Taking nifedipine with other medicines and herbal supplements

Cautions with other medicines

If you take other medicines that lower blood pressure with nifedipine, the combination can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much. This may make you 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 nifedipine works.

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

• the antibiotics clarithromycin, erythromycin or rifampicin
• calcium channel blockers like diltiazem or verapamil
• the antifungal medicines fluconazole or itraconazole
• medicines for HIV or hepatitis C
• the epilepsy medicines carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital (phenobarbitone), sodium valproate, valproic acid or primidone
• tacrolimus, a medicine used for preventing rejection of organ transplants or for treating conditions caused by an overactive immune system
• cimetidine, an acid-suppressing medicine
• the antidepressants fluoxetine or nefazodone
• digoxin, a medicine for heart problems

Mixing nifedipine with herbal remedies and supplements

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

Ginkgo biloba and ginseng are popular supplements that may also affect nifedipine.

There's not enough information to say that other herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with nifedipine. 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.