Macugen Dosage: An Introduction
The dose of
Macugen® (
pegaptanib sodium) that your healthcare provider recommends will vary, depending on a number of factors, including:
- How you respond to Macugen
- Other medications you may be taking
- Other medical conditions you may have.
As is always the case, do not adjust your Macugen dose unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.
Macugen Dosage for Wet Macular Degeneration
The recommended dose of Macugen for age-related
wet macular degeneration is 0.3 mg, injected into the eye every six weeks. If only one of your eyes has the condition, you will receive a dose just in that eye. If both your eyes are affected, you will receive a dose in each eye. In studies, people who received injections once a month had more vision improvement, compared to people who received injections less often. However, there may be certain situations in which your healthcare provider may recommend using the injections less frequently than every six weeks.
General Information on Dosing With Macugen
Considerations for people taking Macugen include the following:
- Macugen is injected into the eye every six weeks by your healthcare provider.
- Your eye(s) will be cleansed to prevent infection and numbed before the injection. While you should feel no pain, you may feel a little pressure.
- After each injection, your healthcare provider will observe you for awhile to make sure that you do not develop any serious Macugen side effects.
- You may receive a prescription for antibiotic eyedrops to use after each injection.
- For the medication to work properly, it must be used as prescribed. Macugen will not work if you stop taking it.
