Experiences with
Labetalol

Labetalol is a beta blocker medicine, used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), including high blood pressure in pregnancy.

If you have high blood pressure, taking labetalol helps to prevent future heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.

It can also be used to prevent chest pain caused by angina.

Labetalol works by slowing down your heart rate and making it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body.

This medicine is only available on prescription. It comes as tablets. It can also be given as an injection in hospital.

Who can take labetalol

Most adults can take labetalol. It can sometimes be prescribed for babies and children by a specialist.

Who may not be able to take labetalol

Labetalol is not suitable for everyone. To make sure it's safe for you, tell your doctor before starting to take labetalol if you:

have ever had an allergic reaction to labetalol or any other medicine
have liver or kidney problems
have low blood pressure (hypotension) or a slow heart rate
have heart failure that's getting worse, heart disease, or you have recently had a heart attack
have severe blood circulation problems in your arms and legs (such as Raynaud's), which may make your fingers and toes tingle or turn pale or blue
have a lung disease or asthma

Dosage and strength

Labetalol comes as 50mg, 100mg, 200mg and 400mg strength tablets.

You'll usually start on a low dose of 100mg, taken twice a day.

The usual dose of labetalol for adults is between 400mg and 800mg a day, split into 2 doses.

If your blood pressure is still too high, your doctor may increase your dose up to 2,400mg a day. You doctor may increase your dose every 1 to 2 weeks if the medicine is not controlling your high blood pressure or angina.

Once you find a dose that works for you, you'll usually stay with the same amount.

If your child is prescribed labetalol, the doctor will use your child's age and weight to work out the right dose.

How and when to take it

Take labetalol with food. It will be less likely to upset your stomach.

Swallow the tablets whole with a drink of water, juice or milk. Do not chew them.

Try to space your doses out evenly throughout the day.

Adults and children aged 11 years and over usually take labetalol twice a day. If you're on a high dose, you may need to take it 3 or 4 times a day.

Younger children usually take labetalol 3 or 4 times a day.

How long to take it for

If you're taking labetalol for high blood pressure or angina, treatment is usually long term. You may take it for the rest of your life.

If you're taking it for high blood pressure during pregnancy, your midwife or doctor will check your blood pressure regularly. It is likely that you will only need to take labetalol during pregnancy and in the few weeks after having had your baby.

Most women do not need to take it for long after they have had their baby. If you need to keep taking labetalol, your midwife or doctor will continue to check your blood pressure and advise you when it's OK to stop taking your medicine.

Talk to your doctor if you want to stop taking your medicine. They may recommend reducing your dose gradually over a few weeks. Stopping can make your blood pressure rise, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Do not stop taking labetalol suddenly, especially if you have heart disease. This can make your condition worse.

If you miss a dose of labetalol, take it as soon as you remember, unless it's nearly time for your next dose. In this case, just leave out the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time.

Never take 2 doses at the same time. Do not take an extra dose to make up for a forgotten one.

If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine.

If you take too much

The amount of labetalol that can lead to an overdose varies from person to person.

Taking more than your prescribed dose can slow down your heart rate and make it difficult to breathe.

It can also make you feel drowsy or confused.

you take more than your prescribed dose of labetalol

Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111

If you need to go to A&E, do not drive. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Bring the labetalol packet or leaflet inside it, any remaining medicine, and any other medicines you take.

Common side effects

These common side effects of labetalol happen in more than 1 in 100 people. They're usually mild and go away by themselves. There are things you can do to help cope with them:

If labetalol makes you feel dizzy or weak, stop what you're doing and sit or lie down until you feel better. Do not drive, cycle or use tools or machinery if you're feeling sleepy or dizzy. Do not drink alcohol as it will make you feel worse.

Talk to your doctor if you feel dizzy all the time or this side effect lasts longer than a week.

Make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. Do not drink too much alcohol. Ask your pharmacist to recommend a painkiller.

Headaches usually go away after the first week of taking labetalol. Talk to your doctor if the headaches last longer than a week or are severe.

Put your hands or feet under warm running water, massage them and wiggle your fingers and toes. Do not smoke or have drinks with caffeine in, as this can make your blood vessels narrower and further restrict blood flow to your hands and feet. Try wearing mittens (they're warmer than gloves) and warm socks. Do not wear tight watches or bracelets.

Stick to simple meals and do not eat rich or spicy food. It might help to take your labetalol after a meal or snack. Drink plenty of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Take small, frequent sips if you are being sick. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee.

Do not take any other medicines to treat vomiting without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.

If you take the combined pill or the progestogen-only pill and you're being sick, your contraception may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet to find out what to do.

Drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee.

Do not take any other medicines to treat diarrhoea without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.

If you take the combined pill or the progestogen-only pill and you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraception may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet to find out what to do.

Try to rest and relax. It can help to eat and drink slowly and have smaller and more frequent meals. Putting a heat pad or covered hot water bottle on your stomach may also help. If you are in a lot of pain, speak to your pharmacist or doctor.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if any of these side effects bother you or last more than a few days.

Serious side effects

It does not happen often, but some people have serious side effects when taking labetalol.

Tell a doctor or call 111 now if:

you have shortness of breath with a cough that gets worse when you exercise (like walking up stairs), swollen ankles or legs, or an irregular heartbeat – these are signs of heart problems
you have shortness of breath, wheezing and tightening of the chest – these can be signs of lung problems
the whites of your eyes turn yellow, or your skin turns yellow although this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin, or you have pale poo or dark pee – these can be signs of liver problems
you get unexplained bruising, or you bruise more easily than usual – these can be signs of low numbers of platelets in your blood (thrombocytopenia)

you get chest pain

Chest pain is a possible sign of a heart attack and needs to be checked out as soon as possible.

A&E safety messaging (for 999 only)

In rare cases, labetalol may cause a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Meds New IA (H4) - serious allergic reaction

These are not all the side effects of labetalol. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.

Labetalol and pregnancy

It's important to treat high blood pressure during pregnancy. This will help you and your baby to stay healthy.

You can take labetalol while you are pregnant. Labetalol can affect the baby's growth in the womb so you may be offered extra scans to check that your baby is growing OK.

There's also a small chance that labetalol can affect a baby's blood sugar levels just after birth. For this reason your baby may have their blood sugar levels monitored in hospital for the first 24 hours to make sure everything is OK before you go home.

Talk to your doctor about the best treatment for you.

As well as taking any prescribed medicines, you can help high blood pressure in pregnancy by making some key lifestyle changes:

stop smoking in pregnancy
avoid alcohol during pregnancy
exercise in pregnancy regularly
have a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy
try to avoid stress

Labetalol and breastfeeding

If your doctor or health visitor says that your baby is healthy, it's OK to take labetalol while breastfeeding.

Labetalol passes into breast milk in tiny amounts. It's unlikely to cause any side effects in your baby.

It's important to treat your high blood pressure to keep you well. Breastfeeding will also benefit both you and your baby.

If your baby is not feeding as well as usual, seems unusually sleepy, looks much paler than usual, or you have any other concerns about your baby, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, midwife or health visitor.

Labetalol and fertility

There's no evidence to suggest that taking labetalol reduces fertility in either men or women.

But speak to a pharmacist or your doctor if you're trying to get pregnant.

Meds New IA (H2) - Pregnancy non-urgent care card

Cautions with other medicines

There are some medicines that may affect the way labetalol works.

Tell your doctor if you're taking:

other medicines for high blood pressure – when taken together with labetalol, this can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much, which may make you feel dizzy or faint. If this keeps happening to you, tell your doctor. They may change your dose
other medicines that can lower your blood pressure – these include some antidepressants, nitrates (for chest pain), baclofen (a muscle relaxant), medicines for an enlarged prostate, like tamsulosin, or medicines for Parkinson's disease, such as co-careldopa or levodopa
medicines for your heart, such as amiodarone, flecainide or digoxin
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen – they can stop labetalol working properly
medicines for diabetes, particularly insulin – labetalol may make it more difficult to recognise the warning signs of low blood sugar. Speak to your doctor if you have low blood sugar levels without getting any of the usual warning signs. Check your blood sugar after exercise, and follow the usual advice about checking it before driving or operating machinery
steroids like prednisolone
cough medicines that contain pseudoephedrine or xylometazoline
medicines for allergies, such as ephedrine, noradrenaline or adrenaline
medicines for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Mixing labetalol with herbal remedies or supplements

There might be a problem taking some herbal remedies and supplements together with labetalol, especially ones that cause side effects like low blood pressure.

There's not enough information to say that other herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with labetalol. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines.

Meds New IA (H2) - Cautions with other medicines alert