Metyrapone (Systemic)

Brand Names : Metopirone

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 metyrapone, the following should be considered:

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

Pregnancy - Metyrapone has not been fully studied in pregnant women. However, some small studies have shown that metyrapone can affect the production of chemicals by the pituitary and adrenal glands of the fetus. Also, the large amounts of estrogen produced by your body during pregnancy may cause false results in metyrapone testing. Before you take metyrapone, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether metyrapone passes into the breast milk. However, use of metyrapone is not recommended during breast-feeding because it may cause unwanted effects in nursing babies.

Children - This medicine has been tested in children and has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in children than it does in adults.

Older adults - Although there is no specific information about the use of metyrapone in the elderly, it is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases 2 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 metyrapone, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are also taking any other medicines, since many medicines can cause false results in metyrapone testing. This may result in a wrong diagnosis. It is especially important that your doctor know if you are taking any of the following:

• Alcohol (with chronic use)
• Barbiturates
• Carbamazepine (e.g., Tegretol)
• Corticosteroids (cortisone-like medicine)
• Estrogens (female hormones)
• Griseofulvin (e.g., Fulvicin)
• Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen
• Phenylbutazone (e.g., Butazolidin)
• Phenytoin (e.g., Dilantin)
• Primidone (e.g., Mysoline)
• Rifampin (e.g., Rifadin)

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

• Breast cancer or
• Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) or
• Heart disease or
• Liver disease or
• Low blood sugar or
• Thyroid disease - These conditions may cause false results in metyrapone testing and result in a wrong diagnosis

• Excessive body hair in females - Long-term use may increase growth of body hair

• Porphyria - Metyrapone may worsen active cases of porphyria

• Underactive adrenal or pituitary gland - Metyrapone may severely reduce the amount of certain hormones produced by the adrenal glands; these hormones are needed to respond to stress or illness