What is Avandia?
Avandia is a prescription drug that treats type 2 diabetes mellitus. It stabilizes high blood sugar levels and restores the body’s response to insulin. Taking this medicine lessens the risk of diabetes-related complications, such as loss of limbs, nerve problems, sexual dysfunction, blindness, and kidney damage.
Avandia is used together with a proper diet and regular exercise to improve blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes patients. It is part of a group of drugs called Antidiabetics. It is available under the generic name Rosiglitazone. This medicine is only prescribed to adults. Its safety and efficiency on children are unknown.
Precautions and Warnings
Do not use Avandia if you are allergic to it. Report your condition immediately if you experience symptoms like shortness of breath, unexplained tiredness, and swelling. Research suggests that Avandia can cause congestive heart failure. It may also worsen an existing heart condition. Avoid this medicine if you have uncontrolled heart failure.
To ensure that Avandia is safe to use, tell your healthcare professional if you have a history of the following conditions:
- Congestive heart failure
- Heart attack
- Diabetic eye disease
- Liver problems
Taking Avandia may cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Its symptoms include increased hunger, dizziness, irritability, anxiety, and shakiness. Treat this condition quickly by consuming food with fast-acting sugar. You can also opt for fruit juices to resolve sugar deficiency.
You can also ask your doctor for a glucagon injection kit, which you can use in severe cases of hypoglycemia. Ensure you know how to use this equipment efficiently in case of an emergency.
Doctors can also recommend Avandia for gestational diabetes. If your doctor prescribes Avandia, follow the instructions strictly. Note that controlling diabetes during pregnancy prevents complications for both the mother and the baby.
Regarding breastfeeding, it is unknown if the medicine can harm the baby. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.
Drug interaction can also happen during Avandia treatment. To prevent this, diabetes patients need to inform their doctor of other forms of drugs they currently take.
Dosage
The recommended dosage for type 2 diabetes:
- Take 4mg of Avandia orally once daily for the initial dose.
- For maintenance dosage, take 8mg of Avandia orally once daily if the initial treatment is inefficient for 8 to 12 weeks of consumption.
- Daily dosage for Avandia should not exceed 8mg.
Note: Diabetes patients can take Avandia as a single daily dose or in two divided doses.
How to take it?
Take Avandia as instructed by the doctor. Detailed instructions are provided on the prescription label. Following the prescription makes treatment with Avandia effective.
Take this medicine orally with or without food. The dosage is consumed either once or twice per day. Avoid skipping or missing doses. You can set the alarm to get you notified of your dosing schedule.
Side Effects
Common side effects:
- Headache
- Sinus pain
- Sore throat
- Stuffy nose
Severe side effects:
- Shortness of breath
- Unexplained tiredness
- Weight gain
- Swelling
- Chest pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness
- Changes in vision
- Skin rashes
- Itchiness
- Dizziness
- Irregular heartbeat
