Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker drug that is used to lower blood pressure or in treatment for some heart conditions. It relaxes the walls of the blood vessels around the heart making it easier for blood to flow. It's used fairly commonly as are other drugs in the same family, Diltiazem, Nifedipine and Verapamil. What you're prescribed will depend on your PCT, how well you respond to the treatment and weither side effects stop you from taking it, a switch to another drug in the same family may have a different effect on you.
Swollen ankles are the most common side effect, along with headaches and red flushing of the face.
I'm not aware of exactly where the drugs are made, but i do know that to sell medicines like Amlodipine in this country a company needs a product licence from the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority) , which requires stringent quality checks and inspections of the premises where the product was made. Imports from abroad are also scrutinised and require and import licence.
There was a problem in 2009 where several companies recalled batches of the drug, but this was part of the procedure for dealing with problems when they're spotted in an attempt to keep patients safe and maintain good quality of supply. Unfortunately no manufacturing or inspection process is perfect, and there's a couple of recalls of medicines or medical devices each week. Last week it was paracetamol, this week it's water...Yes, water. We're having to send people around the hospital checking to see if they can find any bottles from a certain batch of water.
Sorry if that got a bit intense but i read Jill's post and my Pharmacy QA spidey-sense tingled...I just wanted to reassure people that we're not trying to fob people off with unsafe medicines.🙂
RachelT (now trying to leave work at work...😱)