Colchicine
Colchicine 0.5mg tablets, used for gout attacks and familial Mediterranean fever, offered in packs from 60 tablets upwards, with the brand-name Colcrys at the same strength.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5mg | 60 tablets | $67.80 | $1.13 |
| 0.5mg | 90 tablets | $87.30 | $0.97 |
| 0.5mg | 120 tablets | $102.00 | $0.85 |
| 0.5mg | 180 tablets | $117.00 | $0.65 |
| 0.5mg | 270 tablets | $137.70 | $0.51 |
| 0.5mg | 360 tablets | $133.20 | $0.37 |
- Category
- Pain Management
- Active ingredient
- Colchicine
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Tablet
- Strengths
- 0.5mg
You will receive a quality generic, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Gout flares · Familial Mediterranean fever
- Therapeutic Class
- Antigout
- Pharmacological Class
- Alkaloid
- Minor Side Effects
- Nausea, Vomiting
- Moderate Side Effects
- Diarrhoea, Stomach cramps
- Dosage Forms
- Tablet
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Various
- Onset Time
- 12–24 hours
- Storage Instructions
- Keep in a dark, dry container.
- Drug Interactions
- Clarithromycin, Statins
What you will receive
Colchicine is a generic medicine sold under the name of its active ingredient, Colchicine.
- The manufacturer depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
- It contains the same active ingredient, at the same strength, as the brand-name versions.
FAQ
What pack sizes of Colchicine tablets can I order?
Colchicine tablets come in 0.5mg, in packs of 60 up to 360. Larger packs cost less per tablet.
Can I cancel a Colchicine order?
Colchicine orders can be cancelled within 24 hours if they have not yet been dispatched. Payment is by Visa, Mastercard or American Express on a secure, encrypted payment page, or by Bitcoin or Ethereum, and card details never reach the shop's servers.
Which brand names does colchicine have?
Brand names for colchicine include Colcrys, Colgout, Mitigare and Zycolchin. Colchicine tablets are a pure generic colchicine product and are not any of those brands. Here, colchicine can also be bought online as generic Colcrys.
Is Colcrys stronger than plain colchicine?
No. Colcrys holds 0.5mg of colchicine, the same strength as the plain tablets, so the two are the same dose in a different pack. Which one you choose is a question of brand name and company rather than of dose.
How quickly does colchicine work?
It is not a painkiller that works within minutes. The tablets do most when they are started in the first hours of an attack, while the joint is just beginning to swell; once a flare has peaked there is far more inflammation to settle, so relief comes more slowly.
Can I drink alcohol with colchicine?
Best avoided during a flare. Heavy drinking, beer especially, is a well-known gout trigger, and alcohol can add to the stomach upset that colchicine sometimes causes.
Does colchicine lower uric acid?
No, it only quiets the attack. Uric acid stays where it was, so crystals already in the joint remain and new ones can form. Allopurinol and similar medicines are the ones that lower uric acid, and colchicine is often taken alongside them while they start to work.
What if colchicine gives me diarrhoea?
Loose stools are usually the first sign that the dose is more than you can handle, and taking fewer tablets generally settles it. If the diarrhoea is heavy, stop the tablets until your stomach recovers, then restart with a smaller amount.
About Colchicine
When a joint flares up
Gout rarely gives warning. You go to bed fine and wake with a toe — often the big one, sometimes an ankle or a knee — that is swollen, scarlet and too sore for a sock. The cause is uric acid that has hardened into spiky crystals inside the joint. Colchicine 0.5mg tablets are the classic treatment for that attack, and taken daily in a smaller amount they reduce how often attacks return.
The same tablets are used for familial Mediterranean fever (an inherited illness with bouts of fever and belly or chest pain) and for pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane around the heart.
Why timing matters
Colchicine comes originally from the autumn crocus, and it acts on white blood cells rather than on uric acid. Crystals in the joint draw in neutrophils, the first white cells to arrive, and these release the chemicals that make the joint hot, swollen and painful. Colchicine slows them down, so it does most when taken at the first twinge; at the height of a flare there is much more inflammation to settle. It does nothing for ordinary back or joint pain.
Doses for a flare and for prevention
Treating an attack: 0.5mg two to four times over the day until the pain lets up. Holding attacks off: a smaller daily amount, usually 0.5mg once or twice. The tablets go down with water; if they upset your stomach, eat first. Diarrhoea or cramping is your cue that the amount is too much for you, so drop back.
Signs to take seriously
Loose stools, queasiness and stomach cramps are the usual side effects and often pass. Muscle aching or weakness, numb or tingling fingers and toes, a sore throat with fever, or bruising and bleeding for no reason mean too much colchicine has built up, and they need urgent care.
Clarithromycin and similar antibiotics, antifungals such as ketoconazole, some heart medicines, transplant drugs and grapefruit juice all push colchicine levels up. Beer and spirits are best left alone too, since they are a common gout trigger.
Colchicine or Colcrys?
Colcrys is a brand name for colchicine and is sold in the same 0.5mg tablet, so choosing between them means choosing a name, not a strength. The plain colchicine tablets come in packs from 60 up to 360, which covers anything from one flare to months of daily use.
Sources
- Colchicine 500 micrograms Tablets - Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) - (emc) | 6415 — UK Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC)
- Gout: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment | Arthritis Foundation — Arthritis Foundation