Like all medicines, Rivastigmine 1 A Pharma can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
You may tend to get side effects most frequently when you start taking your medicine or increase to a higher dose. Side effects will gradually disappear most probably as your body becomes used to the medicine.
Very common side effects (affects more than 1 patient in 10) are dizziness, nausea (feeling sick), vomiting (being sick), diarrhoea, and loss of appetite.
Common side effects (affects 1 to 10 patients in 100) are: heartburn, stomach pain, headache, agitation, confusion, weakness, fatigue, sweating, a general feeling of being unwell, weight loss and trembling.
Uncommonly (affects 1 to 10 patients in 1,000), patients have complained of depression, difficulty in sleeping, changes in liver function, fainting or accidentally falling.
Rarely (affects 1 to 10 patients in 10,000), patients have experienced chest pain, seizures (fits or convulsions), rash, itching, gastric and intestinal ulcers.
Very rarely (affects less than 1 patient in 10,000), patients have experienced gastrointestinal haemorrhage (blood in stools or when vomiting), urinary tract infection, inflammation of the pancreas (severe upper stomach pain, often with nausea and vomiting), problems with heart rhythm (both fast and slow), high blood pressure, hallucinations, worsening of Parkinson?s disease or development of similar symptoms (muscle stiffness, difficulty in carrying out movements).
Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data): severe vomiting that can lead to a rupture of the oesophagus (the tube that connects the mouth with the stomach).
Patients with dementia associated with Parkinson?s disease experience some side effects more frequently and also some additional side effects: trembling (very common), difficulty in sleeping , anxiety, restlessness, worsening of Parkinson?s disease or development of similar symptoms (muscle stiffness, difficulty in carrying out movements), abnormally slow or uncontrollable movements, slow heart beat, too much saliva and dehydration (common), irregular heart beat and poor control of movements (uncommon).
Additional side effects which have been reported with rivastigmine transdermal patches: severe confusion, anxiety, fever (common).
Should such symptoms occur, contact your doctor as you may need medical assistance.
If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist.