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Thyrogen Side Effects

Thyrogen is a drug used to treat individuals suffering thyroid cancer and is often found generically as Thyrotropin Alfa. As a prescription drug, Thyrogen is prone to causing a number of side effects varying in severity based on the individual and dosage.

  1. Identification

    • According to Drugs.com, Thyrogen is considered a recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) that binds to receptors on normal thyroid and cancerous thyroid cells. Used in cooperation with others drugs, Thyrogen is able to identify thyroid cells so that they can be completely destroyed in patients who have had their thyroid removed due to thyroid cancer.

    Common Serious Effects

    • Although many users of Thyrogen have complained of few or no side effects, some have experienced the following common side effects: vomiting, weakness, headache, and nausea. Though not particularly serious, the persistence or intensifying of any side effect can be a sign of a serious problem. In such an event, seek immediate medical help.

    Serious Side Effects

    • The use of Thyrogen may lead to a number of serious side effects including irregular heartbeat, extreme sweating, feelings of nervousness, and irritability. Thyrogen may also cause symptoms of allergic reaction including severe swelling of the face and skin irritation. Contact your doctor immediately in the event of any of these serious side effects.

    Use

    • Always use Thyrogen according to your doctor's prescription and never alter the dose or duration of use. As it is typically administered as an injection by your doctor, users rarely have difficulty in acquiring a dose. Those patients injecting at home should be sure that they are confident with the correct injecting procedure. Thyrogen should be injected into muscle, usually the buttocks, never into a vein. Do not reuse the needles and never inject if the medication appears cloudy or discolored.

    Warning

    • If injecting at home, never take a double dose of Thyrogen to make up for a missed dose. According to the drug maker, children younger than 16 are cautioned because the safety of this product has not yet been determined for them. Caution should be taken with use in the elderly. There have been no studies on the effects of this medication on fertility. Individual's breast feeding should use extreme caution as the drug could be secreted in the milk.

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