Effectiveness of Nifedipine: It’s Dosage & Side Effects

You should not stop taking nifedipine medicine even if you feel fine or without your doctor’s consent. Condition will worsen if stopped all of a sudden even if there are no symptoms for high B.P or blood pressure. You might have to have blood pressure medicine for the remaining part of your life.

Nifedipine medicine comes under the group of medicines known as the calcium channel blockers. Nifedipine medicine helps by effectively relaxing blood vessels and muscles of heart.

Nifedipine medicine is mainly used for effective treatment of hypertension or high blood pressure and chest pain (angina).

If you had heart attack in the last two weeks or have severe coronary artery disease, do not use nifedipine medicine.

It is very important for you to tell your doctor if you have any of these following problems: underactive thyroid, coronary artery disease, and history of stomach surgery, digestive tract blockage (intestine or stomach), liver or kidney disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes.

If you have to undergo any kind of surgery, you will need to tell you physician in advance about you taking nifedipine medicine because you might have to stop this medicine for some time.

You need to tell your doctor if you have any of these conditions to make nifedipine medicine safe for you.

• Kidney disease.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Severe COPD).
• If you are taking antifungal or antibiotic medicines, blood or heart pressure medicine, an antidepressant, medicines for Hepatitis B or HIV/AIDS.
• If you are planning to become pregnant or pregnant at the time of treatment you must tell your doctor as it is unknown if nifedipine medicine will harm the unborn child.
• Inform your doctor if you are breast feeding your child, as nifedipine medicine can pass through breast milk and harm your child.

The extended release tablet of nifedipine might contain lactose. If you have severe problems with lactose (milk sugar) or galactose intolerance, you must tell your doctor before taking nifedipine medication.

Beginning nifedipine dosage:

Extended release tablets – Orally one time a day – 30 to 60 milligrams.

In every 7 to 14 days’ dosage levels can be increased.

Maximum nifedipine dosage:

Adalat (R) CC: In a day, maximum 90 milligrams.

Procardia XL (R): In a day, Maximum 120 milligrams.

Beginning nifedipine dosage:

Extended release tablets – Orally one time a day – 30 to 60 milligrams.

Immediate release capsules – Orally three times in a day – 10 milligrams.

Beginning nifedipine dosage:

Extended release tablets – Orally one time a day – 30 to 60 milligrams.

Immediate release capsules – Orally three times in a day – 10 milligrams.

In every 7 to 14 days dosage levels can be increased.

Immediate release capsules: Orally 3 – times in a day- 10 – 30 milligrams.

Maximum nifedipine dosage:

Extended Release tablets

Adalat (R) CC: In a day, maximum 90 milligrams.

Procardia XL (R): In a day, Maximum 120 milligrams.

Immediate release capsules: In a day – 180 milligrams.

Beginning nifedipine dosage:

Procardia XL (R) – Orally one time in a day – 30 milligrams.

Adalat (R) CC – Orally one time in a day – 30 milligrams.

Nifedipine medicine’s tocolytic properties have been evaluated in several researches and studies. The multiple dosages implemented in these studies were between 10 to 40 milligrams as the first one-time dosage. Following nifedipine dosages have been between 10 to 20 milligrams given every 6 to 8 hours as required and tolerated to postponed delivery.

FDA has not approved the immediate release capsules to treat premature labor. Similarly, nifedipine medicine is not approved to be given to hypertension patients as various study conducted revealed these patients were prone to high risk of getting adverse cardiovascular events that are related with the short acting medicines in hypertension patients. Also, Elderly patients suffering from coronary artery disease might also be risk taking nifedipine medicine.

Children:

Capsules for immediate release – 0.25 to 0.5 milligrams/kg/dose (max 10 milligrams/dose) given every 4 – 6 years hours if needed.

Maximum nifedipine dosage – 1 to 2 milligrams/kg/day.

The beginning nifedipine dosage given must be lesser or equal to 0.25 milligrams/kg/dosage and might result in slowly lowering blood pressure and be better than heavier dosages. Few medical centers might use first dosage of 0.1 milligrams/kg/dosage.

Tablets for Extended release

Children: Total nifedipine dosage of 0.25 to 0.5 milligrams/kg in a day that can be divided into 1 to 2 doses. For better effect dose must be titrated.

Maximum nifedipine dosage: In a day 3 milligrams/kg up to 120 milligrams in a day (in some centers 180 milligrams per day is used).

Adolescents:

First nifedipine dosage: Orally one time in a day 30 milligrams.

Children: In a day 0.6-0.9 milligrams/kg that has to be divided into 3 to 4 dosages.

If you experience any allergic reaction to this medicine such as swelling of tongue, face, throat, lips or difficulty in breathing or hives, get immediate medical assistance.
Also, get immediate medical assistance if you experience any of these severe side effects of nifedipine:

• Swelling in feet or ankles.
• Fluttering in chest or pounding heartbeats.
• Worsening angina.
• Jaundice (yellowing of eyes or skin), upper stomach pain.
• Light headed feeling like fainting.
• Nausea, pain spreading to shoulder or jaw, chest pain, general ill feeling, sweating.

Here are the other general side effects of nifedipine medicine:

• Nausea, heartburn.
• Wheezing, cough, stuffy nose, sore throat.
• Muscle cramps, tremors.
• Flushing (tingly feeling, redness, warmth).
• Mild dizziness.
• Headache, weakness, mood changes are also side effects of nifedipine.