How Is Somatuline® Depot Injected?
Somatuline Depot has been specially formulated so it can be provided in a prefilled syringe:
- Because each syringe is prefilled, there's no need for anything to be mixed before each injection.1 That means there's no risk of drug being lost during mixing. You'll always know that the full prescribed dose of medication is in the syringe.
- Somatuline Depot is a deep subcutaneous injection, not an intramuscular injection. It goes into the deep layer of fat under the skin, not into the muscle.5
At the request of your doctor, education about acromegaly and the injection of Somatuline Depot is available at no cost from specially trained nurses from the Ipsen Nurse Network.
Your doctor will determine who administers your injections and where the injections take place.
The most common side effects of Somatuline Depot include diarrhea, stomach area (abdominal) pain, nausea, and pain, itching or lump at the injection site.
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of Somatuline Depot. For more information ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Individual response to any acromegaly therapy will vary from patient to patient. Ask your endocrinologist if Somatuline® Depot therapy is right for you.
Important Information About Somatuline Depot
Your doctor is your primary source of information about treatment. For more information, please talk to your doctor and see the full Patient Information. Before each treatment, please read the Patient Information that comes with each package of Somatuline Depot (lanreotide) Injection, as there may be new information.
Who is Somatuline Depot for?
Somatuline Depot is a prescription medicine used for the long-term treatment of people with acromegaly when:
- surgery or radiotherapy have not worked well enough or
- they are not able to have surgery or radiotherapy
It is not known if Somatuline Depot is safe and effective in children.
Before taking Somatuline Depot, you should talk to your doctor about all of your medical conditions and medicines you are taking, including if you have:
- Gallbladder, thyroid, heart, kidney, and liver problems
- Diabetes
- Are allergic to latex or natural dry rubber
- Are taking cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)
- Are receiving medicines that lower heart rate such as beta-blockers
- Are taking a medicine called bromocriptine (Parlodel)
- Are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, breast-feeding, or plan to breast-feed, it is not known if Somatuline Depot could harm your unborn baby or passes into your breast milk
What are possible side effects of Somatuline Depot?
Somatuline Depot may cause serious side effects, including:
- Gallstones. Tell your doctor if you have any of these symptoms including: sudden pain in your upper right stomach area (abdominal), right shoulder or between your shoulder blades, yellowing of your skin and whites of your eyes, fever with chills, and/or nausea
- Changes in your blood sugar. Your doctor may change your dose of diabetes medicine especially when you first start receiving Somatuline Depot or if your dose of Somatuline Depot changes.
- Slow heart rate
- High blood pressure
The most common side effects of Somatuline Depot include: diarrhea, stomach area (abdominal) pain, nausea, and pain, itching, or lump at the injection site.
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of Somatuline Depot. For more information ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
