Albiglutide Injection
Albiglutide injection will no longer be available in the United States after July 2018. If you are currently using albiglutide injection, you should call your doctor to discuss switching to another treatment.
Albiglutide injection may increase the risk that you will develop tumors of the thyroid gland, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC; a type of thyroid cancer). Laboratory animals who were given medications similar to albiglutide developed tumors, but it is not known if these medications increase the risk of tumors in humans. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your family has or has ever had MTC or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2; condition that causes tumors in more than one gland in the body). If so, your doctor will probably tell you not to use albiglutide injection. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: a lump or swelling in the neck; hoarseness; difficulty swallowing; or shortness of breath.
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain tests to check your body’s response to albiglutide injection.
Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer’s patient information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with albiglutide injection and each time you refill your prescription. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm085729.htm) or the manufacturer’s website to obtain the Medication Guide.
Talk to your doctor about the risks of using albiglutide injection.
🔔 Why is this medication prescribed?
Albiglutide injection is used with a diet and exercise program to control blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes (condition in which the body does not use insulin normally and therefore cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood) when other medications did not control levels well enough. Albiglutide injection is not used to treat type 1 diabetes (condition in which the body does not produce insulin and therefore cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood) or diabetic ketoacidosis (a serious condition that may develop if high blood sugar is not treated). Albiglutide injection is in a class of medications called incretin mimetics. It works by helping the pancreas to release the right amount of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into other body tissues where it is used for energy. Albiglutide injection also works by slowing the movement of food through the stomach.
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Over time, people who have diabetes and high blood sugar can develop serious or life-threatening complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, nerve damage, and eye problems. Using medication(s), making lifestyle changes (e.g., diet, exercise, quitting smoking), and regularly checking your blood sugar may help to manage your diabetes and improve your health. This therapy may also decrease your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other diabetes-related complications such as kidney failure, nerve damage (numb, cold legs or feet; decreased sexual ability in men and women), eye problems, including changes or loss of vision, or gum disease. Your doctor and other healthcare providers will talk to you about the best way to manage your diabetes.
🔔 How should this medicine be used?
Albiglutide injection comes as a powder to be mixed with water in a prefilled dosing pen to inject subcutaneously (under the skin). It is usually injected once a week without regard to meals. Use albiglutide injection on the same day each week at any time of day. You may change the day of the week that you use albiglutide as long as it has been 4 or more days since you used your last dose. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Use albiglutide injection exactly as directed. Do not use more or less of it or use it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
Albiglutide injection controls diabetes but does not cure it. Continue to use albiglutide injection even if you feel well. Do not stop using albiglutide injection without talking to your doctor.
Albiglutide comes in prefilled dosing pens that contain enough medication for one dose. Always inject albiglutide in its own prefilled dosing pen; never mix it with any other medication.
Carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions for use that come with the medication. These instructions describe how to prepare and inject a dose of albiglutide injection. Be sure to ask your pharmacist or doctor if you have any questions about how to prepare or inject this medication.
Always look at your albiglutide before you inject it. It should be clear, yellow, and free of solid particles.
You can inject your albiglutide in your upper arm, thigh, or stomach area. Never inject albiglutide into a vein or muscle. Change (rotate) the injection site within the chosen area with each dose. You can inject albiglutide and insulin in the same body area, but you should not give the injections right next to each other.
Never reuse or share needles or pens. Always use a new needle for each injection. Dispose of needles in a puncture-resistant container. Ask your doctor or pharmacist how to dispose of the puncture resistant container.
