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Megase
- Thread starter ihatecf
- Start date
Hi Rami,
My son was put on megace for weight loss and no appetite. He got terrible mood swings from it, so we stopped it. Here's some info:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,414%7CMegace,00.html
">http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/D...CMegace,00.html
</a>
Here are some other threads that talk about megace. I think others have had some luck.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=8338&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=4037&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=2993&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
edited to add:
I see you've been on this before with some side effects. Since its a female hormone, it may cause some weird side-effects in men. Did you gain any weight from it? Is there another drug your doctor can try?
My son was put on megace for weight loss and no appetite. He got terrible mood swings from it, so we stopped it. Here's some info:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,414%7CMegace,00.html
">http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/D...CMegace,00.html
</a>
Here are some other threads that talk about megace. I think others have had some luck.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=8338&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=4037&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.cysticfibrosis.com/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=2993&highlight_key=y
">http://forums.cysticfibrosis.c...highlight_key=y
</a>
edited to add:
I see you've been on this before with some side effects. Since its a female hormone, it may cause some weird side-effects in men. Did you gain any weight from it? Is there another drug your doctor can try?
Hi, My daughter has used Megace a couple of times, she is currently back on it. When the doctors first brought it up we were stationed in Ohio. She was 14. They told us a mild side effect was possibly some hair loss. She did experience some, but not such an amount that it was noticeable. No clumps or bald spots or anything like that. Her appitite did increase almost instantly. She ate a full breakfast, you know the kind they show in the CF nutrition videos. She took her lunch to school. Then on my way to pick her up from school I would take her a chicken strip basket from Dairy Queen or a chicken strip dinner from KFC complete with double mashed potatoes or french fries with country gravy, which she ate on her way home and she had a small Wendy's Frosty about three times a week. Then supper at about 7pm. She gained well but her face got a little puffy. That went away when she stopped the megace. She was tapered off the megace then stopped altogether about 3 months later. She was able to maintain her weight, which was another concern. Her docs said that for some it works and for others they lose the weight. She did well for a couple of years. She went back on it for about two months when she was about 16 or so. No puffieness this time. We started out on a lower dose so that she wouldn't eat so much all of a sudden. That seemed to work. She just recently started it again. She's had a tough year this year, in and out of hospital every two or three months. She always took a liquid and this time was given the pills. She prefers the liquid to the pills, I think. She again started out slow and had maintained a steady weight gain again. She's been on it the longest this time around, or so it seems I guess. Since June. She just went back to school and is living with roommates so we'll have to see how long she will continue. She asked to go back on it and likes the results it gives her. At 5'5" she has gotten up to 113. They were happy with that and so was she.
That is our experience. Hope it helps.
Liza
(mom of 2 teen girls w/CF)
(19yrs & 16yrs)
That is our experience. Hope it helps.
Liza
(mom of 2 teen girls w/CF)
(19yrs & 16yrs)
I personally had good luck with megase. I'm not sure if it's only available as the liquid form (which is what I had). I didn't experience any adverse side effects, and it was really helpful in jump-starting my appetite.
As far as the mood swings go, I have since learned that the reason they report that as a potential side effect is because it is experienced by a certain percentage of the population. A large number of patients who are prescribed megace are having problems eating because of depression.
My scientific background leads me to believe that it's not necessarily the megace that is causing the moodswings, but that the mood swings are simply a concurrent effect. Just another example of correlation not implying causation.
When considering a medication's side effects and potential side effects (as reported in the literature accompanying the drug) it is important to understand the statistics behind it.
As far as the mood swings go, I have since learned that the reason they report that as a potential side effect is because it is experienced by a certain percentage of the population. A large number of patients who are prescribed megace are having problems eating because of depression.
My scientific background leads me to believe that it's not necessarily the megace that is causing the moodswings, but that the mood swings are simply a concurrent effect. Just another example of correlation not implying causation.
When considering a medication's side effects and potential side effects (as reported in the literature accompanying the drug) it is important to understand the statistics behind it.
Hi there
I asked my doc for megace and after looking up the side effects he decided he didn't want to give it to me. It is basically synthetic progesterone which is a female hormone and i know that for males, there can be some unwanted side effects but thought for women these weren't so bad....but my doc disagreed.
There is however another option which is actually an old fashioned antihistamine and has been around for ages.
Its called and please excuse my spelling!! cyproheptadine or AKA Periactin.
I was taking it 4 times a day...at first it made me very tired as most old fasioned anthihistamines did.....but it certainly made me hungry!!! i've stopped now as my appetite is good again and i don't want to take any drugs that aren't absolutely necessary.
Perhaps you could ask your doc about this one instead? I'd steer away from female hormones if i were you unless there is no other option.
Hope this helps
NZ Kat
I asked my doc for megace and after looking up the side effects he decided he didn't want to give it to me. It is basically synthetic progesterone which is a female hormone and i know that for males, there can be some unwanted side effects but thought for women these weren't so bad....but my doc disagreed.
There is however another option which is actually an old fashioned antihistamine and has been around for ages.
Its called and please excuse my spelling!! cyproheptadine or AKA Periactin.
I was taking it 4 times a day...at first it made me very tired as most old fasioned anthihistamines did.....but it certainly made me hungry!!! i've stopped now as my appetite is good again and i don't want to take any drugs that aren't absolutely necessary.
Perhaps you could ask your doc about this one instead? I'd steer away from female hormones if i were you unless there is no other option.
Hope this helps
NZ Kat
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>anonymous</b></i>
My scientific background leads me to believe that it's not necessarily the megace that is causing the moodswings, but that the mood swings are simply a concurrent effect.
.</end quote></div>
In our case it was the megace. The extreme change in mood started within two days of taking megace and stopped the day after. It was dramatic. Josh had manic mood swings both up and down.
We have tried marinol and periactin, neither helped us. The megace was stopped before we saw any improvement in appetite.
My scientific background leads me to believe that it's not necessarily the megace that is causing the moodswings, but that the mood swings are simply a concurrent effect.
.</end quote></div>
In our case it was the megace. The extreme change in mood started within two days of taking megace and stopped the day after. It was dramatic. Josh had manic mood swings both up and down.
We have tried marinol and periactin, neither helped us. The megace was stopped before we saw any improvement in appetite.
My daughter also tried Periactin. She wasn't too impressed with it. She seems to prefer the Megace. I do remember the docs saying they didn't want to use Megace as a long term med. That there is potential to be dependent on it or for it to simply quit working. If I remember correctly they told us that it was initially a med used primarily for cancer and AIDS patients to stimulate their appetite. I think that about exhausts my knowledge and my daughters experience with Megace.
Liza
(mom of 2teen girls w/CF)
Liza
(mom of 2teen girls w/CF)