Side Effects

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

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.

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

Rare

  1. Abdominal pain
  2. back, leg, or stomach pain
  3. bleeding or crusting sores on lips
  4. blistering, burning, redness, scaling, or tenderness of skin
  5. blisters on palms of hands and soles of feet
  6. changes in vision or blurred vision
  7. confusion
  8. coughing or difficulty in swallowing
  9. dark-colored urine
  10. dizziness
  11. fainting
  12. fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
  13. fever and/or chills
  14. flu-like symptoms
  15. general feeling of discomfort or illness
  16. hives
  17. inflammation of blood vessels
  18. joint pain
  19. light-colored stools
  20. mood or mental changes, including anxiety, agitation, confusion, hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there), mental depression, nervousness, or severe mental illness
  21. muscle cramps or aches
  22. nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite
  23. pain
  24. peeling or sloughing of skin
  25. red or irritated eyes
  26. shortness of breath
  27. skin rash or itching
  28. slow heartbeat
  29. sore throat
  30. sores, ulcers, or white spots on lips, in mouth, or on genitals
  31. sudden difficult breathing
  32. swelling of face, lips, mouth, tongue, or eyelids
  33. swelling of hands or feet
  34. swollen or painful glands
  35. tightness in chest
  36. troubled breathing
  37. unusual bleeding or bruising
  38. unusual tiredness or weakness
  39. unusually slow or irregular breathing
  40. wheezing
  41. yellow eyes or skin

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Less common or rare

  1. Constipation
  2. decrease in sexual desire
  3. decreased sexual ability (especially in patients with Zollinger-Ellison disease who have received high doses of cimetidine for at least 1 year)
  4. diarrhea
  5. difficult urination
  6. dizziness
  7. drowsiness
  8. dryness of mouth or skin
  9. headache
  10. increased or decreased urination
  11. increased sweating
  12. loss of hair
  13. ringing or buzzing in ears
  14. runny nose
  15. swelling of breasts or breast soreness in females and males
  16. trouble in sleeping

Not all of the side effects listed above have been reported for each of these medicines, but they have been reported for at least one of them. All of the H2-blockers are similar, so any of the above side effects may occur with any of these medicines.

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

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

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Portions of this document last updated: Sept. 01, 2023