Another important aspect of taking any drug medication including colchicine is the way in which you take it. This means taking the drug medication according to the dosages which your doctor or your pharmacist instruct you to. This is the main reason why many people ask: How should you take colchicine? We’ve already been warned about taking this medication “precisely as directed” and you need to strictly adhere to this instruction for our own benefit. Read on to learn more.
How must colchicine be taken?
The information you are about to read focuses on colchicine oral tablet. No other dosages or drug forms may be implied as being included here. Everything about your dosage, drug form and how you often take it will ultimately depend on:
- Your reaction to the very first dose of this medication
- Other types of medical conditions you may have
- The severity of your condition
- The type of condition under treatment
- Your age.
Types and potency of dosages
There are basically two forms by which colchicine is known as follows:
Brand: Colcrys
- Form: oral tablet
- Potency: 0.6 mg
Brand: Mitigare
- Form: oral capsule
- Potency: 0.6 mg
Generic: Colchicine
- Form: oral tablet
- Potency: 0.6 mg
- Form: oral capsule
- Form: 0.6 mg
Doses for treating gout flares
Doses are available for adults, children and senior patients.
Dose for adults (ages 16―64 years):
Adults should take oral tablet (Colcrys). A typical dose is a first 1.2 mg taken the moment a gout flare is noticed followed by another 0.6 mg an hour after the first dose.
Doses for children: (ages 0―15 years):
For now, this drug medication hasn’t been subjected to research studies for the treatment or prevention of gout in children. At any rate, when used, it should only be used in people older than 16 years.
Dose for seniors: (ages 65 years and over):
People who have reached the age of 65 and over may have kidneys that are not functioning as well as they did in the past. This means that the processing of the drug from the body happens at a slower pace.
This can result in the drug staying in your body over a longer period of time making you vulnerable to the impacts of side effects. To avoid he accumulation of this drug in your body, your doctor may lower your dose or change your dosing timetable.
It’s most likely that in order to avoid the accumulation of the drug in your body, your doctor may prescribe a lower dose for you so that it won’t be difficult for your body to process the drug away from your body due to the lower amount of drug present.
Doses for preventing gout flares
Adult dose (ages 16―64 years):
- Oral tablet (Colcrys): the standard dose is 0.6 mg, to be taken once or twice each day.
- Oral capsule (Mitigare): the typical dose is 0.6 mg, to be taken once or twice each day.
Child dose (ages 0―15 years):
This drug medication hasn’t been researched for treating or preventing gout in children. Even if it’s used, it should only be given to people of 16 years and over.
Senior dose (ages 65 years and over):
Over the years, the kidneys of people of 65 years and over may fall short of what they used to be. When this happens, your body works slower at getting rid of the drug medication from yo—ur system.
It also means that the drug is able to stay over a longer period of time in your body and increases your susceptibility to more side effects.
One way to counter this development is that your doctor may give you a lower dose or another dosage timeline to follow. This change will help prevent an accumulation of the drug in your body and reduce the risk of side effects.
Dosage for treating familial Mediterranean fever
Adult dosage (ages 16―64 years):
Oral tablet (Colcrys): the typical dose is 1.2– 2.4 mg taken once each day.
Child dosage (ages 12—15 years):
Oral tablet (Colcrys): the typical dose is 1.2– 2.4 mg taken once each day.
Child dosage (ages 6―11 years):
Oral tablet (Colcrys): the typical dose is 0.9 – 1.8 mg taken once each day.
Child dosage (ages 4—5 years):
Oral tablet (Colcrys): the typical dose is 0.3 – 1.8 mg, taken once each day.
Senior dosage (ages 65 years and over):
Senior people may have kidneys that no longer function as effectively as before and of course it can slow down the way the body processes drugs.
Because of this, more colchicine is able to remain in the body for a longer period of time, giving rise to more risk of getting side effects.
To avoid this, your doctor may prescribe a lower dose of this drug treatment or change you to a different dosing schedule. This will have the desired effect of lowering the accumulation of colchicine in your body.
Take as directed is the safest way
The treatment of familial Mediterranean fever and the prevention of gout flares is treated over the long-term with colchicine oral tablet.
It is also used for treating gout flares over the short-term and it has its own risks when it isn’t taken according to the prescription.
Don’t stop taking the drug or avoid not taking it at all: If you discontinue taking the colchicine treatment or if you decide not to take it, the symptoms of your condition may become worse.
Don’t miss your doses or your schedule for taking them. If you miss you doses and fail to take them according to your schedule, your treatment may not work as expected or it may completely stop working.
What if you overdose on your treatment?
Taking too much of your drug treatment may cause dangerous levels of the drug may stay in your body. Some of the symptoms caused by an overdose may include:
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Muscle pain
- Weakness of muscles
Whenever you think you’ve taken an overdose of your medication, promptly call your doctor or poison center in your area. When the symptoms are serious, call your area emergency number or quickly go to the closest emergency room.
Missing your dose
If you inadvertently miss your dose, just take it when you remember you missed it. However, if your next schedule is just a few hours away, don’t take the missed dose but take your next scheduled dose, or just take one dose.
Never try to catch up on your missed dose by taking two doses because it could result in dangerous side effects.
Bottom line
We believe you now have sufficient information in this article to know how to take your treatment of colchicine for your gout flares or familial Mediterranean fever and of course you are now better able to answer the question we asked at the beginning of the article which was: How should you take colchicine? All along the way you should have noticed how your doctor can avoid a worsening situation by prescribing a lower dose to prevent the accumulation of the drug in your body.