Like all medicines, [Invented Name] can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Most of the side effects are mild to moderate and will generally disappear after a few days to a few weeks of treatment.
Some of these side effects, such as hot flushes, hair loss or vaginal bleeding, may be due to the lack of oestrogens in your body.
Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.
Some side effects could be serious:
Rare or uncommon (i.e. they may affect between 1 to 100 in every 10,000 patients):
- If you experience weakness, paralysis or loss of feeling in an arm or leg or any other part of the body, loss of coordination, nausea, or difficulty in speaking or breathing (sign of a brain disorder, e.g. stroke)
- If you have sudden oppressive chest pain (sign of a heart disorder)
- If you experience difficulty in breathing, chest pain, fainting, rapid heart rate, bluish skin discoloration, or sudden arm or leg (foot) pain (signs that a blood clot may have formed)
- If you experience swelling and redness along a vein which is extremely tender and possibly painful when touched
- If you get severe fever, chills or mouth ulcers due to infections (lack of white blood cells)
- If you get severe persistent blurred vision
Some patients experienced other side effects during treatment with [Invented Name]:
- Swelling mainly of the face and throat (signs of allergic reaction)
- Yellow skin and eyes, nausea, loss of appetite, dark-coloured urine (signs of hepatitis)
- Rash, red skin, blistering of the lips, eyes or mouth, skin peeling, fever (signs of skin disorder)
If any of the above occur, tell your doctor straight away.
Some side effects are very common. These side effects may affect more than 10 in every 100 patients.
- Hot flushes
- Fatigue
- Increased sweating
- Pain in bones and joints (arthralgia)
If any of these affects you severely, tell your doctor.
Some side effects are common. These side effects may affect between 1 to 10 in every 100 patients.
- Skin rash
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Malaise (generally feeling unwell)
- Gastrointestinal disorders such as nausea, vomiting, indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea
- Increase in or loss of appetite
- Pain in muscles
- Thinning or wasting of your bones (osteoporosis), leading to bone fractures in some cases (see also section 1 “Monitoring your [Invented Name] treatment”)
- Swelling of arms, hands, feet, ankles (oedema)
- Sad mood (depression)
- Weight increase
- Hair loss
If any of these affects you severely, tell your doctor.
Other side effects are uncommon. These side effects may affect between 1 to 10 in every 1,000 patients.
- Nervous disorders such as anxiety, nervousness, irritability, drowsiness, memory problems, somnolence, insomnia
- Impairment of sensation, especially that of touch
- Eye disorders such as blurred vision, eye irritation
- Palpitations, rapid heart rate, raised blood pressure (hypertension)
- Skin disorders such as itching (urticaria), dry skin
- Vaginal disorders such as bleeding, discharge or dryness
- Abdominal pain
- Joint stiffness (arthritis)
- Breast pain
- Fever
- Thirst, taste disorder, dry mouth
- Dryness of mucous membranes
- Weight decrease
- Urinary tract infection, increased frequency of urination
- Cough
If any of these affects you severely, tell your doctor.
You may also have some blood tests disorders while taking [Invented Name], i.e. high level of cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) or high level of liver enzymes.
If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist.