How does Agalates medicine work? We will provide reviews about this drug in the materials of this article. You will also learn about how to use the medication mentioned, how much it costs, whether it has side effects and contraindications, what it is intended for, and so on.
Composition, packaging, form of medical device
In what form is the medication "Agalates" made? Reviews of experts say that such a drug can be found in pharmacies only in the form of tablets. Their active substance is cabergoline. Also, the composition of the drug includes lactose, L-leucine and magnesium stearate.
You can buy Agalates tablets (price, reviews below) in dark glass jars, which are placed in packs of cardboard.
Pharmacological characteristics of the drug
Agalates tablets, reviews of which are ambiguous, are a synthetic ergot alkaloid. The active substance of this medicine manifests itself as a dopamine receptor agonist. It inhibits prolactin secretion by stimulating the dopaminergic hypothalamic receptors.
The effect of the medication in question depends on the dose taken. A decrease in prolactin in the blood is noted after about 3 hours and lasts for 2-3 weeks.
During the treatment of hyperprolactinemia in men and women, the prolactin content usually normalizes after 3-4 weeks.
How does Agalates work? Instructions, reviews of experts inform us that this tool has a highly selective effect. Moreover, it is absolutely safe and relatively well tolerated by patients.
It cannot be said that as a result of taking the pills in question in patients, a decrease in blood pressure may be noted. Moreover, its degree depends on the dosage used. As practice shows, the hypotensive effect is observed only after 6 hours (after administration).
Pharmacokinetic features of the drug
Now you know what Agalates is. Instructions, price, reviews about this medicine are described in this article.
After oral administration, the drug is rapidly absorbed from the digestive tract. In human blood, it is determined after about 1-4 hours. About 42% of the drug binds to plasma proteins.
Almost all cabergoline metabolites begin to inhibit the production of prolactin, but only to a small extent. The half-life of the drug substance is approximately 80 hours (114 hours in patients with hyperprolactinemia).
In the urine of the patient to whom this drug was prescribed, the drug is found in the amount of 18% of the used dose, and in feces - about 72%.
Indications for use of the drug
What are Agalates tablets used for? Reviews of experienced professionals indicate the following indications:
- hyperprolactinemia;
- amenorrhea, anovulation, galactorrhea and oligomenorrhea, which are directly associated with hyperprolactinemia;
- idiopathic hyperprolactinemia;
- prolactin-benign pituitary secreting adenomas ;
- unspecified oligomenorrhea.
It should also be noted that this medication is prescribed to suppress postpartum or already established lactation.
Contraindications to the use of the medication
What contraindications should the patient know before using the Agalates medication? Doctors' reviews especially indicate the following prohibitions:
- hypersensitivity to the components of the drug;
- postpartum arterial hypertension;
- lactose intolerance;
- disturbances in the liver;
- a history of psychosis;
- adolescence (up to 16 years);
- eclampsia and preeclampsia;
- the use of antibiotic agents - macrolides;
- lesions of the heart valves that arose during treatment with cabergoline.
The drug "Agalates": instructions for use
You can see the price, reviews about this medication at the very end of the article. As for this section, we will tell you about how the medicine in question should be used.
For the treatment of hyperprolactinemia, 0.5 mg of the drug per week is prescribed. Take it in one or two doses. After this, the dosage is increased. In the first month of treatment, the amount of medication can be increased by another 0.5 mg.
When using a medicine over 1 mg per week, it should be divided into several doses (2-3). The highest dose per week is 4.5 mg. As a support, 1 mg is used.
It should be specially noted that the experience of treating elderly people (over 65 years old) with this tool has not been studied. Therefore, taking medicine at this age is possible only under the strict supervision of a doctor.
How should other medications be used with Agalates? Reviews (cessation of lactation occurs after taking the 1st pill) of specialists say that taking such a drug is necessary only after consultation with a narrow specialist (obstetrician). To completely stop the established lactation, the drug is prescribed in a dosage of 0.25 mg twice a day. Take this medicine for two days.
If you want to stop lactation after childbirth, then the patient is given 1 mg of the drug immediately after the birth of the baby.
Symptoms of an overdose of the drug "Agalates"
To date, cases of overdose have not been recorded. Although in the case of the use of a large amount of the drug, there is the likelihood of vomiting, nausea, psychosis, decreased blood pressure or hallucinations. With severe signs of an overdose, the use of such drugs as Domperidone and Bromoprid is required.
Side effects after taking a medication
What side effects occur after taking the drug in question? If the drug was used to suppress or prevent lactation, then patients may experience undesirable consequences such as severe dizziness, nausea, headaches, abdominal pain, a slight decrease in blood pressure and drowsiness.
With the systematic administration of tablets (during the treatment of hyperprolactinemia), headaches, asthenia, nausea, dizziness, gastritis, dyspepsia, constipation, abdominal pain, tenderness of the mammary glands, vomiting, lowering blood pressure, flushing, depression and paresthesia can also occur.
If the treatment with the Agalates drug has been delayed, then against the background of prolonged use of the tablets, patients may complain of the following side effects:
- skin rash;
- sleep disorders, hallucinations, dizziness, headache, drowsiness, increased libido, depression;
- nausea, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, epigastric pain, constipation, vomiting;
- disturbances in the liver;
- palpitations, hypotension, pericarditis with effusion, angina pectoris, damage to heart valves, peripheral edema;
- weakness, asthenia;
- pleural effusion, shortness of breath;
- visual impairment.
Drug interaction
Agalates tablets are not recommended to be taken together with such dopamine receptor antagonists as Phenothiazine, Metoclopramide and Thioxanthen.
It should also be noted that it is forbidden to prescribe the drug with macrolides. This is due to the fact that there is a high probability of an increase in the concentration of cabergoline in the blood. In addition, it is highly recommended not to take the drug for a long time at the same time as other ergot alkaloids.
With extreme caution, Agalates tablets are prescribed together with antihypertensive drugs. No drug interaction with Levodopa was detected.
Special recommendations
With special care, the drug "Agalates" is prescribed for patients with Raynaud's syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal ulcers, impaired renal function, internal bleeding, a serious mental disorder in the anamnesis, as well as in combination with antihypertensive drugs.
To prevent or suppress lactation, it is highly recommended not to prescribe this medication to patients with preeclampsia and during postpartum hypertension.
The drug "Agalates": reviews
The cessation of lactation (you need to express before taking the pill) is the main indication for the use of this medication. According to patients' reviews, this drug quite effectively copes with the task.
Most women with hyperprolactinemia respond to the Agalates medication only on the positive side. According to them, the course of treatment with this drug tidies up almost all the tests.
Also, patients say that this medication is well tolerated by them. However, there are also such reviews where representatives of the weaker sex complain of dizziness and headaches. In this case, doctors recommend either canceling the medicine or replacing it with a safer drug.
How much does Agalates drug cost? This medication is quite expensive. In pharmacies in Moscow and the Moscow region, the price of two 0.5 mg tablets can vary from 330 to 470 rubles.