Eligard Interactions: Alcohol, Medications, and Others

An interaction can occur when one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.

Before you start taking Eligard, tell your doctor and pharmacist about any prescription, over-the-counter, or other drugs you take. Sharing this information with them may help prevent possible interactions. (To learn whether Eligard interacts with herbs or vitamins and supplements, see the “Are there other interactions with Eligard?” section below.)

If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

The table below lists drugs that may interact with Eligard. Keep in mind that this table does not include all drugs that may interact with Eligard. For more information about some of these interactions, see the “Drug interactions explained” section below.

Certain health conditions or other factors could raise your risk of harm if you take Eligard. In such cases, your doctor may not prescribe Eligard for you. These are known as contraindications. Eligard has one contraindication, which is described below.

If you’ve had an allergic reaction: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to Eligard, any of its ingredients, or other similar drugs (GnRH analogs), your doctor likely won’t prescribe Eligard for you. This is because using the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.

Eligard is not known to interact with alcohol. But Eligard and alcohol can cause some similar side effects, such as nausea and dizziness. So you may be more likely to experience these side effects if you drink alcohol during your Eligard treatment.

If you have questions about consuming alcohol during your Eligard treatment, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Learn more about certain drug interactions that can occur with Eligard.

Interaction with certain antibiotics

Eligard can interact with certain antibiotics, which are used to treat bacterial infections.

Examples of antibiotics that can interact with Eligard include:

• azithromycin (Zithromax)
• clarithromycin
• erythromycin (Ery-Tab, others)
• metronidazole (Flagyl, others)
• moxifloxacin (Avelox)

What could happen

Eligard lowers testosterone levels, which can raise your risk of a type of abnormal heart rhythm called long QT syndrome. Certain antibiotics can also cause long QT syndrome. So taking Eligard with these antibiotics can raise your risk of having this side effect.

If you have heart failure, a slow heart rate, or an electrolyte imbalance, you may have a higher risk of long QT syndrome if you take Eligard with certain antibiotics.

What you can do

Your doctor will likely avoid prescribing Eligard with an antibiotic that interacts with it. If they do prescribe one of these antibiotics during your Eligard treatment, your doctor may need to monitor you more closely. For example, they may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and electrocardiograms to check your heart rhythm.

If you use Eligard with one of the antibiotics listed above, tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an abnormal heart rhythm. Examples of these symptoms include heart palpitations, dizziness, and fainting.

If you have questions about combining Eligard with an antibiotic, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Interaction with certain antidepressants

Eligard can interact with certain antidepressants, which are used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.

Examples of antidepressants that can interact with Eligard include:

• bupropion (Wellbutrin)
• citalopram (Celexa)
• escitalopram (Lexapro)
• sertraline (Zoloft)
• trazodone

What could happen

Eligard lowers your testosterone levels, and this effect can raise your risk of a type of abnormal heart rhythm called long QT syndrome. Certain antidepressants can also cause long QT syndrome. So taking Eligard with one of these antidepressants can raise your risk of this side effect.

Eligard and certain antidepressants can also both raise your risk of seizures. So using Eligard with one of these antidepressants can also raise your risk of this side effect.

If you have heart failure, a slow heart rate, or an electrolyte imbalance, you may have a higher risk of long QT syndrome if you take Eligard with one of these antidepressants. If you have a history of seizures, you may have a higher risk of seizures if you take Eligard with one of these antidepressants.

What you can do

If you take an antidepressant, talk with your doctor before starting Eligard treatment. Your doctor can determine whether it’s safe to combine Eligard with the antidepressant you take. In some cases, they may recommend switching to a different antidepressant.

If you use Eligard with an antidepressant that interacts with it, your doctor may monitor you more closely during your treatment. For example, they may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and electrocardiograms to check your heart rhythm. During your treatment, tell your doctor right away if you have seizures or symptoms of an abnormal heart rhythm. Examples of these symptoms include heart palpitations, dizziness, and fainting.

If you have questions about using Eligard with an antidepressant, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Interaction with certain antimalarials

Eligard can interact with certain antimalarial drugs, which are used to treat and help prevent malaria.

Examples of antimalarials that can interact with Eligard include:

• artemether/lumefantrine (Coartem)
• chloroquine
• mefloquine

What could happen

Eligard lowers your testosterone levels, and this effect can raise your risk of a type of abnormal heart rhythm called long QT syndrome. Certain antimalarials can also cause long QT syndrome. So taking Eligard with these drugs can raise your risk of experiencing this side effect.

If you have heart failure, a slow heart rate, or an electrolyte imbalance, you may have a higher risk of long QT syndrome if you take Eligard with certain antimalarials.

What you can do

Your doctor will likely avoid prescribing Eligard with an antimalarial that interacts with it. If you plan to travel to a country with a high risk of malaria during your Eligard treatment, your doctor will likely recommend taking an antimalarial that doesn’t interact with Eligard. Examples include atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone) and doxycycline (Monodox).

If you use Eligard with an antimalarial it interacts with, your doctor may monitor you more closely during your treatment. For example, they may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels and electrocardiograms to check your heart rhythm. During your treatment, tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an abnormal heart rhythm. These symptoms may include fainting, dizziness, and heart palpitations.

If you have questions about combining Eligard with an antimalarial, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Eligard may have other interactions. They could occur with supplements, foods, vaccines, or even lab tests. See below for details. Note that the information below does not include all other possible interactions with Eligard.

Does Eligard interact with supplements?

Before you start taking Eligard, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about any herbs or vitamins and supplements you take. Sharing this information with them may help you avoid possible interactions.

If you have questions about interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Eligard and herbs

There are currently no reports of Eligard interacting with herbs. But this doesn’t mean that interactions with herbs won’t be recognized in the future.

For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during treatment with Eligard.

Eligard and vitamins

There are currently no reports of Eligard interacting with vitamins. But this doesn’t mean that vitamin interactions won’t be recognized in the future.

For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during treatment with Eligard.

Does Eligard interact with food?

There are currently no reports of Eligard interacting with food. If you have questions about eating certain foods during your treatment with Eligard, talk with your doctor.

Does Eligard interact with vaccines or lab tests?

There are currently no reports of Eligard interacting with vaccines or lab tests. If you have questions about receiving certain vaccines or having lab tests during your Eligard treatment, talk with your doctor.

Does Eligard interact with cannabis or CBD?

There are currently no reports of Eligard interacting with cannabis (commonly called marijuana) or cannabis products such as cannabidiol (CBD). But as with any drug or supplement, talk with your doctor before using cannabis with Eligard.

Note: Cannabis is illegal at a federal level but is legal in many states to varying degrees.

Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with Eligard. Before taking Eligard, talk with your doctor about your health history. They’ll determine whether Eligard is right for you.

Health conditions or other factors that might interact with Eligard include:

Heart problems: Eligard can raise your risk of certain heart problems. These include long QT syndrome, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. If you already have heart disease, heart failure, or a slow or irregular heartbeat, you may have a higher risk of these heart problems with Eligard. Talk with your doctor about whether Eligard is right for you.

Electrolyte imbalance: If your levels of certain electrolytes (such as potassium or magnesium) are abnormal, you may have a higher risk of developing long QT syndrome with Eligard. If you’ve had an electrolyte imbalance before, your doctor may order blood tests to monitor your levels during your Eligard treatment.

Diabetes: Eligard treatment can increase your blood sugar levels. If you have diabetes, this can make your blood sugar more difficult to manage. Your doctor will likely monitor your blood sugar levels more often while you’re receiving Eligard.

Seizures: In rare cases, Eligard may increase your risk of seizures. If you have epilepsy or other conditions that can cause seizures, such as a brain injury or tumor, talk with your doctor about whether Eligard is right for you.

Pregnancy or breastfeeding: Eligard is only approved for use in males.* The drug is not safe to receive during pregnancy, and it’s not known whether it is safe to receive while breastfeeding.

Allergic reaction: If you’ve had an allergic reaction to Eligard, any of its ingredients, or other similar drugs (GnRH analogs), your doctor will likely not prescribe Eligard. This is because using the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better choices for you.

* In this article, we use the term “male” to refer to someone’s sex assigned at birth. For information about the difference between sex and gender, see this article.

Taking certain steps can help you avoid interactions with Eligard. Before starting treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Things to discuss with them include:

• Whether you drink alcohol or use cannabis.
• Other medications you take, as well as any vitamins, supplements, and herbs. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you fill out a medication list.
• What to do if you start taking a new drug during your Eligard treatment.

It’s also important to understand Eligard’s label and other paperwork that may come with the drug. The label may include colored stickers that describe interactions. The paperwork (sometimes called the patient package insert or medication guide) may have other details about interactions. (If you didn’t get paperwork with Eligard, ask your pharmacist to print a copy for you.)

If you have trouble reading or understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help.

Taking Eligard exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions.

If you still have questions about Eligard and its possible interactions, talk with your doctor.

Questions you may want to ask your doctor include:

• Does my risk of Eligard interactions depend on my dosing schedule?
• While using Eligard, do I need to check with you before taking over-the-counter medications?
• Do other drugs that could treat my condition have similar interactions to Eligard?

To learn more about Eligard, see these articles:

• Eligard (leuprolide acetate)
• Dosage Details for Eligard

To get information on different conditions and tips for improving your health, subscribe to any of Healthline’s newsletters. You may also want to check out the online communities at Bezzy. It’s a place where people with certain conditions can find support and connect with others.

Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.