If you must take colchicine for a long time (preventive treatment), your doctor may want to check your progress at regular visits. He or she may also want to check for certain side effects. Finding these side effects early can help to keep them from becoming serious.

Stomach problems may be more likely to occur if you drink large amounts of alcoholic beverages while taking colchicine. Also, drinking too much alcohol may increase the amount of uric acid in your blood. This may lessen the effects of colchicine when it is used to prevent gout attacks. Therefore, people who take colchicine should be careful to limit the amount of alcohol they drink.

For patients taking small amounts of colchicine regularly (preventive treatment):

• Attacks of gout or other problems caused by inflammation may continue to occur during treatment. However, the attacks or other problems should occur less often, and they should not be as severe as they were before you started taking colchicine. Even if you think the colchicine is not working, do not stop taking it and do not increase the dose. Check with your doctor instead.

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Stop taking COLCHICINE immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

• More common
  • Diarrhea;  nausea or vomiting;  stomach pain 
  
  

  If any of these side effects continue for 3 hours or longer after you have stopped taking colchicine, check with your doctor.

Also, check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

• Rare
  • Black, tarry stools;  blood in urine or stools;  difficulty in breathing when exercising ;  fever with or without chills;  headache;  large, hive-like swellings on the face, eyelids, mouth, lips, and/or tongue;  pinpoint red spots on skin;  sores, ulcers, or white spots on lips or in mouth;  sore throat;  unusual bleeding or bruising;  unusual tiredness or weakness 
  
  

• Signs and symptoms of overdose
  • Burning feeling in the stomach, throat, or skin;  diarrhea (severe or bloody);  nausea, stomach pain, or vomiting (severe) 
  
  

  These side effects are usually the first signs of an overdose of colchicine tablets. They are not likely to occur when too much colchicine has been given by injection. Other signs and symptoms that may occur after an overdose of either the tablets or the injection include bleeding; fast, shallow breathing; convulsions (seizures); fever; and very severe muscle weakness. An overdose of colchicine can cause damage to the blood, heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs, and muscles.

The following side effects may occur after an injection of colchicine. Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following occur at or near the place of injection:

• Rare
  • Burning, ``crawling,'' or tingling feeling in the skin;  pain;  peeling of skin;  redness;  swelling;  tenderness 
  
  

Also, check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

• Rare
  • Muscle weakness;  numbness in fingers or toes (usually mild);  skin rash or hives 
  
  

Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. However, check with your doctor if either of the following side effects continues or is bothersome:

• Less common
  • Loss of appetite 
  
  

• With long-term use
  • Loss of hair 
  
  

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.

Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in product labeling, colchicine is used in certain patients with the following medical conditions:

• Amyloidosis
• Behçet's syndrome
• Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (pseudogout)
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Familial Mediterranean fever
• Pericarditis
• Sarcoid arthritis

If you are taking colchicine for any of these conditions, the following information may apply:

• For all of these conditions, colchicine is usually given regularly in small amounts to reduce inflammation (preventive treatment). This usually decreases the occurrence of severe attacks or other problems caused by inflammation.
• Colchicine is not a cure for these conditions. It will help prevent problems caused by inflammation only as long as you continue to take it.
• Some patients with calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (pseudogout) or familial Mediterranean fever may take larger amounts of colchicine only when an attack occurs, to relieve the attack.

For patients taking colchicine for familial Mediterranean fever:

• Preventive treatment with colchicine may be helping you even if it does not reduce the number of severe attacks. Colchicine helps prevent other serious problems, such as kidney disease, that can occur in people with this condition. Therefore, even if you think that the colchicine isn't working, do not stop taking it. Check with your doctor instead.

Other than the above information, there is no additional information relating to proper use, precautions, or side effects for these uses.