

Seponering av østradiol/noretisteronacetat (Trisekvens)
Fråga: En kvinne i 50-årene ønsker å slutte med østradiol/noretisteronacetat (Trisekvens) grunnet bivirkninger. Farmasøyt spør hvordan medisinen skal seponeres. Kan man slutte brått eller bør man trappe ned?
Svar: Vurdering Vi kjenner ikke til hvor lenge kvinnen har brukt Trisekvens, om hun har hatt effekt av behandlingen eller hvilke bivirkninger som gjør at hun nå ønsker å seponere legemidlet. Vårt svar blir derfor basert på generelle betraktninger, og vi anbefaler at kvinnen kontakter egen lege for råd om hvordan hun best kan seponere Trisekvens nå.
Bakgrunn
Trisekvens er et kontinuerlig sekvensielt kombinasjonspreparat til hormonell substitusjonsbehandling. Østrogenet doseres kontinuerlig. Progestogenet gis i tillegg i 10 dager i hver 28 dagers syklus sekvensielt (1).
I den norske preparatomtalen for Trisekvens er det ikke oppgitt noe forslag til nedtrapping. Det står følgende om grunner til umiddelbar seponering av behandlingen (1):
« Behandlingen bør avsluttes hvis en kontraindikasjon oppdages og i følgende situasjoner:
UpToDate skriver blant annet dette om seponering av menopausal hormonterapi (MHT) generelt (2): « Tapering — Although tapering MHT has not been proven to be more effective than stopping treatment abruptly, we suggest a gradual taper, particularly in women with a history of severe vasomotor symptoms.
Many women have no difficulty with recurrent symptoms when they stop MHT, while others have symptoms severe enough to require resumption of therapy. Based upon the WHI results, one can anticipate that roughly 55 percent will have some recurrent vasomotor symptoms if MHT is stopped abruptly.
Data regarding the strategy of abrupt cessation of MHT versus tapering are conflicting. Survey data suggest that women who taper MHT have lower menopausal scores after stopping than women who stopped abruptly. However, in a randomized trial, 91 postmenopausal women who were on MHT for at least three years (primarily for hot flashes) were randomly assigned to either an abrupt or gradual discontinuation (over six months) of their MHT. Vasomotor symptoms were worse in the abrupt group during the first three months, but worse in the taper group at six months, with no differences between groups by 9 to 12 months. After stopping therapy, a similar percentage resumed therapy in the two groups (42 and 36 percent in the abrupt and taper groups, respectively). In a second trial, a rapid taper over two weeks did not seem to be better than stopping abruptly, but the duration of follow-up (four weeks) was too short to adequately assess recurrent symptoms.
When tapering, one approach is to decrease the estrogen by one pill per week every few weeks (ie, six pills per week for two to four weeks, then five pills per week for two to four weeks, etc) until the taper is completed. The progestin is tapered on the same schedule. In our experience, some women with severe, recurrent symptoms during or after a three to six-month taper go back on their estrogen. We then try a much slower taper, sometimes over one year (six pills per week for two months, five pills per week for one month, etc).»
Referenser:- Statens legemiddelverk. Preparatomtale (SPC) Trisekvens. https://www.legemiddelsok.no/ (Sist oppdatert: 21. april 2016).
- Martin KA, Barbieri RL. Treatment of menopausal symptoms with hormone therapy. Version 38.0. In: UpToDate. https://www.helsebiblioteket.no/ (Sist oppdatert: 22. september 2019).
