Triptorelin

Triptorelin is a prescription medicine approved for the treatment of the symptoms associated with advanced prostate cancer.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Triptorelin may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Trelstar

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

This medication falls into category X. This medicine is not approved for any use in women, although, sometimes it is prescribed for "off-label", or unapproved uses. Triptorelin should not be used in women who are pregnant. Triptorelin decreases production of estrogen in women,  which can cause miscarriage if taken by a pregnant woman.

Before receiving triptorelin, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant while receiving triptorelin.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if triptorelin is excreted in human breastmilk or if it will harm your nursing baby.

Triptorelin is a man-made form of a hormone that regulates many processes in the body. Triptorelin overstimulates the body's own production of certain hormones, which causes that production to shut down temporarily.

The Trelstar brand of triptorelin is used in men to treat the symptoms of prostate cancer. Trelstar treats only the symptoms of prostate cancer and does not treat the cancer itself.

The Triptodur brand of triptorelin is used to treat precocious puberty in boys and girls who are at least 2 years old.

Triptorelin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

WARNING/CAUTION: Even though it may be rare, some people may have very bad and sometimes deadly side effects when taking a drug. Tell your doctor or get medical help right away if you have any of the following signs or symptoms that may be related to a very bad side effect:

• Signs of an allergic reaction, like rash; hives; itching; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin with or without fever; wheezing; tightness in the chest or throat; trouble breathing or talking; unusual hoarseness; or swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Signs of high blood sugar like confusion, feeling sleepy, more thirst, more hungry, passing urine more often, flushing, fast breathing, or breath that smells like fruit.
• Signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI) like blood in the urine, burning or pain when passing urine, feeling the need to pass urine often or right away, fever, lower stomach pain, or pelvic pain.
• Signs of high blood pressure like very bad headache or dizziness, passing out, or change in eyesight.
• Shortness of breath, a big weight gain, or swelling in the arms or legs.
• Trouble passing urine.
• Back pain.
• Blood in the urine.
• A burning, numbness, or tingling feeling that is not normal.
• A fast heartbeat.
• A heartbeat that does not feel normal.
• Fever or chills.
• Sore throat.
• Very bad muscle or joint pain.
• Feeling very tired or weak.
• A very bad pituitary gland problem (pituitary apoplexy) has rarely happened with this medicine. Most of the time, this has happened within 2 weeks after the first dose. Call your doctor right away if you have a sudden headache, throwing up, passing out, mood changes, eye weakness, not able to move your eyes, or change in eyesight.
• A higher chance of stroke or very bad and sometimes deadly heart problems have been noted with the use of drugs like triptorelin in men. The chance is low, but get medical help right away if you have chest pain or pressure, a change in strength on 1 side that is greater than the other, trouble speaking or thinking, change in balance, or change in eyesight.

The decrease in triptorelin Cl is more pronounced. Triptorelin half-life increase is similar to renal impairment. Patients with hepatic impairment had 2- to 4-fold higher exposure (AUC) values than younger healthy men.

Triptorelin clearance is partly correlated to total CrCl, which is well known to decrease with age.

Hypersensitivity to triptorelin or any component of the formulation, other GnRH agonists or GnRH; pregnancy

Canadian labeling: Additional contraindications (not in US labeling): Breast-feeding women

Advanced prostate carcinoma: IM:

3.75 mg once every 4 weeks or

11.25 mg once every 12 weeks or

22.5 mg once every 24 weeks

Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) (adjunctive therapy): Decapeptyl [Canadian product]): Females: SubQ: Usual dose: 0.1 mg once daily initiated on day 2 or 3 or days 21 to 23 of menstrual cycle (or 5 to 7 days prior to expected onset of menses). Dose may be adjusted according to ovarian response as measured by ovarian ultrasound with or without serum estradiol levels. Treatment is continued until follicles achieve suitable size (typically 4 to 7 weeks).

Treatment of paraphilia/hypersexuality (off-label use; Guay, 2009; Thibaut, 1993): Males:

Note: May cause an initial increase in androgen concentrations which may be treated with an antiandrogen (eg, flutamide, cyproterone) for 1 to 2 months (Guay, 2009). Avoid use in patients with osteoporosis or active pituitary pathology.

SubQ: Test dose: 1 mg (observe for hypersensitivity)

IM: 3.75 mg monthly

Pituitary-gonadal function may be suppressed with chronic administration and for up to 8 weeks after triptorelin therapy has been discontinued.