Cabermax 0.5MG (Cabergoline)

Cabermax 0.5MG is Johnlee Pharmaceuticals's cabergoline tablet, 0.5 mg, in a strip of 4 tablets. Cabergoline is a long-acting dopamine agonist that lowers prolactin, the pituitary hormone of milk production.

Cabergoline is approved for high prolactin levels (hyperprolactinaemia), whether from a prolactin-secreting pituitary tumour or without a known cause, and to stop milk production after childbirth. It is also used in Parkinson's disease in some countries.nnHigh prolactin in men lowers testosterone, libido and erections and can cause breast enlargement or milk production, which is why cabergoline is prescribed to men whose low testosterone traces back to prolactin, including men on treatments that raise prolactin.

Dopamine is the brain's natural brake on prolactin release. Cabergoline stimulates the dopamine D2 receptors on the prolactin-producing cells of the pituitary, shutting prolactin release down and shrinking prolactin-secreting tumours. One dose lasts several days, so it is taken only once or twice a week.

The usual starting dose for high prolactin is 0.25 mg twice a week or 0.5 mg once a week, taken with food, with the dose raised slowly every four weeks according to prolactin blood tests. Most people need 1 mg a week or less. To stop milk production after birth it is a single 1 mg dose on the first day. Follow the prescription and have prolactin rechecked as advised.

• Nausea, constipation and stomach pain.n- Dizziness and low blood pressure on standing, especially at the start.n- Headache, tiredness and sleepiness.n- Low mood, confusion or, rarely, hallucinations.n- Impulse-control problems such as gambling, compulsive spending or increased sexual urges.n- Nasal congestion.n- With high doses over long periods, thickening of heart valves (fibrosis), which is why the heart is checked.

Cabergoline is not used with uncontrolled high blood pressure, serious heart valve disease, or a history of fibrotic disorders of the lungs, heart or abdomen. An echocardiogram is done before long-term treatment and repeated during it. It is stopped if a woman becomes pregnant unless the doctor says otherwise. Alcohol and other drugs that lower blood pressure add to the dizziness. Tell your doctor about any new breathlessness, swelling of the legs or persistent cough.