Taking colecalciferol with other medicines and herbal supplements

Some medicines can affect the way colecalciferol works and colecalciferol can stop other medicines from working properly.

Tell your doctor if you (or your child) are taking any of these medicines before you start taking colecalciferol:

• digoxin, a medicine for heart problems – you may get too much calcium in your blood and this may cause an abnormal heartbeat
• some diuretics (or "water" tablets which make you pee more) such as bendroflumethiazide or indapamide – you may get too much calcium in your blood
• medicines for epilepsy such as phenytoin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital or primidone – you may need a larger dose of colecalciferol
• laxatives such as paraffin oil, or cholestyramine (a medicine to lower cholesterol) – your colecalciferol may not enter your blood as usual
• steroids such as prednisolone or hydrocortisone – these may reduce the effects of colecalciferol
• antifungal medicines such as ketoconazole or clotrimazole – these may affect the breakdown of colecalciferol
• actinomycin (a medicine used to treat cancer) – this may affect the breakdown of colecalciferol

Do not take any other vitamin or mineral supplements that contain calcium or vitamin D without talking to your doctor first.

There's not enough information to say whether other complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with colecalciferol. 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.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.