CONTRAINDICATIONS:
-
Anyone with any liver function abnormalities,
liver disease, hepatitis or any other medical disorder of liver function
including but not limited to cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, jaundice
etc. should not take Avodart. If you have any questions about your medical
condition, consult your primary care physician before taking Avodart.
-
Do NOT take Avodart if you are taking
potent Protease Inhibitors: Agenerase (amprenavir), Crixivan (indinavir),
Viracept (nelfinavir), Norvir (ritonavir) or Invirase or Fortovase (saquinavir).**
-
Do NOT take Avodart if you are taking
oral ketoconazole (Nizoral) or Sporanox (Itraconazole).**
-
Do NOT take Avodart if you are allergic
to Propecia, Proscar or Finasteride or have a known hypersensitivity to
any ingredient of Avodart: Dutasteride, mono-di-glycerides caprylic/capric
acid, butylated hydroxytoluene, BSE-free bovine gelatin, glycerin and yellow
ferric oxide.
-
Absolutely no one under the age of 18
should take Avodart.
-
Absolutely no female should take Avodart
under any circumstances.
-
Do NOT combine Avodart with Propecia
or Proscar
**Dutasteride
is metabolized by human cytochrome P45 isoenzyme CYP3A4. There are
no clincial studies to evaluate the impact of CYP3A4 enzyme inhibitors
on dutasteride pharmacokinetics. However, based on in vitro data
blood concentrations of dutasteride may increase in the presense of POTENT
inhibitors of CYP3A4 such as potent protease inhibitors, ketoconazole,
itraconazole... Therefore there is a potential for drug-drug interation
of dutasteride and systemic chronic dosing with potent CYP3A4 inhibitors.
In otherwise healthy individuals with no liver disease, topical applications
would not indicate as much caution and would not be a contraindication
to dutasteride, only systemic ORAL ketoconazole or other CYP3A4 inhibitors
would be a contraindication.
IMPORTANT
WARNING:
Pregnant or potentially pregnant woman
should not touch Avodart capsules and should definitely NOT touch broken
or crushed capsules. If pregnant with a male baby and the pregnant woman
is exposed to the active ingredient in Avodart, the male baby could be
born with abnormalities of the male sex organs.
Men taking Avodart should NOT donate
blood for at least 6 months after last dose to prevent transmission of
dutasteride to a pregnant woman via blood transfusion
AVODART
SIDE EFFECTS:
The majority of Men using Avodart experience
no side effects. Side effects are similar to Propecia side effects and
are usually mild to moderate and tend to go away during treatment course:
Impotence (4.7%), decreased libido (3%), breast tenderness and breast enlargement
(0.5%) and ejaculation disorders (1.4%). The incidence of most drug-related
adverse events decreased with duration of treatment.
Rarely allergic reactions - seek
immediate emergency medical attention
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION:
AVODART can affect
the blood test for the screening of Prostrate Cancer, the PSA (Prostate-Specific
Antigen). It is very important that if you have a PSA test done, you need
to tell your doctor that you are taking Avodart. Avodart has no effects
on prostate cancer nor is it associated with cancer, it just can affect
the reading of the test results. Therefore, in order to have an accurate
screening test, the doctor must be aware that you are taking Avodart. After
6 months of using Avodart one's PSA levels can be decreased by as much
as 50% and it important to double the value when testing PSA for prostate
cancer detection or following PSA levels for monitoring.
AVODART
PRESCRIBING INFORMATION:
Avodart has only been approved by the
FDA for the treatment of prostatic enlargement and although it has been
tested and shown to be more effective than Propecia for hair loss it has
not yet been approved as a treatment for hair loss. Avodart (dutasteride)
is a more potent 5-alpha reductase enzyme inhibitor than Propecia and decreases
serum DHT levels responsible for Male Pattern Hairloss. Therefore Medical
Wellness Center is off-label prescribing Avodart for Male Pattern Hair
Loss Only. We do NOT prescribe Avodart for BPH (prostatic enlargement)
as this condition needs close physician monitoring to prevent or detect
the progression to Prostate cancer. Avodart prescribed for Male Pattern
Hair Loss is NOT covered by insurance. |
