Toltérodine

About tolterodine

Tolterodine is prescribed for people who have difficulty controlling their bladders. It is given to treat symptoms such as urgency, frequency and incontinence. Urinary urgency occurs when you have a sudden and urgent need to pass urine. If you need to take more trips to the toilet than normal, this is called urinary frequency. If you leak urine before you go to the toilet, this is called incontinence.

There are several different causes of these urinary symptoms, including weakened pelvic floor muscles and problems causing your bladder muscles to contract too much or too early. Sometimes the cause of the symptoms is unknown.

Tolterodine works by stopping sudden bladder muscle contractions and increasing the volume of urine that your bladder can hold. This helps to control the release of urine and eases your symptoms.

In addition to these uses, tolterodine can also be prescribed on the advice of a specialist for older children (over 5 years of age) to help reduce bedwetting caused by an overactive bladder. If your child has been prescribed it for this reason, please ask your child's specialist if you require any further information about the medicine.

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine may only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking tolterodine it is important that your doctor knows:

• Si vous êtes enceinte ou si vous allaitez.

• Si vous avez une maladie cardiaque, telle qu'un rythme cardiaque inhabituel, des problèmes avec les vaisseaux sanguins de votre cœur, ou une insuffisance cardiaque.

• Si vous avez des problèmes avec le fonctionnement de votre foie ou de vos reins.

• Si vous avez des problèmes avec votre glande prostatique.

• If you have any of the following conditions: increased eye pressure (called glaucoma); hiatus hernia; an overactive thyroid gland; high blood pressure; a condition causing muscle weakness, called myasthenia gravis.

• If you have a condition which could cause a blockage in your stomach, bowel or urinary tract.

• Si vous avez déjà eu une réaction allergique à un médicament.

• Si vous prenez d'autres médicaments. Cela inclut tous les médicaments que vous prenez et qui sont disponibles à l'achat sans ordonnance, ainsi que les médicaments à base de plantes et les médecines complémentaires.

• Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside the pack. It will give you more information about tolterodine and will provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you may experience from taking it.

• Take tolterodine exactly as your doctor tells you to. Your dose will be printed on the label of the pack to remind you about what the doctor said to you.

• If you have been given tablets, you will be asked to take one tablet twice daily. There are two strengths of tablet: 1 mg and 2 mg. It is usual to start by taking the 2 mg strength tablet. Your doctor may recommend the lower 1 mg strength tablet for you if side-effects become troublesome.

• If you have been given capsules, you will be asked to take one capsule daily. There are two strengths of capsule available: 2 mg and 4 mg. It is usual to take the 4 mg strength capsule. The capsules have been specially made to release tolterodine evenly over the day, so it is important that you swallow the capsule whole - do not chew it before you swallow.

• You can take tolterodine either before or after meals. Swallow your doses with a drink of water.

• Try to take your doses at the same times of day each day, as this will help you to remember to take them regularly. If you do forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember unless it is nearly time for your next dose, in which case leave out the missed dose. Do not take two doses together to make up for a forgotten dose.

• Essayez de respecter vos rendez-vous réguliers avec votre médecin. Cela permet à votre médecin de suivre vos progrès et de revoir votre traitement.

• Les boissons contenant de la caféine (par exemple, thé, café, chocolat chaud et cola) peuvent aggraver vos symptômes. Cela est dû au fait que la caféine augmente le flux urinaire (c'est un diurétique naturel) et vous donnera envie d'uriner. Si vous consommez beaucoup de boissons contenant de la caféine, envisagez de passer à des alternatives décaféinées.

• Try to maintain a normal life as much as possible with regard to drinking and visiting the toilet. However, drinking late at night may mean your sleep is disturbed by the desire to get up and go to the toilet, so you may want to avoid drinking too much during the evening.

• Votre médecin peut vous suggérer de faire des exercices du plancher pelvien pour renforcer les muscles autour de la partie inférieure de votre vessie. Ceux-ci peuvent aider à améliorer vos symptômes.

• If you buy any medicines or herbal remedies, always check with a pharmacist that they are suitable to take with tolterodine. Some medicines (particularly antihistamines) can increase the chance that you will experience unwanted effects such as a dry mouth, constipation and feeling sleepy.

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the common ones associated with tolterodine. You will find a full list in the manufacturer's information leaflet supplied with your medicine. The unwanted effects often improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

If you experience any other symptoms which you think may be due to tolterodine, please speak with your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.

• Gardez tous les médicaments hors de la portée et de la vue des enfants.

• Conserver dans un endroit frais et sec, à l'abri de la chaleur et de la lumière directes.