Nandrolone Decanoate 250 mg/ml

Nandrolone Decanoate 250 mg/ml is a solution for injection into a muscle. It contains nandrolone, a man-made substance that is very close to testosterone, the male sex hormone that men's bodies make naturally. It is used to help the body build and hold on to muscle and body tissue in certain wasting conditions, where a doctor has decided this treatment is appropriate for you. This medicine is available on prescription only — your doctor has prescribed it for you personally, and it should never be used by anyone else.

There are people who must not be given this medicine at all, and others who need extra checks first — read this section carefully and tell your doctor about your health before your first injection.

Warnings and precautions

• +Talk to your doctor before using it if you have any heart problems, high blood pressure, or have been told your cholesterol is high — this medicine can raise blood pressure, cause your body to hold water and worsen your cholesterol levels.
• +Talk to your doctor before using it if you have kidney or liver problems, as this medicine is broken down by the liver and can make fluid build-up worse.
• +Talk to your doctor before using it if you have diabetes — your blood sugar may change and your diabetes treatment may need adjusting.
• +Talk to your doctor before using it if you have difficulty passing urine, or have been told your prostate gland is enlarged; your doctor will want to examine your prostate and take blood tests before and during treatment.
• +Talk to your doctor before using it if you have epilepsy, migraine, sleep apnoea (breathing pauses during sleep) or a history of depression, as these can get worse.
• +Your doctor will arrange regular blood tests during treatment — including blood counts, liver tests, cholesterol and, in men, prostate blood tests. Please keep these appointments.
• +This medicine contains a substance that is banned in sport. If you take part in any sport where testing is carried out, tell your doctor and the relevant sporting body before treatment begins. Because it is a long-acting injection, it can be detected for many months after your last dose.

Other medicines and Nandrolone Decanoate

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines — including ones bought without a prescription and herbal products. It is especially important to mention blood-thinning medicines (tablets or injections that stop clots, such as warfarin), because this medicine can strengthen their effect and increase the risk of bleeding, so extra blood tests may be needed. Also mention medicines for diabetes, including insulin, as your blood sugar may drop and your dose may need changing; steroid tablets or injections such as prednisolone, because together they make your body hold more water and swell; and medicines that affect the liver, such as ciclosporin taken after a transplant.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility

Do not use this medicine if you are pregnant, if you think you may be pregnant, or if you are trying to become pregnant. It can seriously harm an unborn baby, and can cause a female baby to develop male features. Do not use it if you are breastfeeding, as it may pass into breast milk. If you are a woman able to have children, use reliable contraception during treatment and speak to your doctor before you stop. In men, this medicine reduces the body's own testosterone and lowers the number of sperm you make, which can make you temporarily unable to father a child; sperm production usually recovers after treatment stops, but it can take many months because this is a long-acting injection.

Driving and using machines

This medicine is not expected to affect your ability to drive or use tools and machines. However, some people get headaches, dizziness or changes in mood and sleep. If this happens to you, do not drive or operate machinery until you feel completely normal again.

Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. It is given as an injection deep into a muscle, normally in the buttock or thigh, by a doctor or nurse. It must never be injected into a vein. If you have been shown how to inject it yourself, use a new sterile needle and syringe every time, use a different injection site each time so the same spot is not used twice in a row, and check the liquid is clear and free of particles before use. Each ampoule is for single use only — throw away any liquid left over. This is a long-acting injection given at intervals of weeks, so it is easy to lose track: if you miss an appointment or a dose, contact your doctor as soon as you can to arrange the next one, and never take a double amount to make up for a missed dose. If you think you have been given too much, tell your doctor straight away.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Other possible side effects

• +acne and oily skin
• +fluid build-up, causing swollen ankles, puffy face or a sudden gain in weight
• +in men, tender or swollen breast tissue
• +in men, more frequent or longer-lasting erections at first, then reduced sex drive and difficulty getting an erection as treatment continues
• +in men, smaller testicles and a lower sperm count
• +in women, a deeper voice, more facial or body hair, and irregular or absent periods (some of these voice and hair changes may not go away)
• +pain, redness, hardness or a lump at the injection site
• +headache, difficulty sleeping or mood changes such as irritability
• +increased blood pressure
• +changes in blood test results, including cholesterol and liver tests

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children. Store below 25 °C. Keep the ampoules in the outer carton to protect them from light. Do not freeze, and do not use an ampoule that has been frozen. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date printed on the carton and on the ampoule, where the date refers to the last day of that month. Do not use it if the liquid is cloudy, discoloured or has particles in it, or if the ampoule is chipped or cracked. Never throw away needles, syringes or medicines in your household rubbish or down the drain. Put used needles straight into a sharps container and return unused medicine and full sharps containers to your pharmacist, who will dispose of them safely and protect the environment.

The active substance is nandrolone decanoate. Each 1 ml ampoule contains 250 mg of nandrolone decanoate. The only other ingredient is a sterile oil carrier, which holds the active substance and lets it release slowly from the muscle. This medicine is a clear, oily, colourless to pale-yellow liquid supplied in 1 ml single-use glass ampoules, either amber or clear glass. Each carton contains 10 ampoules of 1 ml, together with this leaflet. The carton carries a printed square barcode (a GS1 DataMatrix), a batch number, an expiry date and a unique verification code hidden under a scratch panel, which you or your pharmacist can check at ergopharm.net to confirm the pack is genuine. Manufactured under GMP conditions by Ergopharm, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. If you have any questions about this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.