Norditropin® products
About GHD
Some questions you
might have
Glossary
Prescribing Information
Instructions for Use
Important Safety Information
    

About growth hormone deficiency

Hormones are chemicals made by special organs called "glands." They act as messengers in the body. Growth hormone is a hormone responsible for telling your body to grow. When it tells the bones in your legs and your spine to grow, it makes you get taller over time.

The pituitary (pi-TOO-i-tair-ee) gland—a small gland just above the roof of your mouth—makes growth hormone. If your pituitary gland doesn't make enough growth hormone, then you are said to have GHD.

If your doctor says that you have some of the signs of GHD, then he or she may ask you to visit a new doctor called an endocrinologist—a doctor who specializes in treating patients who have problems with their glands. The endocrinologist will continue to track your growth progress, just as your previous doctor did. He or she may also order an X-ray of your hand because it shows him or her what your "bone age" is, which can help him or her see how much growth may be remaining.

You might also be given a Stimulation Test (Stim Test), to help your doctor decide if you have GHD. This is an important test and, most of the time, can help your doctor be sure that you're not producing enough growth hormone.

What happens if I don't have enough growth hormone?

After a Stim Test your doctor may say that you have GHD and that you should have growth hormone therapy. This means you'll have to inject yourself with growth hormone, like when the doctor gives you a shot. This can sound pretty intimidating. Like all growth hormones, Norditropin® is taken by injection. Norditropin® is available in Norditropin NordiFlex® (somatropin [rDNA origin] injection), a prefilled, multi-dose, disposable delivery pen. In other words, the growth hormone is already in the pen, you don't have to mix it yourself, and you don't have to worry about syringes. Each delivery pen offers up to 4 weeks of therapy. Norditropin NordiFlex® 5 mg and 10 mg pens offer storage flexibility. Norditropin® is also available in Norditropin® cartridges for the NordiPen® delivery system.

Norditropin® cartridge 5 mg also offers storage flexibility.

Some of the information you've just read may have included words you don't understand. If you don't understand a word, don't worry; just look it up in our glossary.


Norditropin® Indications and Usage

Norditropin® (somatropin [rDNA origin] injection) is used to treat children with growth failure caused by very low or no production of growth hormone. It is also used to treat children who have short stature associated with Noonan syndrome and Turner syndrome, for treatment of children with short stature born small for gestational age with no catch-up growth by age 2-4 years, and to treat adults who do not make enough growth hormone.

Important Safety Information

Remember, your doctor is the main source of information about you and your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health or your medication.

Do not use Norditropin® if you have any of the following conditions: an allergy to phenol or any other ingredients in the medicine; active cancer or other forms of tumor; severe diabetic eye disease; acute critical illness due to certain types of heart or abdomen surgery, trauma, or acute respiratory failure.

Children should not use somatropin if they have any of the following conditions: closed epiphyses (closed bone growth plates), Prader-Willi syndrome with severe obesity, upper airway obstruction or sleep apnea, or Prader-Willi syndrome with significant respiratory impairment.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you have diabetes mellitus; have had cancer or other forms of tumor; are pregnant, planning to be pregnant or are breastfeeding.

Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications you are taking especially if they are: a glucocorticoid medication such as hydrocortisone or cortisone acetate, thyroid hormone, insulin and/or oral diabetes medicines, drugs metabolized by the liver (for example, corticosteroids, sex steroids, anticonvulsants, cyclosporine), or oral estrogen replacement.

Adult height can be influenced if you are on Norditropin® for growth failure and at the same time using glucocorticoids or thyroid hormone.

If you are treated with insulin and/or oral diabetes medicines, the dose of your insulin/oral diabetes medicines may need to be adjusted.

Side effects are usually mild and temporary. Side effects may include headaches, muscle pain, joint stiffness, weakness, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), sugar in your urine (glucosuria), swollen hands and feet due to fluid retention, and redness and itching in the area you inject.

If you have any of these symptoms, discuss them with your doctor.

If you have headaches, eyesight problems, nausea and/or vomiting, these may be symptoms of raised pressure in the brain. Contact your doctor right away.

In very rare cases children treated with somatropin have experienced pain in the hip or knee or a limp. These symptoms may be caused by a slippage of the growth plate in the hip (slipped capital femoral epiphysis).

Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) can occur in children who experience rapid growth. Because growth hormone increases growth rate, children should be monitored for progression of scoliosis.

Thyroid function tests should be performed periodically.

Skin lesions should be checked carefully for any unusual changes.

Somatropin treatment can increase the chances of developing middle ear infections in patients with Turner syndrome.

Congenital heart disease is a common finding in Noonan syndrome and patients should be closely monitored.

Talk to your doctor if you think you have any of these conditions.
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Remember, your doctor is the primary source of information regarding you and your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health or medication.
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