Sucralfate (Oral)

Brand Names : Carafate, Apo-sucralfate, Sulcrate, Sulcrate Suspension Plus

Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For sucralfate, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to sucralfate. Also, tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Studies have not been done in humans. However, sucralfate has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in animal studies.

Breast-feeding - Sucralfate has not been shown to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children - This medicine has been tested in a limited number of children. In effective doses, the medicine has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems than it does in adults.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults. Although there is no specific information comparing the use of sucralfate in the elderly with use in other age groups, this medicine is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking sucralfate, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking the following:

• Ciprofloxacin or
• Digoxin or
• Norfloxacin or
• Ofloxacin or
• Phenytoin or
• Theophylline - Sucralfate may prevent these medicines from working properly

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of sucralfate. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Gastrointestinal tract obstruction disease - Sucralfate may bind with other foods and drugs and cause obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract

• Kidney failure - Use may lead to a toxic increase of aluminum blood levels