Tesamorelin (subcutaneous route)
Available brands
Egrifta
About this medication
Tesamorelin injection is a hormone similar to the one normally released from the hypothalamus gland in the brain. It is used to reduce excess fat (lipodystrophy) in the stomach area in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. 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 have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of tesamorelin injection in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established. Use is not recommended in children with open epiphyses (bones are still growing) or closed epiphyses (bones stopped growing). No information is available on the relationship of age to the effects of tesamorelin injection in geriatric patients. 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
A nurse or other trained health professional may give you this medicine. This medicine is given as a shot under the skin of your stomach. Tesamorelin may sometimes be given at home to patients who do not need to be in a hospital or clinic. If you are using this medicine at home, your doctor or nurse will teach you how to prepare and inject the medicine. Be sure that you understand how to use the medicine. Tesamorelin injection comes with a patient information leaflet and patient instructions. Read the instructions and make sure you understand: If you use tesamorelin at home, 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. Do not inject into skin areas with scar tissue, hard bumps, or bruises, or into your belly button. Use a new needle and syringe each time you inject your medicine. You might not use all of the medicine in each vial (glass container). Use each vial only one time. Do not save an open vial. If the medicine in the vial looks cloudy, discolored, or if you see particles in it, do not use it. 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. If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses. 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 the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. Keep from freezing. Use the mixed solution right away. Throw away unused solution or mixture after mixing. Throw away used needles and syringes in a hard, closed container that the needles cannot poke through. Keep this container away from children and pets.
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