Ask Your Doctor
If you have been diagnosed with acromegaly, it's important to build an open communication with your health care team. One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions.
It's normal to have difficulty remembering all of the questions you wanted to ask during your visit. That's why it's a good idea to keep a list of questions as well as anything you may have noticed about your symptoms, and bring it with you on each visit. Below are some common questions that many patients have.
You can download and print these questions, and bring them with you on your next doctor visit. There is also space in the printable version for you to write your own questions and take notes.
There are 3 sets of questions, depending on where you are in your treatment. You can ask your doctor:
- About Acromegaly and Your Treatment Options
- About Starting Sandostatin LAR® Depot
- About Maintaining Therapy with Sandostatin LAR® Depot
About Acromegaly and Your Treatment Options
If you have recently been diagnosed with acromegaly, you may want to ask:
- Do I have any physical signs of acromegaly? If so, what are they?
- If left untreated, what is my risk of serious complications?
- Do I need treatment right away?
- What are my treatment options?
- Will I need surgery?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of treatment?
- Does the treatment you recommend for me address:
- control of hypersecretion at the site of the tumor where hormone overproduction starts?
- control of GH*?
- control of IGF-1*?
- control of symptoms?
- How quickly will I experience relief of my symptoms with each treatment?
- How is each treatment administered?
- How will each treatment affect my daily life?
- Is Sandostatin LAR® Depot appropriate for treating my acromegaly?
- How will you be monitoring my condition (i.e., GH levels, IGF-1 levels, symptoms)?
- Should I alter my diet?
About Starting Sandostatin LAR® Depot
Before starting once-a-month injections of Sandostatin LAR® Depot (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension), your doctor will start you on daily self-administered doses of immediate release Sandostatin® (octreotide acetate) Injection. During this time, it's important to keep close tabs on your symptoms and any side effects you may experience. In addition, you may want to ask your doctor:
- Can I take Sandostatin LAR® Depot with other medications?
- When should I expect to notice symptom relief?
- What happens if I don't experience symptom relief?
- When will my dosage be reviewed?
- What are my current GH and IGF-1 levels?
- What are my targeted GH and IGF-1 levels?
- Will you be scheduling any imaging tests for me?
- What side effects of therapy should I look for?
About Maintaining Sandostatin LAR® Depot
If you're already receiving Sandostatin LAR® Depot, from time to time you may want to ask:
- Has there been any change in my condition?
- What dose of Sandostatin LAR® Depot am I currently on?
- Should my current dosage be reviewed?
- How long can I stay on Sandostatin LAR® Depot?
- What are my current GH and IGF-1 levels?
- What are my target GH and IGF-1 levels?
- Have I had any tumor recurrence?
- What were the results of my last imaging test, and will I require additional tests?
- Do I show any signs of developing gallstones?
- Do I show any signs of low or high glucose levels?
- Are there any lifestyle changes I should make?
