Octreotide FAQ

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

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

Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store the unopened packages in the refrigerator; do not freeze. After first opening, store capsules in the container they came in at room temperature for up to 1 month.

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.

Octreotide is used to treat 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) in people who have been treated successfully with octreotide injection or lanreotide injection. Octreotide is in a class of medications called octapeptides. It works by decreasing the amounts of certain natural substances produced by the body.

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 a capsule to take by mouth. It is usually taken twice daily on an empty stomach, at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal, with a glass of water. Take octreotide 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. Take octreotide exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

Inform your doctor of all medications you are currently taking, who can advise you on any possible drug interactions. Never begin taking, suddenly discontinue, or change the dosage of any medication without your doctor’s recommendation.

Capsule, Delayed-Release (Mycapssa)

Common side effects of octreotide include:

Octreotide is a medication used in the treatment of acromegaly, a disorder associated with excessive blood levels of growth hormone, and severe, watery diarrhea caused by certain types of gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. Octreotide is a somatostatin analog that is structurally similar to and mimics the activity of somatostatin, a natural hormone that inhibits growth hormone and various gastrointestinal hormones involved in the digestive process. Acromegaly causes excessive growth of body tissues, typically characterized by abnormally large hands, feet and face, and metabolic dysfunction. It may cause enlargement of internal organs and insulin resistance, and can be life-threatening. Most often, acromegaly is the result of an anterior pituitary growth hormone-releasing tumor. Carcinoid tumors are a type of slow-growing cancer of hormone-secreting nerve cells (neuroendocrine) that can grow anywhere in the body. Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors cause severe diarrhea and flushing. Octreotide works by binding to protein particles (receptors) on cells that respond to somatostatin and inhibit their activity. This suppresses secretion of growth hormone from pituitary gland and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) from liver, reducing the metabolic and other symptoms of acromegaly. Octreotide also suppresses the response of the reproductive hormone luteinizing hormone (LH) to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), and the pancreatic secretion of glucagon and insulin, the two hormones that regulate blood glucose levels. In the gastrointestinal tract, octreotide reduces visceral (splanchnic) blood flow and inhibits the release of serotonin and secretion of various gastrointestinal hormones including gastrin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin, motilin, and pancreatic polypeptide, reducing the hormone release by gastrointestinal tumors and resultant diarrhea. Uses of octreotide include: Adult: FDA-approved: