Compare Allopurinol vs. Colcrys
Head-to-head comparisons of medication uses, side effects, ratings, and more.
Lowers uric acid levels in blood, and prevents gout flare-ups.
Zyloprim (allopurinol) works well to prevent gout attacks and is cheaper than some alternatives, but it takes a few weeks to start working.
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3.7/ 5 average rating with 21 reviewsforAllopurinol
Prevents and treats gout.
Colcrys (colchicine) is a second-choice treatment for gout attacks. Be careful how much you use since it can cause problems with your blood.
Upsides
- Zyloprim (allopurinol) works well to lower uric acid in the body.
- It is available as a generic medication.
- Colcrys (colchicine) treats and stops sudden gout attacks.
- It can be used to prevent gout when people are first starting on allopurinol.
- Colcrys (colchicine) also treats Familial Mediterranean fever.
Downsides
- Zyloprim (allopurinol) can raise the number of gout attacks in the first few weeks.
- It can take 2 to 6 weeks to feel the full effects of Zyloprim (allopurinol).
- Kidney stones can form while taking Zyloprim (allopurinol), so you need to drink a lot of fluids to help prevent this.
- Colcrys (colchicine) doesn't work as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids to treat gout attacks.
- Taking Colcrys (colchicine) for too long can cause problems with your blood.
- Doses needs to be changed if you have kidney or liver problems.
- While Colcrys (colchicine) stops the redness and swelling of gout attacks, it doesn't stop the pain.
- If you're taking Colcrys (colchicine) to stop gout flare-ups, you can only use it for 3 to 6 months after your levels have stabilized.
- The capsules (Mitigare) are only approved for prevention, but not treatment of gout.
Used for
- Gout
- High uric acid in cancer
- Recurrent kidney stones
- Gout
- Gout prevention
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Behcet's disease
- Inflammation of the heart
Dosage forms
- Pill
- Injection
- Pill
Price
Lowest price
$848.51
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$123.10
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Reviews
21 reviews so far
71%
saidit'sworth it
52%
saiditworked well
5%
saidit'sa big hassle
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Side effects
The Zyloprim (allopurinol) FDA package insert doesn’t have numbers about how common side effects are.
5possible side effects
- Stomach problems26%
- Diarrhea23%
- Nausea4%
- Gout4%
- Throat pain3%
Risks and risk factors
- More gout attacks
- Kidney stones
- History of kidney stones
- Skin rash
- Liver disease
- Sleepiness or dizziness
- Taking other medications that also cause sleepiness
- Recreational drug use
- Excessive alcohol use
- Elderly
- Blood disorders
- Death from overdose
- Food and medicine interactions
- Grapefruit
- Grapefruit juice
- Protease inhibitors
- Antifungal antibiotics
- Calcium channel blockers
- Cyclosporine
- Anti-cholesterol medicines
- Digoxin
- Muscle pain and breakdown
- Kidney problems
- Elderly
- Use of statins or cholesterol medications
- Use of cyclosporine