Carivalan Side Effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people): luminous visual phenomena (brief moment of increased brightness, most often caused by sudden changes in light intensity). They can also be described as a halo, coloured flashes, image decomposition or multiple images. They generally occur within the first two months of treatment after which they may occur repeatedly and resolve during or after treatment; headache; dizziness; heart problem which can cause shortness of breath or swelling of the feet or legs due to fluid build-up (heart failure); low blood pressure (the signs include feeling dizzy or light-headed), generalised weakness, feeling of tiredness.
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people): lung or chest infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia and upper respiratory tract infection; infections of the urinary tract; decreased number of red blood cells (the signs include feeling tired, pale skin, a fluttering sensation in the heart (palpitations) and being short of breath when exercising); increased levels of cholesterol in the blood; increased levels of blood sugar (diabetes), loss of control of blood sugar in people with diabetes; weight gain; being or feeling depressed; lacrimation decreased (dry eyes), impaired vision, eye irritation, blurred vision (cloudy vision); fluid retention (the signs include overall swelling of the body, swelling of parts of the body for example the hands, feet, ankles and legs and an increase in the volume of blood the patient has in the body); build-up of fluid in the lungs; modification in the heart functioning (the symptoms are a slowing down of the heart rate); heart block (irregular heartbeats); irregular rapid contraction of the heart; feeling dizzy, light-headed or faint when the patient stands or sits up quickly; problems with blood circulation such as cold hands and feet, obstruction of the large arteries in the arms of legs, worsening of symptoms in patients with Raynaud's disease (tingling and colour change (white, blue then red) in fingers and toes when exposed to the cold) or claudication (pain in the leg which gets worse when the patient walks); uncontrolled blood pressure; shortness of breath, asthma; feeling sick (nausea), stomach pain, indigestion, diarrhoea, vomiting; pain in the extremities; disease with painful, swollen joints caused by uric acid crystals (gout); problems with the kidneys including problems starting, passing and stopping urination or altered frequency of urination; pain.
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people): increased level of some white blood cells; increased level of uric acid in the blood; sleep disturbance including nightmares, confusion; fainting (syncope), light-headedness, muscular weakness, blurred vision and feeling faint (pre-syncope), tingling or numbness of the hands or feet; double vision, spinning sensation (vertigo); a pain or uncomfortable feeling in the chest, palpitations, changes in heart rate (fast, slow or irregular); low blood pressure (possibly related to slow heart rate); constipation; certain skin reactions (such as skin rash, hives, itching, increased sweating, psoriatic or lichen planus like skin lesions); hair loss; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat which may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing (angioedema), rash; muscle cramps; elevated creatinine in blood (a breakdown product of muscles), abnormal ECG heart traces; sexual dysfunction, impotence (inability to get or maintain an erection).
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people): bleeding or bruising more easily than normal (low blood platelets count); stuffy nose, wheezing; dry mouth; redness of the skin; feeling unwell.
Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people): low number of white blood cells; abnormal liver tests; an allergic reaction (swelling of the lips, face or neck leading to severe difficulty in breathing, skin rash or hives); problems with the heart rhythm (second or third degree AtrioVentricular block, sick sinus syndrome); severe skin reactions: circular, irregular red patches on the skin of the hands and arms (erythema multiforme), severe form of skin rash with flushing, fever, blisters or ulcers (Stevens Johnson syndrome), severe rash involving reddening, peeling and swelling of the skin that resembles severe burns (toxic epidermal necrolysis); inability to control the flow of urine in women.
Reporting of side effects: If the patient gets any side effects, talk to the doctor or pharmacist.
This includes any possible side effects not listed in this monograph. The patient can also report side effects directly via the national reporting system listed in Appendix V. By reporting side effects the patient can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.