Product Description
Pioglitazone 15mg tablets are a medication used to help control high blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. It is a type of diabetes drug known as a thiazolidinedione (TZD), or "glitazone."
How Pioglitazone Works:
Pioglitazone helps restore your body's proper response to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. It works by activating a specific receptor in fat cells, which increases insulin sensitivity and allows your body to use insulin more effectively. This helps lower blood sugar levels.
Uses of Pioglitazone:
Pioglitazone is used along with a proper diet and exercise program to control high blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. It can be used either alone or in combination with other diabetes medications, such as metformin or sulfonylureas.
Benefits of Controlling High Blood Sugar:
Controlling high blood sugar helps prevent serious complications of diabetes, including:
- Kidney damage: High blood sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys, leading to kidney failure.
- Blindness: High blood sugar can damage the blood vessels in the eyes, leading to vision loss and even blindness.
- Nerve problems: High blood sugar can damage the nerves, leading to numbness, tingling, and pain in the hands and feet.
- Loss of limbs: High blood sugar can damage the blood vessels in the legs and feet, increasing the risk of amputation.
- Sexual function problems: High blood sugar can affect sexual function in both men and women.
- Heart attack or stroke: High blood sugar increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
How to Use Pioglitazone:
- Dosage: The dosage of pioglitazone is based on your medical condition, response to treatment, and other medications you may be taking. Your doctor will determine the appropriate dosage for you.
- Administration: Pioglitazone is taken by mouth, usually once daily. It can be taken with or without food.
- Duration of Treatment: It may take up to 2-3 months for the full benefit of pioglitazone to take effect. Continue taking the medication as directed by your doctor, even if you feel well.
Side Effects of Pioglitazone:
Pioglitazone can cause a variety of side effects, some of which can be serious. Common side effects include:
- Weight gain: Pioglitazone can cause weight gain due to increased fat accumulation.
- Fluid retention: Pioglitazone can cause fluid retention, which may lead to swelling in the ankles and feet.
- Heart failure: Pioglitazone may rarely cause or worsen heart failure.
- Liver problems: Pioglitazone may rarely cause liver problems.
- Bladder cancer: There is a small increased risk of bladder cancer in patients taking pioglitazone.
Important Considerations:
- Heart Failure: Pioglitazone is not recommended for people with certain types of heart failure. Before using this medication, tell your doctor if you have heart failure.
- Liver Disease: Pioglitazone should not be used in patients with liver disease.
- Bladder Cancer: Tell your doctor if you have a history of bladder cancer or if you experience any unusual symptoms related to your bladder, such as blood in your urine.
- Drug Interactions: Pioglitazone can interact with other medications. Tell your doctor about all the products you use (including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products).
- Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: It is unknown if pioglitazone passes into breast milk. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.
Important Note:
This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medication.
Additional Information from Search Results:
- Brand Name: The brand name for pioglitazone is Actos.
- Dosage: The recommended starting dose for patients without congestive heart failure is 15mg or 30mg once daily. The recommended starting dose for patients with congestive heart failure (NYHA class I or II) is 15mg once daily. The dose can be titrated in increments of 15mg up to a maximum of 45mg once daily based on glycemic response as determined by HbA1c.
- Concomitant Use with Other Medications: If hypoglycemia occurs in a patient co-administered pioglitazone and an insulin secretagogue (e.g., sulfonylurea), the dose of the insulin secretagogue should be reduced. If hypoglycemia occurs in a patient co-administered pioglitazone and insulin, the dose of insulin should be decreased by 10% to 25%. Further adjustments to the insulin dose should be individualized based on glycemic response.
- Strong CYP2C8 Inhibitors: Coadministration of pioglitazone and gemfibrozil, a strong CYP2C8 inhibitor, increases pioglitazone exposure approximately 3-fold. Therefore, the maximum recommended dose of pioglitazone is 15mg daily when used in combination with gemfibrozil or other strong CYP2C8 inhibitors.
- Contraindications: Pioglitazone is contraindicated in patients with:
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients listed in section 6.1
- Cardiac failure or history of cardiac failure (NYHA stages I to IV)
- Hepatic impairment
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Current bladder cancer or a history of bladder cancer
- Uninvestigated macroscopic hematuria
- Warnings and Precautions:
- Fluid Retention and Cardiac Failure: Pioglitazone can cause fluid retention, which may exacerbate or precipitate heart failure.
- Bladder Cancer: Cases of bladder cancer were reported more frequently in a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials with pioglitazone than in control groups. Epidemiological studies have also suggested a small increased risk of bladder cancer in diabetic patients treated with pioglitazone, although not all studies identified a statistically significant increased risk.
- Monitoring of Liver Function: There have been rare reports of hepatocellular dysfunction during post-marketing experience. It is recommended, therefore, that patients treated with pioglitazone undergo periodic monitoring of liver enzymes.
- Weight Gain: In clinical trials with pioglitazone, there was evidence of dose-related weight gain, which may be due to fat accumulation and in some cases associated with fluid retention.
- Hematology: There was a small reduction in mean hemoglobin and hematocrit during therapy with pioglitazone, consistent with hemodilution.
- Missed Dose: If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is near the time of the next dose, skip the missed dose. Use your next dose at the regular time. Do not double the dose to catch up.
- Storage: Store at room temperature away from light and moisture. Do not store in the bathroom. Keep all medications away from children and pets. Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into a drain unless instructed to do so. Properly discard this product when it is expired or no longer needed. Consult your pharmacist or local waste disposal company.
This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medication.
