Ursodiol
Ursodiol is a bile acid medicine sold as 150mg and 300mg tablets, used to dissolve cholesterol gallstones and to treat the liver condition primary biliary cholangitis.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150mg | 30 tablets | $51.90 | $1.73 |
| 150mg | 60 tablets | $93.60 | $1.56 |
| 150mg | 90 tablets | $126.90 | $1.41 |
| 150mg | 120 tablets | $159.60 | $1.33 |
| 150mg | 180 tablets | $225.00 | $1.25 |
| 150mg | 360 tablets | $421.20 | $1.17 |
| 300mg | 30 tablets | $1,753.50 | $58.45 |
| 300mg | 60 tablets | $98.40 | $1.64 |
| 300mg | 90 tablets | $126.90 | $1.41 |
| 300mg | 120 tablets | $158.40 | $1.32 |
| 300mg | 180 tablets | $221.40 | $1.23 |
- Category
- Digestive Health
- Active ingredient
- Ursodeoxycholic acid
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Capsule, Tablet
- Strengths
- 150/300mg
You will receive a quality generic, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Gallstones · Primary biliary cholangitis
- Therapeutic Class
- Bile acid
- Pharmacological Class
- Ursodeoxycholic acid
- Minor Side Effects
- Diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal discomfort
- Moderate Side Effects
- Headache, back pain
- Dosage Forms
- Capsule, Tablet
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Generic
- Onset Time
- Wk/Mnths
- Duration
- Duration of therapy
- Storage Instructions
- Store at room temperature.
- Drug Interactions
- Aluminium-based antacids
What you will receive
Ursodiol is a generic medicine sold under the name of its active ingredient, Ursodeoxycholic acid.
- 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 Ursodiol strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Ursodiol comes as 150mg and 300mg tablets, in packs from 30 to 360 tablets. Larger packs cost less per tablet.
How does Ursodiol reach Hong Kong?
Ursodiol orders ship by tracked courier in 5 to 9 business days with online tracking. Every parcel is plain and unbranded, with nothing outside about the contents. If a parcel does not arrive within the delivery window, or arrives damaged, it is sent again free, or refunded if that is not possible.
What is another name for ursodeoxycholic acid?
Brand names for ursodeoxycholic acid include Actigall, Urso, Udiliv and Ursofalk. Ursodiol tablets are a pure generic ursodeoxycholic acid product and are not any of those brands. Here, ursodeoxycholic acid can also be bought online as generic Urso and ursodeoxycholic acid tablets.
How long does ursodiol take to dissolve gallstones?
Plan on months, not weeks. Dissolving a stone commonly takes six months or longer, and scans show whether it is getting smaller. Small stones respond sooner than large ones, while calcified stones and pigment stones do not dissolve.
How long do you take ursodiol for primary biliary cholangitis?
PBC is a long-term condition, so ursodiol is taken every day for years instead of as a fixed short course. It slows the damage to the small bile ducts rather than reversing it, and liver blood tests are used to follow how well it is working. People generally stay on it long term.
Which gallstones can ursodiol dissolve?
Ursodiol works on cholesterol stones — the type that does not show clearly on a plain X-ray because it has not hardened with calcium. They also need to be small, and the gallbladder still has to fill and empty properly. Pigment stones and larger calcified stones do not respond to it.
Can I take ursodiol with antacids?
Antacids containing aluminium reduce how much ursodiol the gut absorbs, so leave a few hours between the two. The bile-acid binders cholestyramine and colestipol do the same. Both matter if you use indigestion remedies or these binders regularly.
Is ursodiol the same as ursodeoxycholic acid?
They are the same substance. Ursodeoxycholic acid is the chemical name, ursodiol is the shorter name used on packs and in prescribing, and UDCA is the usual abbreviation. A tablet labelled with either name contains the same active ingredient.
About Ursodiol
What Ursodiol tablets are for
Ursodiol is a bile acid, one of the substances the liver makes to help digest fat. As a medicine it comes as 150mg and 300mg tablets, and it has two jobs: dissolving cholesterol gallstones in people who are not having their gallbladder removed, and treating primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a long-term liver disease in which the small bile ducts inside the liver are slowly destroyed.
In PBC, bile backs up in the liver and the bile acids that collect there damage liver cells over the years. Ursodiol takes the place of some of the harsher bile acids, so they do less harm and the disease moves more slowly. Gallstones form when cholesterol in bile settles out into stones; ursodiol shifts that balance so the cholesterol stays dissolved and existing stones can shrink. It only helps cholesterol stones that are small and not hardened with calcium, and it works over months rather than days.
How to take ursodiol
Tablets are swallowed whole and split across the day — two, three or four doses — each one with food. Keeping to the same dose pattern every day matters more than the exact hour. Aluminium-containing antacids, and the bile-acid binders cholestyramine and colestipol, cut how much ursodiol the body absorbs, so leave a few hours between them and this medicine. Keep the tablets in their pack somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight.
Side effects worth knowing
Loose stools and diarrhoea are what people notice most, and they become more likely as the dose goes up. Nausea, indigestion, stomach pain, dizziness and headache also come up. A rash with swelling of the lips, face or throat, or trouble breathing, needs urgent treatment.
Ursodiol or Urso: which is which?
Urso holds the same medicine under a brand name: same active ingredient, same 150mg and 300mg tablet strengths. The choice between them comes down to the name and pack size you want. Urso is the other ursodiol tablet you can order, and the ursodeoxycholic acid ingredient page covers the medicine itself in more detail.
Sources
- Primary biliary cholangitis - NHS — NHS
- Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Symptoms & Causes - American Liver Foundation — American Liver Foundation