How Is It Used?
Take cimetidine tablets by mouth. Follow the directions on the prescription label. Swallow the tablets with a drink of water. If you only take cimetidine once a day take it at bedtime. Take your doses at regular intervals. Do not take your medicine more often than directed.

Contact your pediatrician or health care professional regarding the use of this medicine in children. Special care may be needed.

What should my health care professional know before I take Cimetidine?
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:

• Frequently drink alcohol-containing beverages
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Other chronic illness
• An unusual or allergic reaction to ranitidine, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives
• Pregnant or trying to get pregnant
• Breast-feeding

Are There Possible Side Effects?
Side effects with ranitidine are infrequent but include:

• Agitation, nervousness, depression, hallucinations
• Breast swelling and tenderness, or sexual difficulties (impotence) in men
• Dark yellow or brown urine
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Nausea, vomiting
• Redness, blistering, peeling or loosening of the skin, including inside the mouth
• Skin rash, itching
• Sore throat, fever
• Stomach pain
• Unusual weakness or tiredness
• Unusual bleeding or bruising
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes

What About Interactions With Other Drugs?
Do not take cimetidine if you take the following drugs:

• Astemizole
• Cisapride
• Dofetilide
• Pimozide
• Terfenadine

Other drugs that can interact with cimetidine include:

• Antacids
• Beta blockers, often used for high blood pressure or heart problems
• Caffeine
• Carbamazepine
• Carmustine
• Cefditoren
• Cefpodoxime
• Cefuroxime
• Clonazepam
• Delavirdine
• Fentanyl
• Female hormones, including contraceptive or birth control pills
• Flecainide
• Guarana
• Itraconazole
• Ketoconazole
• Meperidine
• Metformin
• Metronidazole
• Nifedipine
• Medicines for anxiety or sleeping problems, such as diazepam, triazolam, or temazepam
• Medicines for heart rhythm problems
• Medicines for mental depression
• Phenytoin
• Theophylline
• Warfarin

Tell your prescriber or health care professional about all other medicines you are taking, including non-prescription medicines, nutritional supplements, or herbal products. Also tell your prescriber or health care professional if you are a frequent user of drinks with caffeine or alcohol, if you smoke, or if you use illegal drugs. These may affect the way your medicine works. Check with your health care professional before stopping or starting any of your medicines.

What should I watch for while taking Cimetidine?
Tell your prescriber or health care professional if your ulcer pain does not improve or gets worse. You may need to take this medicine for several days as prescribed before your symptoms improve. Finish the full course of tablets prescribed by your prescriber or health care professional even if you feel better.

Do not self-medicate with aspirin, ibuprofen or other antiinflammatory medicines unless directed to do so by your health care professional; these can aggravate your condition.

Do not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol; these increase irritation in your stomach and can lengthen the time it will take for your ulcer to heal.

If you get black, tarry stools or vomit up what looks like coffee grounds, call your prescriber or health care professional at once. You may have a bleeding ulcer.

If you need to take an antacid you should take it at least 1 hour before or 1 hour after cimetidine. Cimetidine will not be as effective if taken at the same time as an antacid.

What If I Miss A Dose?
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.

How Should It Be Stored?
Keep out of the reach of children in a container that small children cannot open.

Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Protect from light. Keep container tightly closed. Throw away any unused medicine after the expiration date

NOTE: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that the use of the product is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. Consult your healthcare professional before taking the product.