Neucon 18 mg Tablets

NEUCON is used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents aged 6-17 and adults aged 18-65.

Do not take NEUCON:

• If you are hypersensitive (allergic) to methylphenidate or any of the other ingredients in NEUCON (see What NEUCON Contains).
• If you have glaucoma, an eye disease.
• If you are being treated or have recently been treated with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor medicines.
• If you have hereditary problems of galactose intolerance (Lapp lactase deficiency of glucose-galactose malabsorption)
• If you have hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), severe angina (chest pain) or heart rhythm problems.

Take special care with NEUCON if you Talk to your doctor before or while taking NEUCON if you:

• Have a heart defect.
• Have tics (movements or sounds that you cannot control) or Tourette’s syndrome, or if someone in your family has tics or Tourette’s syndrome.
• Have eye problems, such as:
• Increased pressure in the eye
• A condition called “glaucoma”
• Far-sightedness (difficulty seeing near objects).
• Have serious mental health problems, such as:
• Believing things that are not true (delusions).
• Seeing, feeling, hearing, or smelling things that are not there (hallucinations).
• Being very over-active or over-excited.
• Become aggressive, anxious or agitated or feel more aggressive, anxious or agitated than usual.
• Problems with blood vessels in the brain (such as inflamed blood vessels, stroke caused by a burst blood vessel or blocked blood supply to the brain).
• Develop a persistent and painful erection of the penis.
• Develop severe headaches, weakness, or paralysis of any body part, or develop problems with coordination, vision, speaking, finding words or with your memory.
• have a history of drug dependence or alcoholism.
• have a narrowing or blockage of the gut, foodpipe (or oesophagus), stomach, or intestines).
• Are not growing as expected for your age. Your doctor may carefully watch your height and weight.
• have high blood pressure.
• have kidney or liver problems.

Sport
The active ingredient in NEUCON may show up as a drug if drug testing is performed.

Other medicines and NEUCON
Always tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other medicine. (This includes complementary or traditional medicines). Please consult your doctor, pharmacist or other healthcare professional, for advice.

• You should not use NEUCON if you treated or have been treated (currently or within the previous 2 weeks) MAO inhibitors (see Do not take NEUCON).
• NEUCON should be used cautiously with vasopressor agents, a type of medicine that is used to increase your blood pressure.
• Tell your doctor if your take clonidine, a medicine used to treat high blood pressure.
• Make sure your doctor knows if you take a type of medicine for depression or anxiety called a ‘serotonin reuptake inhibitor’ (SSRI) or a ‘serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor’ (SNRI).

NEUCON with food, drink and alcohol
NEUCON may be taken with or without food.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding
You should not take NEUCON if you are pregnant or breastfeeding your baby. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, please consult your doctor, pharmacist or other health care provider for advice before taking.

Driving and using machines
NEUCON may cause dizziness and could affect your ability to drive. You are therefore advised to use caution when driving, operating machinery, or doing activities that may be hazardous. It is not always possible to predict to what extent NEUCON may interfere with the daily activities of a patient. Patients should ensure that they do not engage in the above activities until they are aware of the measure to which NEUCON affects them.

NEUCON contains lactose
NEUCON contains lactose, a type of sugar which may have an effect on the control of your blood sugar if you have diabetes mellitus. NEUCON contains lactose. Patients with the rare hereditary conditions of lactose or galactose intolerance should not take NEUCON.

Do not share medicines prescribed for you with any other person. Always take NEUCON exactly as your doctor has instructed you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure. Your doctor will tell you how long your treatment with NEUCON will last. Do not stop treatment early because symptoms may reappear. If you have the impression that the effect of NEUCON is too strong or too weak, tell your doctor or pharmacist.
Take NEUCON once each day in the morning. NEUCON may be taken before or after eating.
Swallow NEUCON tablets whole with water or other liquids. Do not chew, crush or break the tablets.
Take the dose prescribed by your doctor. The doctor may adjust the amount of medicine you take until it is right for you.
If you take more NEUCON than you should
In the event of overdosage, consult your doctor or pharmacist. If neither is available, contact the nearest hospital or poison control centre.
If you forget to take NEUCON
Do not take a double dose to make up for forgotten individual doses. Consult a health care professional if you have questions.
If you stop taking NEUCON
Do not stop taking NEUCON early without your doctor’s advice because symptoms may reappear.

Not all side-effects reported for this medicine are included in this leaflet. Should your general health worsen or if you experience any untoward effects while taking NEUCON, please consult your doctor, pharmacist or other healthcare professional for advice .
Some side effects could be serious. If you or your child has any of the side effects below, see a doctor straight away:
Frequent

• Uneven heartbeat (palpitations)
• Mood changes or mood swings or changes in personality

• Thinking about or feeling like killing yourself
• Seeing, feeling or hearing things that are not real, these are signs of psychosis
• Uncontrolled speech and body movements (Tourette’s)
• Signs of allergy such as rash, itching or hives on the skin, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body, shortness of breath, wheezing or trouble breathing
• Feeling unusually excited, over-active and un-inhibited (mania)
• Heart attack
• Sudden death
• Suicidal attempt
• Fits (seizures, convulsion, epilepsy)
• Skin peeling or purplish red patches
• Inflammation or blocked arteries in the brain
• Muscle spasms which you cannot control affecting your eyes, head, neck, body and nervous system due to a temporary lack of blood supply to the brain
• Decrease in number of blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets) which can make you more likely to get infections, and make you bleed and bruise more easily
• A sudden increase in body temperature, very high blood pressure and severe convulsions (Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome). It is not certain that this side effect is caused by NEUCON or other medicines that may be taken in combination with NEUCON
• Unwanted thoughts that keep coming back
• Unexplained fainting, chest pain, shortness of breath (these can be signs of heart problems)
• Paralysis or problems with movement and vision, difficulties in speech (these can be signs of problems with blood vessels in your brain)

• Headache
• Feeling nervous
• Not being able to sleep
• Joint pain
• Blurred vision
• Tension headache
• Dry mouth, thirst
• Trouble falling asleep
• High temperature (fever)
• Problems with sex drive
• Decreased interest in sex
• Unusual hair loss or thinning
• Muscle tightness, muscle cramps
• Loss of appetite or decreased appetite
• Inability to develop or maintain an erection
• Itching, rash or raised red itchy rashes (hives)
• Feeling unusually sleepy or drowsy, feeling tired
• Clenching or grinding your teeth, feeling of panic
• Tingling feeling, prickling or numbness of the skin
• Increased alanine aminotransferase (liver enzyme) level in your blood
• Cough, sore throat or nose and throat irritation, upper respiratory tract infection, sinus infection
• High blood pressure, fast heart beat (tachycardia)
• Dizziness (vertigo), feeling weak, movements which you cannot control, being unusually active
• Feeling aggressive, agitated, anxious, depressed, irritable, tense, jittery and abnormal behaviour
• Upset stomach or indigestion, stomach pain, diarrhoea, feeling sick, stomach discomfort and being sick

• Dry eye
• Constipation
• Chest discomfort
• Blood in the urine
• Listlessness
• Shaking or trembling
• Increased need to pass urine
• Muscle pain, muscle twitching
• Persistent and painful erection of the penis
• Shortness of breath or chest pain
• Feeling hot
• Increased in liver test results (seen in a blood test)
• Anger, feeling restless or tearful, talking too much, excessive awareness of surroundings, problems sleeping
• Feeling disorientated or confused
• Trouble seeing or double vision
• Swelling of the breasts in men
• Excessive sweating, redness of the skin, red raised skin rash
• Muscle cramps
• Small red marks on the skin
• Abnormal liver function including liver failure and coma
• Changes in test results – including liver and blood tests
• Abnormal thinking, lack of feeling or emotion, doing things over and over again, being obsessed with one thing
• Fingers and toes feeling numb, tingling and changing colour (from white to blue, then red) when cold (Raynaud phenomenon)
• Liver damage
• Sudden liver failure
• Migraine
• Dilated pupils
• Very high fever
• Slow, fast or extra heart beats
• A major fit (grand mal convulsions)
• Believing things that are not true
• Severe stomach pain, often with feeling and being sick
• Nosebleeds

Reporting of side effects
If you get side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects to SAHPRA via the “6.04 Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Form”, found online under SAHPRA’s publications: https://www.sahpra.org.za/Publications/Index/8 . By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of NEUCON.

Store at or below 25 ° C. Do not use the tablets after the expiry date printed on the label. The desiccant in the pack (one or two pouches), used to keep the tablets dry, should not be eaten. Store all medicines out of reach of children. Return all unused medicine to your pharmacist. Do not dispose of unused medicine in drains or sewerage systems (i.e. toilets).