General Information on One Alpha
One Alpha is indicated for the treatment of renal bone disease, hypoparathyroidism, secondary hyperparathyroidism, hypophosphataemic vitamin D resistant osteomalacia and rickets, pseudo-deficiency rickets and malabsorptive and nutritional osteomalacia and rickets.
The active ingredient in the medicine is Alphacalcidol, and it belongs to the class of sympathomimetics. The medicine is available in the form of soft gelatin capsules.
Side effects of One Alpha
Do not buy One Alpha if you have hypercalcaemia, or vitamin D intoxication. Special care must be taken if the patient has impaired renal function. Regular monitoring of plasma calcium or other biochemical parameters will also need to be done during treatment with One Alpha.
Sometimes, the drug may lead to hypercalcaemia during the treatment. In such case, the medicine should be discontinued until the plasma calcium comes back to its normal levels. Usually, this takes about one week. Patients with renal failure have more risks of developing hypercalcaemia.
The signs of vitamin D intoxication caused due to hypercalcaemia include the following:
- weakness
- fatigue
- somnolence
- headache
- anorexia
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhea
- pruritus
If hypercalcaemia is not treated within time, it may also lead to conjunctivitis, cardiac arrhythmias, shortened QT interval and manifestations of an impaired renal function, including polyuria, nocturia, polydipsia, dehydration, hyposthenuria or mild proteinuria. Other symptoms of hypercalcaemia include pain in extremities, apprehension, agitation, abdominal pain, paralytic ileus and overt psychosis.
Hypersensitive patients may develop an allergic reaction to One Alpha. Symptoms of an allergy include hives on body, breathing problems, swollen face, throat, lips or tongue and severe dizziness. Discontinue taking the medicine immediately if you develop any of these symptoms.
Significant harm can take place if One Alpha is taken during the first trimester of pregnancy. Inform your doctor if you are pregnant, if you suspect pregnancy or if you are planning to get pregnant.
Dosage of One Alpha
For adults, the recommended dosage is One Alpha 1mg per day. 1mg per day is given to children more than 20kgs body mass, and 0.05 mg per kg per day is given to children less than 20 kgs body mass. However, some patients may even need One Alpha 3mg per day, depending on their medical condition and response to the treatment. Maintenance dose generally range from One Alpha 0.25mg to 1mg per day.
Afterwards, dosage adjustments can be made depending on the biochemical responses, and for preventing hypercalcaemia. Your response to the treatment depends on your plasma calcium levels, parathyroid hormones, alkaline phosphatase, urinary calcium excretion and histological and radiographic investigations.
One Alpha capsules need to be taken with meals.
Drug Interactions of One Alpha
Most importantly, do not buy One Alpha along with anticonvulsants (e.g. warfarin) and barbiturates (e.g. Phenobarbital).
Apart from these, inform your doctor about all the medicinal products you are taking at present, including prescription and non-prescription drugs, health supplements and herbal products. Based on these, your doctor will be able to decide whether One Alpha is the right medicine for you or not.
