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by DONALD on July 21st, 2007

DONALD

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IS ANDRIOL DANGEROUS?

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  • by Drjorx on July 21st, 2007

    Drjorx

    It can be bad, but some times you have to pick the less of two bad things to get better. Here are some drug info with the link.

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    **Precautions While Using This Medicine:

    Your doctor should check your progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine does not cause unwanted effects.

    For patients with diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) :

    This medicine may affect blood sugar levels. If you notice a change in the results of your blood or urine sugar tests or if you have any questions, check with your doctor.

    -For patients using the brand name Testoderm patches (matrix-type) :

    In some cases, this medicine can pass from you to your sexual partner. Tell your doctor if your female sex partner has a great increase in acne. Also, tell your doctor if her hair begins to grow in odd places like her upper lip, chest, or back. This will not occur if you are using the reservoir-type skin patch because it is not applied to the scrotum and because it has a protective liner.

    -For patients using the brand name Androgel

    Wait 5 or 6 hours after applying the gel before showering or swimming.
    Gel contains alcohol which is flammable- avoid fire, flame or smoking until the gel is dried.
    Side Effects of This Medicine

    --Discuss these possible effects with your doctor:

    Tumors of the liver, liver cancer, or peliosis hepatis (a form of liver disease) have occurred during long-term, high-dose therapy with androgens. Although these effects are rare, they can be very serious and may cause death.

    Androgens can stimulate existing prostate cancer in men who already have it but have not yet been diagnosed. Also, the prostate (a male gland) may become enlarged. Enlargement of the prostate does not mean that cancer will develop. If enlargement occurs and you have difficulty in urinating, it is a good idea to be checked by your doctor.

    When androgens are used in women, especially in high doses, male-like changes may occur, such as hoarseness or deepening of the voice, unnatural hair growth, or unusual hair loss. Most of these changes will go away if the medicine is stopped as soon as the changes are noticed. However, some changes, such as voice changes or enlarged clitoris, may not go away.

    When androgens are used in high doses in males, they interfere with the production of sperm. This effect is usually temporary and only happens during the time you are taking the medicine. However, discuss this possible effect with your doctor if you are planning on having children.

    **Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects appear very often, when they do occur they may require medical attention. Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

    *More common

    -For females only

    Acne or oily skin; decreased breast size; irregular menstrual cycles; hoarseness or deepening of voice; increase in size of female genitals; increase in unnatural hair growth or male pattern baldness

    Note:
    These symptoms may occur in females whose male sexual partner uses a scrotal patch.


    -For males only

    Blistering of skin under patch (especially when the nonscrotal patch is applied to bony areas of the skin); breast soreness or enlargement; frequent or continuing erection of penis lasting up to 4 hours or painful penile erections lasting longer than 4 hours; frequent urge to urinate; itching or redness of skin under patch (less likely with nonscrotal patch) or at site of implants, mild to severe

    -For prepubertal boys only

    Acne; early growth of pubic hair; enlargement of penis; frequent or continuing erections

    *Less common

    -For males or females

    Dizziness; frequent or continuing headache; lack or loss of strength; nausea; overall body flushing, redness, or itching of skin; rapid weight gain; rapidly changing moods, such as depersonalization, dysphoria, euphoria, depression, paranoia, and quick to react or overreact emotionally; swelling of feet or lower legs; unusual bleeding; unusual tiredness; vomiting; yellow skin or eyes (occurring with fluoxymesterone or methyltestosterone more often than with testosterone)

    -For females with breast cancer or bedridden males or females—in addition to the side effects listed above

    Confusion or mental depression; constipation; increased thirst; increased urge to urinate or increased amount of urine

    -For males only

    Black, tarry stools; burning sensation or hardening or thickening of skin under patch; chills; continuing pain at site of implants; difficulty in urinating; itching, skin redness, or rash under patch, severe (less likely with nonscrotal patch); pain in scrotum or groin; vomiting of blood or material that looks like coffee grounds

    *Rare*

    -For males or females—more likely with oral androgens or long-term or high doses of androgens

    Abdominal or stomach pain, continuing; bad breath odor, continuing; black, tarry or light-colored stools or dark urine; fever; hives; loss of appetite, continuing; mood or mental changes; purple or red spots on body or inside the mouth or nose; sore throat; swelling, pain, or tenderness of abdomen; vomiting of blood

    Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. However, check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

    *Less common*

    -For males and females

    Acne, mild; diarrhea; hair loss or thinning of hair; increase in pubic hair growth; infection, pain, redness, or other irritation at site of injection; decrease or increase in sexual desire or drive; nervousness; stomach pain; trouble in sleeping

    -For males only

    Decrease in testicle size; infection, pain, redness, swelling, sores, or other skin irritation underneath patch

    Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.

    ***Additional Information

    Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in product labeling, androgens are used in certain patients with the following medical conditions:

    Anemias (blood problems)
    Delayed growth spurt
    Development of male features in transsexuals
    Microphallus (underdevelopment of the penis)
    Lichen sclerosus (a skin problem of the vulva)

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    ***Before Using This Medicine***

    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 androgens, the following should be considered:

    Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to androgens. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

    -Pregnancy—Androgens are not recommended during pregnancy. When given to pregnant women, the medicine has caused male features to develop in female babies.

    -Breast-feeding—Use is not recommended in nursing mothers, since androgens may pass into the breast milk and may cause unwanted effects in the nursing baby, such as premature (too early) sexual development in males and development of male features in female babies.

    -Children—Androgens may cause children to stop growing. In addition, androgens may make male children develop too fast sexually and may cause male-like changes in female children.

    -Older adults—When older male patients are treated with androgens, they may have an increased risk of enlarged prostate (a male gland) or their existing prostate cancer may get worse. For these reasons, a prostate examination and a blood test to check for prostate cancer is often done before androgens are prescribed for men over 50 years of age. These examinations may be repeated during treatment.

    -Other medicines—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.

    -When you are taking androgens, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

    Acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
    Amiodarone (e.g., Cordarone) or
    Anabolic steroids (nandrolone [e.g., Anabolin], oxandrolone [e.g., Anavar], oxymetholone [e.g., Anadrol], stanozolol [e.g., Winstrol]) or
    Anti-infectives by mouth or by injection (medicines for infection) or
    Antithyroid agents (medicines for overactive thyroid) or
    Carbamazepine (e.g., Tegretol) or
    Carmustine (e.g., BiCNU) or
    Chloroquine (e.g., Aralen) or
    Dantrolene (e.g., Dantrium) or
    Daunorubicin (e.g., Cerubidine) or
    Disulfiram (e.g., Antabuse) or
    Divalproex (e.g., Depakote) or
    Estrogens (female hormones) or
    Etretinate (e.g., Tegison) or
    Gold salts (medicines for arthritis) or
    Hydroxychloroquine (e.g., Plaquenil) or
    Mercaptopurine (e.g., Purinethol) or
    Methotrexate (e.g., Mexate) or
    Methyldopa (e.g., Aldomet) or
    Naltrexone (e.g., Trexan) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
    Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen or
    Phenothiazines (acetophenazine [e.g., Tindal], chlorpromazine [e.g., Thorazine], fluphenazine [e.g., Prolixin], mesoridazine [e.g., Serentil], perphenazine [e.g., Trilafon], prochlorperazine [e.g., Compazine], promazine [e.g., Sparine], promethazine [e.g., Phenergan], thioridazine [e.g., Mellaril], trifluoperazine [e.g., Stelazine], triflupromazine [e.g., Vesprin], trimeprazine [e.g., Temaril]) or
    Phenytoin (e.g., Dilantin) or
    Plicamycin (e.g., Mithracin) or
    Valproic acid (e.g., Depakene)—Use of these medicines with androgens may increase the chance of liver problems. Your doctor may want you to have extra blood tests that check your liver while you are taking any of these medicines with an androgen

    *Anticoagulants* (blood thinners)—Androgens can increase the effect of these medicines and possibly cause excessive bleeding

    -------------------

    Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of androgens. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

    Breast cancer (in males) or
    Prostate cancer—Androgens can cause growth of these tumors
    Breast cancer (in females)—Androgens may cause high calcium levels in the blood to become worse
    Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)—Androgens can increase or decrease blood sugar levels. Careful monitoring of blood glucose should be done
    Edema (swelling of face, hands, feet, or lower legs) or
    Kidney disease or
    Liver disease—These conditions can be worsened by the fluid retention (keeping too much water in the body) that can be caused by androgens. Also, liver disease can prevent the body from removing the medicine from the bloodstream as fast as it normally would. This could increase the chance of side effects occurring
    Enlarged prostate—Androgens can cause further enlargement of the prostate
    Heart or blood vessel disease—Androgens can make these conditions worse because androgens may increase blood cholesterol levels. Also, androgens can cause fluid retention (keeping too much water in the body), which also can worsen heart or blood vessel disease

    http://www.drugs.com/cons/andriol.html

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