Somatropin, e-coli derived (subcutaneous route)
Available brands
Accretropin, Genotropin, Genotropin Miniquick, Humatrope, Norditropin, Norditropin Flexpro, Nutropin, Nutropin AQ NuSpin 10, Nutropin AQ NuSpin 5, Nutropin AQ Pen, Omnitrope, Tev-Tropin, Nutropin Aq
About this medication
Somatropin injection is used to treat growth hormone deficiency (inability to produce enough growth hormone), chronic kidney disease, idiopathic short stature (unexplained shortness), Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) deficiency, and short stature born small for gestational age (SGA) with no catch-up growth by age 2 to 4 years of age. This medicine is a man-made version of the human growth hormone. Growth hormone is naturally produced by the pituitary gland and is necessary to stimulate growth in children. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription. This product is available in the following dosage forms:
Before using this medication
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered: Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated pediatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of somatropin in children. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of somatropin in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more sensitive to the effects of somatropin and are more likely to have unwanted effects, which may require an adjustment in the dose for patients receiving somatropin. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
How to use this medication
This medicine is given as a shot under your skin in the stomach, buttock, upper arm, or thigh area. Somatropin may sometimes be given at home to patients who do not need to be in the hospital. If you are using this medicine at home, your doctor will teach you how to prepare and inject the medicine.Be sure that you understand exactly how the medicine is prepared and injected. This medicine comes with a patient instructions. Read and follow the instructions carefully. Ask your doctor if you have any questions. There are many different forms (eg, vial, cartridge, injection device) available for this medicine. Read all instructions carefully to be sure you know how to use your device. Each time you get your medicine, check to be sure you have received the proper device. Talk to your pharmacist if you have questions about the device that you were given. You will be shown the body areas where this shot can be given.Use a different body area each time you give yourself a shot. Keep track of where you give each shot to make sure you rotate body areas. This will help prevent skin problems from the injections. Use a new needle, unopened vial, prefilled pen, cartridge, or syringe each time you inject your medicine. Check the liquid in theNorditropin® prefilled pen. It should be clear and colorless. Do not use the medicine if the liquid is cloudy, discolored, or has particles in it. You might not use all of the medicine in each vial (glass container) or prefilled syringe. Use each vial or syringe only one time. Do not save an open vial or syringe. If the medicine in the vial or syringe has changed color, or if you see particles in it, do not use it. Use only the brand of this medicine that your doctor prescribed. Different brands may not work the same way. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. This medicine needs to be given on a fixed schedule. If you miss a dose or forget to use your medicine, call your doctor or pharmacist for instructions. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Store in the refrigerator. Do not freeze. Storemixed Humatrope®in the refrigerator for up to 28 days. Do not leave at room temperature for more than 30 minutes per day. Throw away any mixed medicine that has not been used after 28 days. Store theunopened Norditropin® FlexPro penin the refrigerator, away from direct light. Do not freeze. You may also keep theopened Norditropin® FlexPro penin the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Throw away used needles in a hard, closed container where the needles cannot poke through. Keep this container away from children and pets.
Disclaimer: August is a health information platform and its responses don't constitute medical advise. Always consult with a licenced medical professional near you before making any changes.