If you have type 2 diabetes, Pioglitazone may be the medications for you. In addition to a proper diet and a weight loss program, pioglitazone can significantly produce conditions for the insulin receptors in your body to be more sensitive. Pioglitazone, works by not only increasing your sensitivity to insulin, but is also helps control blood sugar levels. You body has to produce insulin for pioglitazone to work. If you cannot produce insulin you have type 1 diabetes and should not take this medication. Pioglitazone is specifically designed for type 2 diabetes and can help you mange your diabetic problems.
Pioglitazone is taken orally one or twice a day. You can take the medication with or without meals which are a plus compared to other many diabetic medications. This medication must be taken in accordance to the directions on the bottle. If you don’t understand the directions ask the doctor to explain them to you. With this drug you do not want to go off on your own tangent and take more or less of the drug that is necessary. Like cholesterol medicine, the doctor may start you off on a low dose of pioglitazone and slowly increase it as the changes in your blood sugar levels are monitored. Minor blood tests may be required to do this.
Pioglitazone was created to control your diabetes. It does not cure as all. As you take pioglitazone you may notice that your doctor raises the dosage after a couple of weeks. The reason for this is that it takes about two weeks for the drug to actually start changing your blood sugar levels and the original dose might not be enough. Like cholesterol and high blood pressure medicines, do not stop taking this treatment if you think you are fine. You may feel well and think you do not need to take the meds anymore, but if you stop without a doctor’s say so, you may set yourself up for some serious complications.
As with all diabetic medicines you need to monitor your blood sugar levels. If you start to feel dizzy or light headed, that may be the sign that your blood sugar is dropping. If you start to tremble or become nauseous, immediately treat the low blood sugar and seek the attention of your doctor. If you do not treat the hyperglycemia you may be at risk of more severe symptoms that may include death. This is not a subtle warning; if the low sugar is not taken care of you are putting your life in jeopardy.
Pioglitazone has been paired with metformin, another diabetes medicine, to help stimulate insulin receptors in a drug called Actoplus Met. This medicine has had dramatic results and treating and maintaining type 2 diabetes has never been easier. Ask your doctor about pioglitazone and see if it or Actoplus Met is right for you. Let him know all your pre-conditions such as allergies or kidney problems so the doctor can prescribe the medication accordingly and correctly.