What is Somatuline depot?
Somatuline depot , also known as lanreotide, is a protein that's similar to the hormone somatostatin in your body. Lanreotide reduces the levels of many substances within the body, including insulin, glucose (involved in regulating blood sugar), and growth hormone.
Adults can use somatuline to treat:
- Acromegaly, which cannot be treated by surgery or radiation
- Carcinoid syndrome;
- A certain type of tumor of the pancreas or digestive tract that can spread to other areas of the body
Sometimes, somatuline is given as a last resort after other treatments fail.
Warnings
Please adhere to all instructions outlined on your medication's package or label. Inform your healthcare provider about your medical conditions and allergies. Also, tell them which medicines you are using.
Tell your doctor if you:
- Insulin or other diabetes medications
- Cyclosporine (gengraf neoral or sandimmune)
- Beta blockers are medicines that reduce your heart rate.
Before you take this drug
If you have an allergy to lanreotide, then somatuline depot is not for you.
Tell your doctor about any of the following to ensure that somatuline depot will be safe for you:
- Gallbladder disease
- Diabetes (your diabetes medication may need to be adjusted);
- Liver or kidney disease
- Heart disease
- A thyroid disorder.
Unknown is whether lanreotide can harm an unborn child. Inform your doctor immediately if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Somatuline depot can affect fertility in women. While using somatuline depot, you should not breastfeed for 6 months following your last dose.
How to take Somatuline depot?
Somatuline is injected into the skin.healthcare provider will administer this injection. Somatuline depot can be given every four weeks. Your doctor may change the frequency of your injections. If your symptoms remain unchanged or worsen, contact your physician immediately. You may have to go to your doctor for blood tests and blood sugar checks.
Details on dosage
Adult dose for acne:
Initial dose: 90mg, subcutaneously injected every 4 weeks for 3 months.
Comments:
the goal of the treatment is to return growth hormone (gh) and insulin-like growth factors to normal levels.
Adjust the dose after the initial 3 months.
No dose adjustment is necessary for elderly patients.
Use: treatment of patients with acromegaly who have not responded to surgery or radiotherapy.
Adult dose for neuroendocrine cancer:
Every 4 weeks, inject 120 mg by deep subcutaneous injection.
Comment: there is no need to adjust the dose for elderly patients.
Use: treatment of patients with unresectable, well- or moderately-differentiated, locally advanced, or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (gep-nets) to improve progression-free survival.
Usual adult dose for carcinoid syndrome:
Every 4 weeks, inject 120 mg of a deep subcutaneous dose.
Comment: do not give an additional dose of gep-nets to patients who are already receiving treatment for carcinoid.
Use: to treat carcinoid disease; reduces the frequency and duration of short-acting rescue therapy with somatostatin analogues.
What happens if i miss the dose?
If you are unable to attend your somatuline depot appointment, call your doctor.
What happens if i overdose?
Call 1-800-222-1222 for poison help or seek immediate medical attention.
What should be avoided?
If your doctor prescribes any restrictions regarding food, beverage, or activity, follow their instructions.
Side effects of Somatuline depot
If you experience any of the following symptoms of an allergic reaction: hives, difficulty breathing, swelling of your lips, face, tongue, or throat, contact emergency medical assistance.
If you experience:
- Chest pain and slow heartbeats
- Shortness of breath
- A feeling of lightheadedness, as if you could pass out.
- Memory problems and confusion
- Feeling very tired or weak
- A feeling of lightheadedness, as if you could pass out.
- Low sugar; headache; dizziness; rapid heart rate; and feeling anxious.
- High blood sugar: increased thirst, increased urination, and dry mouth
- Underactive symptoms: tiredness, depression, dryness; thinning of hair, reduced sweating, weight increase, puffiness on your face, increased sensitivity to cold temperatures,
- Symptoms of gallbladder problems include sudden, severe pains in the upper abdomen that spread to the back or shoulders (which may happen after eating or at night), nausea, and fever.
Side effects of somatuline depot include:
- Headache that pounds in the neck or ears
- Dizziness;
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain;
- Muscle or joint pain
- Headache, dizziness,
- Pain, itching, or a hard lump may appear where the medicine has been injected.
There may be other side effects. For medical advice on side effects, call your doctor. The fda can be contacted at 1-800-fda-1088 to report side effects.
Interaction with other drug
Your doctor may adjust your dose of other medications you regularly take when you begin or stop using somatuline depot.
Tell your doctor all of your other medications, including:
- Bromocriptine;
- Cyclosporine;
- Insulin, or oral diabetes medication;
- Beta-blocker medicines for heart or blood pressure (such as metoprolol and other beta-blockers)
This list is incomplete. Lanreotide may interact with other drugs, such as prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. This list does not include all possible drug interactions.
