Good To Know:

• Fuzeon should be injected every 12 hours. Delaying a dose by more than an hour increases the risk of developing resistance to the drug.
  
  
• Some users have experienced syringe failures - Fuzeon leaking out from the "hub" (the point where the needle meets the syringe). If this happens, contact Roche at 877-438-9366 and report the problem. If you weren't able to take your full dose, they'll usually recommend that you mix another dose and will add extra drug to your next shipment to make up for the lost dose.
  
  
• A study looking at techniques that may minimize ISRs is starting. The methods being studied are gentle massage, heat from a warm moist cloth, hydrocortisone cream, self-injection, and having a partner inject the drug. We won't know which techniques work best until the study is finished, but people have reported some success with each of them.
  
  
• Other tricks people have tried to reduce ISRs include:
  • using an electric hand massager after the injection;
  • showering before injections to soften the skin;
  • avoiding shots in the butt if you have to sit for long periods;
  • wearing loose clothing to avoid irritating injection sites;
  • squeezing the skin like a bow tie and injecting into the sides, to lessen the pain and to make sure that you're not injecting into muscle.
• Find the injection sites that work best for you. For most people, the skin on the abdomen is best since it is often the loosest skin on the body. But one user finds injections in the upper thigh to work best - he feels that walking massages the site and leads to faster healing.
  
  
• The angle and depth of the needle may have an effect on the ISR - find the technique that works best for you.
  
  
• Roche recommends inserting the needle 3/4 of the way in, but users with little body fat have found that this may place the needle in the muscle rather than under the skin, leading to worse ISRs. Avoid injecting Fuzeon into muscle tissue - ask your healthcare provider for advice about changing your injection technique if needed.
  
  
• Fuzeon comes with safety syringes (the needle retracts after use), which have caused problems for some users. You can use other syringes if you need to, but ask your healthcare provider first.
  
  
• Some users have reported that mixing Fuzeon is easier and faster in a warmer room, so that the drug is at room temperature.
  
  
• As with all medications delivered by injection, Fuzeon may be a challenge for some people with a history of injection drug use. Some people balked at the thought of participating in the Fuzeon trials because they couldn't imagine using syringe needles regularly without triggering their disease of addiction. For other people who have used injection drugs, it may not be an issue.

Pregnancy: Fuzeon is classified as an FDA pregnancy category B drug. Studies in rats and rabbits have not found any harm to the fetus. Fuzeon has not been studied in pregnant women, so it should be used during pregnancy only if absolutely necessary.

Dose: 90 mg (1 mL) twice daily, as a subcutaneous (under the skin) injection in the upper arm, thigh, or abdomen. Each injection should be given at a different site than the one before and only where there is no injection site reaction from an earlier dose. Fuzeon should not be injected into moles, scar tissue, bruises, or the navel.

The pediatric dose (ages 6 to 16 years old) is based on weight: 2 mg/kg twice a day up to a maximum of 90 mg twice a day. There's no recommendation for its use in children younger than 6 years old, since it hasn't been studied in them. The label includes a chart to find the correct dose based on weight.

FDA Approval: 2003

Manufacturer: Hoffmann-La Roche

Patient Assistance Program: 866-487-8591

Fuzeon Medical Questions: 877-4FUZEON (438-9366)

Nelson Vergel
Director, Program for Wellness Restoration (PoWeR)
An all volunteer non profit 501 (c) 3 organization.
www.powerusa.org
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