this leaflet.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body; rash, itching or hives on the skin.
Do not take Exforge HCT if you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant.
Exforge HCT is not recommended for use in pregnancy. Like other similar medicines, it could affect your unborn baby.
Do not take Exforge HCT if you have any of the following medical conditions:
Severe kidney disease or are having dialysis
Severe liver disease including biliary cirrhosis
Cholestasis, which is reduced or stopped bile flow
Anuria, which is a condition where you are unable to urinate
High uric acid levels in the blood, which may cause gout
Low level of potassium or sodium, or high level of calcium in your blood.
Check with your doctor if you are unsure if you have any of the above conditions.
Do not take Exforge HCT after the expiry date printed on the pack or if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering.
In that case, return it to your pharmacist.
Before you start to take it
Tell your doctor if you have/have had any of the following health problems/medical conditions:
kidney problems or received a kidney transplant
liver problems
systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease affecting the skin, joints and kidneys
heart problems
a hormone disorder causing fluid retention known as primary hyperaldosteronism (Conn's syndrome)
passing less urine than is normal for you or difficulty passing urine
salt restricted diet
suffering from several episodes of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Your doctor may want to take special precautions if you have any of the above conditions.
Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking Exforge HCT in this case.
Hydrochlorothiazide is known to pass into the breast milk, however it is not known if amlodipine or valsartan, the other active ingredients of Exforge HCT, pass into the breast milk and could affect your baby. Therefore, Exforge HCT is not recommended if you are breast-feeding.
Tell your doctor if you are allergic to any other medicines, foods, dyes or preservatives.
Your doctor will want to know if you are prone to allergies.
If you have not told your doctor about any of these things, tell him/her before you take Exforge HCT.
Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including medicines that you buy without a prescription from a pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
Some medicines and Exforge HCT may interfere with each other. These include:
medicines used to treat high blood pressure and some other heart conditions including fluid tablets or diuretic medicines, ACE-inhibitors and beta blockers
tablets, preparations or supplements which increase the potassium levels in your blood (such as certain types of diuretics, potassium supplements, salt substitutes etc)
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors (Cox-2 inhibitors), medicines used to relieve, swelling and other symptoms of inflammation, including arthritis (Your doctor may also check your kidney fun
