Taking amlodipine with other medicines and herbal supplements

Cautions with other medicines

If you take other medicines that lower blood pressure, such as ramipril or lisinopril, at the same time as amlodipine, the combination can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much.

When your blood pressure is low, you may feel dizzy or faint. If this keeps happening to you, tell your doctor as your dose may need to be changed.

Some medicines can affect the way amlodipine works.

Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these medicines before starting amlodipine:

• antibiotics such as clarithromycin, erythromycin or rifampicin
• calcium channel blockers like diltiazem or verapamil
• itraconazole or ketoconazole, antifungal medicines
• medicines to treat HIV or HCV (hepatitis C virus)
• anti-epilepsy medicines such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital (phenobarbitone) or primidone
• medicines to suppress your immune system, such as ciclosporin or tacrolimus
• more than 20mg a day of the cholesterol-lowering medicine simvastatin

Mixing amlodipine with herbal remedies or supplements

St John's wort, a herbal remedy taken for depression, is thought to affect the way amlodipine works. Talk to your doctor if you're thinking about taking St John's wort.

There's not enough information to say that other herbal remedies or supplements are safe to take with amlodipine. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.