Calcium Channel Blockers
DiltiazemDiltiazem Hydrochloride
Diltiazem (generic Cardizem and others) is a calcium channel blocker that slows the heart and relaxes blood vessels, used for atrial fibrillation rate control, angina and high blood pressure. It comes in many extended-release products that are not interchangeable, which is the main thing to know when filling it.
This page is general information about a medication and how cash prices for it are set. It is not medical advice and does not replace the label, your prescriber or your pharmacist. How we handle medical information
Generics exist for most product families, but each family is a separate generic and pharmacies stock different ones.
About Diltiazem
Diltiazem acts on both the heart and blood vessels: it slows conduction through the heart, which controls the rate in atrial fibrillation, and widens arteries, which treats angina and blood pressure. The once-daily extended-release capsules and tablets are the usual forms; the immediate-release tablet is taken several times a day. Constipation, swelling, dizziness and a slow pulse are the common effects.
It interacts with many drugs by slowing the liver enzyme that clears them, including some statins, and it is used with care alongside beta blockers because both slow the heart. The extended-release products from different manufacturers use different release systems and are classified separately, so a pharmacy cannot swap one for another without the prescriber’s agreement.
Taking Diltiazem
- How to take it
- Extended-release capsules or tablets once a day, swallowed whole unless the leaflet for your product says the capsule may be opened. Standard tablets are taken several times a day.
- If you miss a dose
- Take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time for your next dose; in that case skip the missed dose and carry on as usual. Never take two doses at once to make up.
- Storage
- At room temperature in the original container, away from heat and moisture (so not in a bathroom cabinet), and out of reach of children.
- Interactions to know about
- It raises levels of many medicines, so simvastatin is limited to 10 mg a day with it, and some benzodiazepines, cyclosporine and other drugs need care. Beta blockers and digoxin add to its slowing of the heart. Strong CYP3A4 blockers raise its levels.
This summarizes the official prescribing information. Your prescriber’s and pharmacist’s instructions, and the leaflet that comes with your medicine, take priority.
Why the cash price for Diltiazem differs from pharmacy to pharmacy
Immediate-release diltiazem is a cheap generic; the extended-release capsules cost pharmacies more and vary by product family and strength, and a pharmacy that has to order the specific family on your prescription may quote higher or delay the fill. A prescription that names the generic family the pharmacy stocks, or allows the prescriber-approved alternatives, avoids both.
Upload it and licensed pharmacies reply with their own cash price. You pay the pharmacy, not us.
Ways to pay less for Diltiazem without insurance
- Ask the pharmacy which extended-release diltiazem it stocks, and ask the prescriber whether that one is acceptable.
- Ask for a ninety-day prescription once the dose is stable.
- Compare two pharmacies; extended-release quotes vary widely.
- Upload the prescription to Script Unlock so licensed pharmacies can quote their cash price. You pay the pharmacy directly.
How Script Unlock gets you a cash price for Diltiazem
Prices on this site come from pharmacies responding to a real prescription. We do not publish estimated, average or "typical" prices, because none of those would be your price.
- 1You upload your prescription
A photo of your Diltiazem prescription is enough. Nothing is sold on the site; you are asking pharmacies to quote.
- 2Licensed pharmacies respond
Pharmacies that Script Unlock has verified see the request and each can reply with its own cash price for your exact drug, strength and quantity.
- 3You choose and pay the pharmacy
You compare the responses, pick a pharmacy, and pay that pharmacy directly when you collect. Script Unlock never takes a patient payment and never sets the price.
Questions to ask your pharmacist about Diltiazem
- 1.Is this the exact extended-release product on my prescription?
- 2.Does it interact with my statin or my other medicines?
- 3.What pulse rate is too slow?
- 4.What should I do about constipation or swelling?
- 5.Can the capsule be opened?
Where Diltiazem fits
Related medications
Sources
Script Unlock is a marketplace that lets licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your prescription. It does not prescribe, dispense or sell medication, does not process patient payments, and does not give medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your prescriber and pharmacist and read the medication guide supplied with your medicine.