To prevent nausea and / or vomiting at the beginning of treatment, an antagonist of peripheral dopamine receptors, for example, domperidone, for several days, no later than 1 hour before taking bromocriptine.
In the treatment of acromegaly before the appointment of the drug should exclude the presence of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer and warn the patient about the need to put the doctor in the knowledge of the occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders.
There are reports of bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract with a lethal outcome when using bromocriptine. There is no evidence that this is due to the use of bromocriptine. Therefore, it is not recommended to apply bromocriptine in patients with erosive-ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract in the stage of exacerbation.
If gastrointestinal bleeding or stomach ulcers and 12 duodenal ulcers occur, the drug should be discontinued.
Treatment of women with prolactin-dependent dysmenorrhea leads to the normalization of ovulation, therefore, the patient should be warned about the need for contraception (other than oral contraceptives).
Bromocriptine is not recommended for use as a prophylactic or for reducing postpartum engorgement of the mammary glands in cases where the use of antispasmodics, analgesics and wearing comfortable underwear is effective.
Due to the limited amount of clinical data, the drug is not recommended for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome and benign breast diseases.
Patients are recommended to visit the gynecologist on an annual basis; women aged before the onset of menopause - every six months.
In patients receiving bromocriptine, symptomatic arterial hypotension may be observed; in some cases, the appearance of arterial hypotension at the beginning of treatment, especially in the second week of therapy. Daily BP should be monitored, especially during the first weeks of therapy. In the future, blood pressure should be monitored at regular intervals.
In the case of hypertension, the appearance of severe persistent headaches (with or without visual disturbances) or the presence of signs of toxic effects against the central nervous system (CNS), discontinue treatment and conduct a medical examination of the patient.
In some patients with acromegaly with the use of bromocriptine, the development of a "cold" vasospasm was observed. In this case, a dose reduction of bromocriptine is necessary.
With long-term treatment (2-10 years) with high doses of the drug (30 mg per day), it is necessary to closely observe the possible appearance of signs of retroperitoneal fibrosis in patients (eg, back pain, edema of the lower extremities, renal dysfunction), in which it is necessary to stop treatment.
Caution should be exercised in treating patients with Parkinson's disease who may have a mild degree of dementia.
Bromocriptine with monotherapy or in combination with levodopa can cause auditory or visual hallucinations. In most cases, hallucinations can be eliminated by lowering the dose of bromocriptine; sometimes it is required to stop treatment.
Bromocriptine is ineffective in essential and family tremor, as well as in Huntington's chorea.
If bromocriptine treatment is prescribed to women for non-hyperprolactinemia-related pathology, the drug should be used in the minimally effective dose necessary to relieve the symptoms; this is necessary so that the concentration of prolactin in the blood plasma does not decrease below the normal value, since this can cause developmental disorders of the yellow body.
Patients with pituitary macroadenomas should systematically assess the dynamics of tumor size.
Before starting treatment of patients with macroprolactinoma, a complete examination of the pituitary gland function is necessary. In patients with secondary adrenal insufficiency, glucocorticosteroid replacement therapy is of great clinical importance. It is necessary to regularly monitor the size of the pituitary tumor (macrohypophysis adenoma), and in case of an increase in its size, in spite of the therapy, it is necessary to solve the problem of surgical treatment.
Patients who do not want to become pregnant, or if they have large prolactin secreting adenomas of the pituitary gland, should be recommended to use contraceptive measures during treatment with bromocriptine, with the exception of oral contraceptives. In the amenorrhea, a pregnancy test is recommended at least once every 4 weeks, and, when restoring the menstrual cycle, every time the menstruation is delayed. If pregnancy occurs during treatment with a drug in patients with a pituitary tumor, careful monitoring of the patients is necessary.Prolactin-secreting adenomas may increase during pregnancy. In severe cases, it is possible to squeeze the optic or other cranial nerves, which may require emergency surgical intervention.
Visual impairment (loss of visual fields) is a known complication of prolactinoma. Effective treatment with the drug leads to a decrease in the concentration of prolactin in the blood plasma and often there is an improvement in vision. However, in some patients it is possible to develop secondary loss of visual fields, despite the normal concentrations of prolactin in the blood plasma and the reduction in tumor size that can result from the displacement of the optic nerve cross to the Turkish saddle (the formation of a herniated cross of the optic nerves). Therefore, for early diagnosis of secondary loss of the visual field due to a herniated cross of the optic nerves, monitoring of the visual fields in patients with macroprolactinoma for timely correction of the dose of bromocriptine is necessary.
In some patients with prolactin secreting adenomas, rinorrhea of cerebrospinal fluid was observed with bromocriptine.
Careful hygiene of the oral cavity is necessary. If the dryness of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity persists for more than 2 weeks, consult a physician.
The use of bromocriptine can cause drowsiness or episodes of sudden onset of sleep (in particular, in patients with Parkinson's disease) during the day, without any previous symptoms. In such cases, consideration should be given to reducing the dose of the drug.
Application in children and adolescents
The efficacy and safety of bromocriptine have been established in children with prolactinomas and acromegaly over 7 years of age. Given the hard-to-predictable sensitivity of children and adolescents, caution should be exercised when using the drug in this category of patients. The safety and efficacy of bromocriptine in children younger than 7 years is not confirmed.
Use in patients over 65 years of age
The number of patients 65 years of age or older in clinical trials was not sufficient to assess the possible differences in response to bromocriptine compared to younger patients.In clinical trials and medical practice, tolerability of the drug in patients older than 65 years and younger was the same.
Given the difficult predictable tolerability of the drug in patients over 65 years of age, caution should be exercised when using the drug in this category of patients.
Application in the puerperium
Women taking bromocriptine in the postpartum period, rare cases of development of serious adverse events were noted for suppression of lactation, especially at the beginning of treatment: hypertension, myocardial infarction, seizures, stroke or mental disorders.
In some patients, development of seizures or cerebral circulation disorders was preceded by severe headaches and / or transient visual impairment.
Although the causal relationship of the development of these phenomena with the use of bromocriptine is not established, in all patients taking the drug Bromocriptine should monitor BP. With the development of arterial hypertension or severe, progressive or persistent headache (accompanied or not accompanied by a visual impairment) or signs of a violation of the central nervous system, the drug should be discontinued and examined immediately.
In patients with Parkinson's disease using high doses of bromocriptine, it is possible to develop gambling, increased libido and hypersexuality, compulsive shopping and spending money, compulsive overeating. Patients and their relatives should be warned about the possible development of these behavioral control disorders. In case of development of behavioral disorders, it is necessary to reduce the dose of bromocriptine or to cancel its administration.
There is no need for special precautions when destroying an unused preparation.