Avandia tablets contain the active ingredient Avandia maleate, which is an antidiabetic drug used to treat people with type 2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM).
People with diabetes mellitus have a deficiency or absence of a hormone produced by the pancreas called insulin. Insulin is the main hormone responsible for the control of sugar in the blood. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin and the cells of the body are resistant to the low levels of insulin circulating in the blood. Insulin would normally make the cells remove sugar from the blood, hence in type 2 diabetes blood sugar levels can rise too high.
Avandia is a type of antidiabetic drug known as a thiazolidinedione or glitazone. It helps to lower blood sugar levels by increasing the sensitivity of liver, fat and muscle cells to insulin. This enables these cells to remove sugar from the blood more effectively.
Avandia also preserves the functioning of the cells in the pancreas (beta cells) that produce insulin.
The overall effect of this drug is therefore to help the body control blood sugar levels and prevent them becoming too high.
Why is this drug prescribed?
- Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes;
Avandia is used to treat people with type 2 diabetes, particularly overweight people, whose blood sugar is not sufficiently controlled by diet and exercise alone, and who cannot take metformin. (Metformin is the standard first-line drug for overweight people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar is not controlled by diet alone.)
Avandia can also used for people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar is not controlled by the maximum doses of either metformin, or another type of antidiabetic drug known as a sulphonylurea, for example gliclazide. In these cases Avandia is added to treatment with the oral antidiabetic already being taken.
Avandia can be used as dual therapy in combination with metformin (particularly in overweight people), as dual therapy in combination with a sulphonylurea (only in people who cannot take metformin), or as triple therapy in combination with metformin AND a sulphonylurea.
Avandia is used to hold down blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes (also known as "non-insulin dependent" or "adult onset" diabetes).
Blood sugar levels are ordinarily controlled by the body's natural supply of insulin, which helps sugar move out of the bloodstream and into the cells. In type 2 diabetes, the buildup of sugar in the blood is often due not to a lack of insulin, but to the body's inability to make proper use of it. Avandia works first by decreasing sugar production, then by helping the body make more efficient use of whatever insulin is available. It does not increase the actual amount of insulin in circulation.
Avandia is a new type of diabetes medication. It can be used alone or in conjunction with insulin, metformin (Glucophage), or a member of the sulfonylurea class of diabetes drugs (Diabinese, Micronase, Orinase). It takes effect slowly. You may not see a reduction in blood sugar levels for the first 2 weeks of therapy, and it may take 2 to 3 months for the medication to deliver maximum results.
Always remember that Avandia is an aid to, not a substitute for, good diet, weight loss, and exercise. Failure to follow a sound diet and exercise plan can lead to serious complications, such as dangerously high or low blood sugar levels. Remember, too, that Avandia is not an oral form of insulin, and cannot be used in place of insulin.
- swelling;
- sinus inflammation;
- respiratory tract infections;
- low blood sugar;
- high blood sugar;
- headache;
- fatigue;
- weight gain;
- swelling of the back of the eye (macular oedema);
- pins and needles (paraesthesia);
- pain in the muscles;
- low red blood cell count (anaemia);
- low blood glucose level (hypoglycaemia);
- increased appetite;
- increase in the level of fats eg cholesterol in the blood (hyperlipidaemia);
- heart failure;
- headache;
- fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema);
- fatigue;
- excessive fluid retention in the body tissues resulting in swelling (oedema);
- dizziness;
- difficulty in breathing (dyspnoea);
- decrease in the number of platelets in the blood (thrombocytopenia);
- constipation;
- abnormal liver function;
- back pain;
ADULTS
The usual starting dose of Avandia either alone or in combination with insulin or another diabetes drug is 4 mg once a day or 2 mg twice a day. If your sugar levels remain too high after 12 weeks of treatment, the doctor may increase your dose to 8 mg once a day or 4 mg twice a day. However, the maximum recommended dose of Avandia in combination with insulin or a sulfonylurea diabetes drug is 4 mg per day. If you do develop low blood sugar, your insulin or sulfonylurea drug dosage will need to be decreased by your doctor.
