage conditions.
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help to protect the environment.

Advice & Helpful Links

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/erection-problems-erectile-dysfunction/