Octreotide injection FAQ

Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, continue your normal diet.

This medication may cause changes in your blood sugar. You should know the symptoms of high and low blood sugar and what to do if you have these symptoms.

Octreotide comes as an immediate-release solution (liquid) for injection to be injected subcutaneously (under the skin) or intravenously (into a vein) Octreotide also comes as a long-acting injection to be injected into the muscles of the buttocks by a doctor or nurse. Octreotide immediate-release injection is usually injected 2 to 4 times a day. Octreotide long-acting injection is usually injected once every 4 weeks. Inject octreotide immediate-release injection at around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Inject octreotide injection exactly as directed. Do not inject more or less of it or inject it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

If you forget to inject a dose of the immediate-release injection, inject the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not inject a double dose to make up for a missed one.

If you are storing the long-acting injection in your home until it is time for it to be injected by your doctor or nurse, you should store it in original carton in the refrigerator and protect it from light. If you will be storing the immediate-release solution for injection in ampules, vials, or dosing pens, you should keep it in the original carton in the refrigerator to protect it from light; do not freeze. You may store the immediate-release injection multi-dose vials after first use at room temperature for up to 14 days. You may store the immediate-release dosing pen at room temperature after first use for up to 28 days with the pen cap always on. You may store the immediate-release injection single-dose vials and ampules at room temperature for up to 14 days, but discard any of the unused solution in the single dose ampules or vials after use.

Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor will order certain lab tests before and during your treatment to check your body's response to octreotide injection.

Octreotide immediate-release injection is used to decrease the amount of growth hormone (a natural substance) produced by people with acromegaly (condition in which the body produces too much growth hormone, causing enlargement of the hands, feet, and facial features; joint pain; and other symptoms) who cannot be treated with surgery, radiation, or another medication. Octreotide immediate-release injection is also used to control diarrhea and flushing caused by carcinoid tumors (slow-growing tumors that release natural substances that can cause symptoms) and vasoactive intestinal peptide secreting adenomas (VIP-omas; tumors that form in the pancreas and release natural substances that can cause symptoms). Octreotide long-acting injection is used to control acromegaly, carcinoid tumors, and VIP-omas in people who have been successfully treated with octreotide injection but prefer to receive injections less often. Octreotide injection is in a class of medications called octapeptides. It works by decreasing the amounts of certain natural substances produced by the body.

Side effects reported with octreotide include:

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of octreotide acetate use in pregnancy. There was no evidence of fetal harm in studies performed in rats and rabbits. However, as animal studies cannot be always used to predict response in humans, octreotide acetate should be used in pregnancy only if clearly needed. Octreotide acetate is classified as FDA pregnancy risk category B. It is not known if octreotide acetate can enter breast milk. As many drugs can enter human milk and cause side effects in the nursing infant, octreotide acetate should be used cautiously during breastfeeding.

Octreotide acetate is an injectable medicine that is very similar to the hormone somatostatin, which is naturally produced in the body that has several effects including inhibition of the release of hormones. Octreotide works in a similar fashion as somatostatin, but is degraded more slowly and is a stronger inhibitor of glucagon, growth hormone, and insulin release. Like somatostatin, octreotide also decreases the release of growth stimulating hormones, decreases blood flow to the digestive organs, and inhibits the release of digestive hormones such as serotonin, gastrin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin, motilin, and pancreatic polypeptide. Based on these actions, octreotide acetate is used to treat symptoms of severe diarrhea and flushing caused by cancer. Octreotide is also used to treat acromegaly. Acromegaly is a rare hormonal disorder that affects adults in which there is an over production of growth hormone that leads to the abnormal growth of the hands, feet, or facial features. Octreotide significantly decreases the levels of growth hormone and IGF-I (somatomedin C) in patients with acromegaly. Other actions of octreotide include suppression of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) release, inhibition of gallbladder contractility, and the secretion of bile. The FDA approved octreotide acetate in October 1988.

: Octreotide acetate can alter nutrient absorption and may interfere with the absorption of some orally taken medications. Use of octreotide acetate with cyclosporine (Gengraf) may decrease blood levels of cyclosporine and result in transplant rejection. If taken with octreotide acetate, dose adjustments may be required for some medications including insulin, oral anti-diabetes medicines, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers (CCBs), and agents used to control fluid and electrolyte balance. Octreotide may decrease the removal of certain drugs broken down by the CYP3A4 liver enzymes. Therefore, octreotide should be used cautiously with other drugs that are extensively metabolized by these enzymes or those that have a low therapeutic index. Co-administration of octreotide and bromocriptine may increase the blood levels of bromocriptine (Cycloset).