Urso
Urso tablets contain ursodiol 150mg or 300mg and are used to slow liver damage in primary biliary cholangitis and, in some cases, to dissolve cholesterol gallstones.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150mg | 30 tablets | $57.60 | $1.92 |
| 150mg | 60 tablets | $100.80 | $1.68 |
| 150mg | 90 tablets | $147.60 | $1.64 |
| 150mg | 120 tablets | $194.40 | $1.62 |
| 150mg | 180 tablets | $288.00 | $1.60 |
| 150mg | 360 tablets | $385.20 | $1.07 |
| 300mg | 30 tablets | $101.40 | $3.38 |
| 300mg | 60 tablets | $172.20 | $2.87 |
| 300mg | 90 tablets | $252.90 | $2.81 |
| 300mg | 120 tablets | $334.80 | $2.79 |
| 300mg | 180 tablets | $306.00 | $1.70 |
- Category
- Digestive Health
- Active ingredient
- Ursodeoxycholic acid
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Tablet, Capsule
- Strengths
- 150/300mg
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Primary biliary cholangitis · Gallstone dissolution
- Therapeutic Class
- Bile acid
- Pharmacological Class
- Hepatobiliary agent
- Minor Side Effects
- Diarrhoea, Stomach pain
- Moderate Side Effects
- Nausea, Headache
- Dosage Forms
- Tablet, Capsule
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Takeda
- Onset Time
- Weeks to months for symptomatic relief
- Duration
- Continuous
- Storage Instructions
- Store at room temperature.
- Drug Interactions
- Cholestyramine, Aluminium hydroxide
What you will receive
Urso is the originator brand name, made by Takeda. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Urso.
- The same active ingredient (Ursodeoxycholic acid) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which generic ursodiol strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Generic ursodiol comes as 150mg and 300mg tablets. Packs range from 30 to 360 tablets depending on strength. It is generic ursodiol, not the original Urso. Larger packs cost less per tablet.
How is generic ursodiol delivered to Hong Kong?
For longer courses, generic ursodiol can be sent by standard airmail, which takes 14 to 21 business days, or 30 at most, and is untracked. Tracked courier is also available at 5 to 9 business days with tracking. Parcels are plain and unbranded.
What are the alternative names for Urso and ursodeoxycholic acid?
Urso and Actigall are brand names of ursodeoxycholic acid, which is also sold as Udiliv and Ursofalk. Here, ursodeoxycholic acid can be bought online as generic Urso, and also as ursodiol tablets and ursodeoxycholic acid tablets. These are generics, not the original brand.
How long does ursodiol take to work?
Not quickly, and there is nothing to feel overnight. In primary biliary cholangitis the benefit builds over months, and blood tests at intervals are used to follow it. Gallstone dissolution takes longer still — treatment often runs for many months, and some stones never fully disappear. It is taken every day without a break, including on days you feel perfectly well.
What is the difference between Urso and generic ursodiol?
Nothing in the active ingredient. Urso is the brand name for ursodiol, and the tablets sold here are 150mg and 300mg in both cases; the packs and the names printed on them differ. The medicine your liver sees is the same.
Can I drink alcohol while taking Urso?
There is no direct clash between ursodiol and alcohol. The complication is the liver itself: heavy drinking raises liver blood tests on its own, and those are the same results used to see how treatment is going, so it becomes harder to tell what the medicine is doing. Keeping drinking moderate avoids adding a second strain to the same organ.
Can I take antacids with ursodiol?
Antacids that contain aluminium can bind ursodiol in the gut, so less of it is absorbed. Take them at a different time of day rather than together. The cholesterol-lowering resins colestyramine and colestipol do the same thing, so they are also best spaced apart from your ursodiol dose.
Will ursodiol dissolve any gallstone?
No. It works on cholesterol-based stones that are still small and sitting in a gallbladder that is working properly. Stones containing calcium, and pigment stones, do not respond. That is why a scan comes first — it shows whether the stone is the type this medicine can break down.
About Urso
What Urso is used for
Urso tablets contain ursodiol — also written ursodeoxycholic acid — a bile acid found in small amounts in human bile. The main job is primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a long-term liver disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the small bile ducts inside the liver. Bile collects, liver tissue becomes inflamed and scarred, and without treatment the damage can reach liver failure. Ursodiol is one of the standard medicines that slows it down. It is also used to dissolve cholesterol gallstones for people who cannot have surgery; only certain stones respond, and the course runs for months.
How it works
Bile is made in the liver, travels out through the bile ducts, and helps digest fats. When those ducts are damaged, bile acids back up inside the liver and the harsher ones irritate liver cells. Ursodiol moves into their place: taken every day, it becomes the dominant bile acid in circulation, and the mixture reaching the liver is much less irritating. Cholesterol in bile also stays dissolved more readily, which is how the same medicine can gradually break down a cholesterol stone. Little is felt in the first days — the change shows up in liver blood tests over months.
Fitting it round meals
The amount taken each day is worked out by body weight and usually split into two or three doses, each with food. Breakfast and the evening meal are the natural anchors, and taking a tablet with food also softens the loose stools some people get. Tablets go down whole with water. Treatment for PBC is usually long-term; gallstone courses run for many months. Aluminium-containing antacids, colestyramine and colestipol bind ursodiol in the gut, so leave a few hours between them and your dose.
Side effects
Loose stools or diarrhoea are what people notice most, and they often ease after a week or two. Indigestion, nausea, headache, dizziness and back pain also occur. Now and then ursodiol makes existing gallstone pain worse. Severe pain in the upper right of the tummy, fever with chills, or yellowing of the skin and eyes needs urgent treatment, because those point to an inflamed gallbladder or a blocked bile duct.
Urso or plain ursodiol?
Urso is a brand name for ursodiol. The other tablet sold here, Ursodiol, is the unbranded version and comes in the same 150mg and 300mg strengths. The name on the box is the difference. More on how the ingredient behaves in the liver is on the ursodeoxycholic acid page.
Sources
- Primary biliary cholangitis - NHS — NHS
- Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Symptoms & Causes - American Liver Foundation — American Liver Foundation