Androgens (Systemic)

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