ANABOLICSTEROIDS (Systemic)
Some commonly used brand names are:
In the U.S.?
- Anadrol-50 3
- Deca-Durabolin 1
- Durabolin 1
- Durabolin-50 1
- Hybolin Decanoate 1
- Hybolin-Improved 1
- Kabolin 1
- Oxandrin 2
- Winstrol 4
In Canada?
- Anapolon 50 3
- Deca-Durabolin 1
Note: | For quick reference, the following anabolic steroids are numberedto match the corresponding brand names. |
Category
- Anabolic steroid?Nandrolone; Oxandrolone; Oxymetholone; Stanozolol
- Antianemic?Nandrolone; Oxymetholone; Stanozolol
- Antiangioedema,hereditary, agent?Oxymetholone; Stanozolol
- Antineoplastic?Nandrolone
Description
This medicine belongs tothe group of medicines known as anabolic (an-a-BOL-ik) steroids. They are related to testosterone, amale sex hormone. Anabolic steroids help to rebuild tissues that have becomeweak because of serious injury or illness. A diet high in proteins and caloriesis necessary with anabolic steroid treatment.
Anabolic steroids are used for several reasons:
- to help patients gain weight after a severe illness, injury, or continuinginfection. They also are used when patients fail to gain or maintain normalweight because of unexplained medical reasons.
- to treat certain types of anemia.
- to treat certain kinds of breast cancer in some women.
- to treat hereditary angioedema, which causes swelling of the face,arms, legs, throat, windpipe, bowels, or sexual organs.
Anabolic steroids may also be used for other conditions as determined byyour doctor.
Anabolic steroids are available only with your doctor's prescription, inthe following dosage forms:
Oral- Oxandrolone
- Oxymetholone
- Tablets (U.S. and Canada)
- Stanozolol
Parenteral- Nandrolone
- Injection (U.S. and Canada)
Before Using This Medicine
In deciding to use a medicine,the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it willdo. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For anabolic steroids,the following should be considered:
Allergies?Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual orallergic reaction to anabolic steroids or androgens (male sex hormones). Alsotell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances,such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
Pregnancy?Anabolic steroids should not be used during pregnancy.They may cause the development of male features in the female fetus and prematuregrowth and development of male features in the male fetus. Be sure you havediscussed this with your doctor.
Breast-feeding?It is not known whether anabolic steroids passinto breast milk.
Children?Anabolic steroids should be used with caution inpediatric patients. This medicine may cause children to stop growing or theirbone growth to slow down. In addition, they may make male children developtoo fast sexually and may cause male-like changes in female children.
Older adults?When elderly male patients are treated with anabolicsteroids, they may have an increased risk of enlarged prostate or cancer ofthe prostate.
Other medicines?Although certain medicines should not be usedtogether at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used togethereven if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want tochange the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are takinganabolic steroids, it is especially important that your health care professionalknow if you are taking any of the following:
- Acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
- Amiodarone (e.g., Cordarone) or
- Androgens (male hormones) or
- Anti-infectives by mouth or by injection (medicine for infection)or
- Antithyroid agents (medicine for overactive thyroid) or
- Carbamazepine (e.g., Tegretol) or
- Carmustine (e.g., BiCNU) or
- Chloroquine (e.g., Aralen) or
- Dantrolene (e.g., Dantrium) or
- Daunorubicin (e.g., Cerubidine) or
- Disulfiram (e.g., Antabuse) or
- Divalproex (e.g., Depakote) or
- Estrogens (female hormones) or
- Etretinate (e.g., Tegison) or
- Gold salts (medicine for arthritis) or
- Hydroxychloroquine (e.g., Plaquenil) or
- Mercaptopurine (e.g., Purinethol) or
- Methotrexate (e.g., Mexate) or
- Methyldopa (e.g., Aldomet) or
- Naltrexone (e.g., Trexan) (with long-term, high-dose use) or
- Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen or
- Phenothiazines (acetophenazine [e.g., Tindal], chlorpromazine [e.g.,Thorazine], fluphenazine [e.g., Prolixin], mesoridazine [e.g., Serentil],perphenazine [e.g., Trilafon], prochlorperazine [e.g., Compazine], promazine[e.g., Sparine], promethazine [e.g., Phenergan], thioridazine [e.g., Mellaril],trifluoperazine [e.g., Stelazine], triflupromazine [e.g., Vesprin], trimeprazine[e.g., Temaril]) or
- Phenytoin (e.g., Dilantin) or
- Plicamycin (e.g., Mithracin) or
- Valproic acid (e.g., Depakene)?Taking anabolic steroids withany of these medicines may increase the chances of liver damage. Your doctormay want you to have extra blood tests to check for this if you must takeboth medicines
- Anticoagulants, oral (blood thinners you take by mouth)?Anabolicsteroids can increase the effect of these medicines and possibly cause excessivebleeding
Other medical problems?The presence of other medicalproblems may affect the use of anabolic steroids. Make sure you tell yourdoctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
- Breast cancer (in males and some females)
- Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)?Anabolic steroids can decreaseblood sugar levels
- Enlarged prostate or
- Prostate cancer?Anabolic steroids may make these conditionsworse by causing more enlargement of the prostate or more growth of a tumor
- Heart or blood vessel disease?Anabolic steroids can worsenthese conditions by increasing blood cholesterol levels
- Too much calcium in the blood (or history of) (in females)?Anabolicsteroids may worsen this condition by raising the amount of calcium in theblood even more
Proper Use of This Medicine
Take this medicine only as directed. Do not take more of it and donot take it more often than your doctor ordered. To do so may increase thechance of side effects.
In order for this medicine to work properly, it isimportant that you follow a diet high in proteins and calories. Ifyou have any questions about this, check with your health care professional.
Dosing?The dose of these medicines will be differentfor different patients. Follow your doctor's orders orthe directions on the label. The following information includes onlythe average doses of these medicines. If your dose isdifferent, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The number of tablets that you take depends on the strength of the medicine.Also, the number of doses you take each day, the timeallowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine dependon the medical problem for which you are taking the anabolic steroid.
For nandrolone decanoate- For injection dosage form:
- For treatment of certain types of anemia:
- Women and girls 14 years of age and older?50 to 100 milligrams(mg) injected into a muscle every one to four weeks.
- Men and boys 14 years of age and older?50 to 200 mg injectedinto a muscle every one to four weeks.
Your doctor may want to continue treatment for up to twelve weeks. Aftera four-week rest period without receiving this medicine, your doctor may wantyou to repeat the cycle. - Children up to 2 years of age?Dose must be determined by yourdoctor.
- Children 2 to 13 years of age?25 to 50 mg injected into a muscleevery three to four weeks.
For nandrolone phenpropionate- For injection dosage form:
- For treatment of certain breast cancers in women:
- Adults?25 to 100 milligrams (mg) injected into a muscle oncea week for up to twelve weeks. After a four-week rest period without receivingthis medicine, your doctor may want you to repeat the cycle.
- Children?Dose must be determined by your doctor.
For oxandrolone- For oral dosage form (tablets):
- For treatment in rebuilding tissue after a serious illness or injury:
- Adults and teenagers?2.5 milligrams (mg) two to four timesa day for up to four weeks. Your doctor may increase your dose up to 20 mga day.
- Children?Dose is based on body weight and must be determinedby your doctor. The usual dose is 0.25 mg per kilogram (kg) (0.11 mg per pound)of body weight a day.
For oxymetholone- For oral dosage form (tablets):
- For treatment of certain types of anemia:
- Adults, teenagers, children, and older infants?Dose is basedon body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 1to 5 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) (0.45 to 2.3 mg per pound) of bodyweight a day.
- Premature and newborn infants?Dose is based on body weightor size and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 0.175 mgper kg (0.08 mg per pound) of body weight once a day.
For stanozolol- For oral dosage form (tablets):
- To prevent hereditary angioedema, which causes swelling of the face,arms, legs, throat, windpipe, bowels, or sexual organs:
- Adults and teenagers?At first, 2 milligrams (mg) three timesa day to 4 mg four times a day for five days. Then, your doctor may slowlylower the dose to 2 mg once a day or once every other day.
Missed dose?If you miss a dose of this medicine and your dosingschedule is:
- One dose a day?Take the missed dose as soon as possible. However,if you do not remember it until the next day, skip the missed dose and goback to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
- More than one dose a day?Take the missed dose as soon as possible.However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose andgo back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
If you have any questions about this, check with your doctor.
Storage?To store this medicine:
- Keep out of the reach of children.
- Store away from heat and direct light.
- Do not store the tablet form of this medicine in the bathroom, nearthe kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause themedicine to break down.
- Keep the liquid form of this medicine from freezing.
- Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be surethat any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.
Precautions While Using This Medicine
Yourdoctor should check your progress at regular visits to make sure that thismedicine does not cause unwanted effects.
If your child or teenager is taking this medicine, it is important thatthe doctor take x-rays every 6 months to check your child for bone growthand height. Anabolic steroids may interfere with normal bone growth.
For diabetic patients:
- This medicine may affect blood sugar levels. If you notice a changein the results of your blood or urine sugar tests or if you have any questions,check with your doctor.
Side Effects of This Medicine
Tumors of the liver, livercancer, or peliosis hepatis, a form of liver disease, have occurred duringlong-term, high-dose therapy with anabolic steroids. Although these effectsare rare, they can be very serious and may cause death. Discuss these possibleeffects with your doctor.
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects.Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they mayneed medical attention.
Check with your doctorimmediately if any of the following side effects occur:
For both females and males
Rare (with long-term use)
Black, tarry, or light-colored stools; dark-colored urine; purple- or red-colored spotson body or inside the mouth or nose; sore throatand/or fever; vomiting of blood
Also, checkwith your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effectsoccur:
For both females and males
Rare (with long-term use)
Abdominal or stomach pain; feeling ofdiscomfort (continuing); headache (continuing); hives; loss of appetite (continuing); unexplained weight loss; unpleasant breath odor (continuing)
Other sideeffects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effectsmay go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. However,check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or arebothersome:
Other side effects not listed above may also occur insome patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.
Additional Information
Once a medicine has been approvedfor marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also usefulfor other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in productlabeling, anabolic steroids may be used in certain patients with the followingmedical conditions:
- Certain blood clotting diseases
- Growth failure
- Turner's syndrome
Other than the above information, there is no additional information relatingto proper use, precautions, or side effects for these uses.
Revised: 10/28/2004
