Follitropin Alfa (Systemic)

Brand Names : Gonal-F

Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For follitropin alfa, the following should be considered:

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

Pregnancy - Follitropin alfa is not needed or recommended for use during pregnancy. Since women using follitropin alfa may be more likely to have more than one child at a time, the problems of multiple births may be increased for women using this medicine. Also, this medicine has been shown to overstimulate the ovaries (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) for a longer time in some women who conceive than in women developing this syndrome who do not become pregnant. Signs of this syndrome include severe abdominal pain, nausea, rapid weight gain, and vomiting. Before you use this medicine, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether follitropin alfa passes into the breast milk. However, this medicine has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

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. Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

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

• Abnormal bleeding of genitals or uterus (unknown cause) - Use of follitropin alfa may make the diagnosis of this problem more difficult

• Adrenal gland or thyroid disease (not controlled) or
• Asthma or
• Tumor, brain or
• Tumor, sex hormone-dependent - Use of follitropin alfa may make these conditions worse

• Ovarian cyst or enlarged ovaries - Use of follitropin alfa may increase the size of a cyst on an ovary or increase the size of enlarged ovaries

• Primary testicular failure - Follitropin alfa will not work in patients who no longer are able to produce sperms

• Primary ovarian failure - Follitropin alfa will not work in patients whose ovaries no longer develop eggs