[jacobsam622]

I wanted to find out how people are doing with the different types of meds out there.

I am taking 1 mg of amaryl once a day and 15 mg of actos. last week I had one reading above 140 the rest were within the range set by my diabetic team.

My insurance is paying for a diabetes class through Inova fairfax hospitals adn I have met several people who are doing as well woth the meds they are taking.

Jeffrey,

[Betsy]

Dear JacobSam
If you are looking for information on diabetic drugs you may find the following site useful.

http://medicineworld.org/medicine/en.../druginfo.html

Regards,

betsy

[Peter Lee]

Originally Posted by Betsy

http://medicineworld.org/medicine/en.../druginfo.html

This really is a very useful site, thanks for mentioning it. Reassuringly, I found side effects for Metformin which I am experiencing which seem to be new to my Dr. But I find that I am normal after all!

[jacobsam622]

Originally Posted by Betsy

Dear JacobSam
If you are looking for information on diabetic drugs you may find the following site useful.

http://medicineworld.org/medicine/en.../druginfo.html

Regards,

betsy

I know everything I need to know about the drugs I am taking. What I wanted to do was compare:

* What Kind of drugs are you taking and how often?

* Do you feel the drugs are working?

* How many side effects does your drugs have?


If we share this kind of info maybe we will be better prepared when we talk to our doctors.

[jacobsam622]

It seems nobody wants to talk about the drugs they are taking and whether they feel they working. Here is a list of diabetes drug that are out there. this list includes oral meds as well as injection type insulin. When Glipazide was not working as well as I felt it should I went to my doctor and asked him to put me on amaryl. I was able to do this because I had researched other drugs and felt this was going to give me the best chance to control my bg level.

Acarbose
Actos
Amaryl
Avandamet
Avandia
Chlorpropamide
DiaBeta
Diabinese
Glimepiride
Glipizide with Metformin
Glipizide
Glucophage
Glucotrol
Glucovance
Glyburide with Metformin
Glyburide
Glynase
Humalog
Humulin
Iletin
Metaglip
Metformin
Micronase
Nateglinide
Novolin
Orinase
Prandin
Precose
Repaglinide
Starlix
Tolazamide
Tolbutamide
Tolinase
Velosulin BR

[mg_2204]

Hello JacobSam!

I will answer your questions.

* What Kind of drugs are you taking and how often?

-->Metformin 500mg, twice a day, with breakfast and dinner. Will be 3 months tomorrow I'm on Metformin.

* Do you feel the drugs are working?

-->Yes! And it's great. Took a while to really kick in. I stupidly thought it would work immediately. In December, I reached new low levels and I was very pleased.

* How many side effects does your drugs have?

--> Too many to my taste on the leaflet! Thank goodness, I have not suffered from too many. At the beginning, I spent a good two weeks kneeling in front of the white porcelain. I felt awful. Had cramps too. Now I am side effects free except when I have too much dairy products with Metformin (example : cereal at breakfast) or if I eat a very big meal, for some strange reason. Nausea will come back with a vengeance. That's it for side effects. If I take Metformin too much in advance of a meal, I will have terrible gas. With a meal, no problemo.

I see you don't have Diamicron (glyclazide) in your list. And it's just as well! Had terrible hypos with it. Ate like a lumberjack but would still have them. I was told it is the most common and frequent side effect of Diamicron.

Hope this helps!

Take care,

[BeadieJay]

Hi Jeffrey

sorry - I haven't been around much so didn't see this before now.

I'm on Metformin, like Marie - and I take 1000mg after breakfast, and 1000mg during my evening meal. I don't recall having any major side effects, but as I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) as well, it's difficult to know what was the IBS and what was the Metformin. One interesting thing I've found is that my IBS is much much better when I eat sensibly. If I over-indulge, as I have done these past couple of weeks, the IBS comes back with a vengeance. So, being diabetic, and being "forced" to eat sensibly, is having good side effects!!

Do I think the Metformin is working? Yes, most definitely. My numbers came down slow but steadily when I first started taking the pills, and apart from over Christmas and New Years when I stupidly ate all the wrong things, my numbers have remained low. Even with eating the wrong food, my fasting level each morning has always been under 7 (126), which my doctor said was a good thing.

One thing though - my doctor did tell me that one day the pills won't work anymore. I know that eventually (hopefully a very long time from now) that I will have to start using insulin. So, I'm trying hard to get back to a sensible eating plan again, and getting my numbers constantly low again.

Only 11 months to go before it all goes pear shape again!!!

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by jacobsam622

* What Kind of drugs are you taking and how often?

Avandamet 1/500 mg two times a day.

* Do you feel the drugs are working?

Definitely. Still have to work on my fasting numbers though.

* How many side effects does your drugs have?

The only side effects that I've had are from the Metformin. Had the obligatory gas and diarrhea for a couple of weeks. As long as I eat like I should the side effects stay away. Eat wrong and I'm back spending quality time reading on the "throne".

[Belinda]

Well I thought you only wanted T2 responses but I will answer for me being a T1..on an insulin pump with 4 different basal rates set (the constant "drip" of insulin that is pumped throughout the day) My breakfast ratio is 1to 8 per car at breakfast and 1 to 10 for other meals. I usually have to determine alot by what foods I eat due to the fact that several raise my bs faster than others so I have to set my bolus as needed.

[jacobsam622]

One side effect from taking either Actos or amaryl is that it making my hair turn reddish brown.

[mg_2204]

... I want to add something about side effects. I think that perhaps the headaches I get might not be related to my blood sugar level after all. I have this pounding in my head even when I'm between 6 and 7 now. It's annoying because a headache would make me check BG but now, it's all the time, whether BG is 4.9, 6.5 or 8.5 ACK!! Still monitoring to see if there is a pattern to these headaches (they are more like pounding). Now would I stop taking Metformin because of this? I really don't know.

[jacobsam622]

this could be a side effect of taking Actos

MONITOR:
Grapefruit juice may increase the plasma concentrations of some orally administered drugs that are substrates of the CYP450 3A4 isoenzyme. The proposed mechanism is inhibition of CYP450 3A4-mediated first-pass metabolism in the gut wall by certain compounds present in grapefruits. The extent and clinical significance are unknown. Moreover, pharmacokinetic alterations associated with interactions involving grapefruit juice are often subject to a high degree of interpatient variability.

MANAGEMENT:
Patients who regularly consume grapefruits and grapefruit juice should be monitored for adverse effects and altered plasma concentrations of drugs that are metabolized by CYP450 3A4. Grapefruits and grapefruit juice should be avoided if an interaction is suspected. Orange juice is not expected to interact with these drugs.

[may]

Hello jacobsam622,

Glipizide and Amaryl are both sulfonylurea drugs and my understanding is they work exactly the same. Just different companies.

I noticed you asked your Dr. to switch you to the Amaryl. Has it made a difference for you.

Glipizide is the generic of Glucatrol. I am the opposite, and always ask if I can have a drug in generic because of the cost.

[mg_2204]

... just wanted to add that I have less and less headaches

[jacobsam622]

Originally Posted by mg_2204

... just wanted to add that I have less and less headaches

Glipizide is generic for Glucotrol and glimepiride is generic for amaryl
Are they both sulfonylurea type drugs Yes! But Do they act the same Not even close. Glipizide is a first generation sulfonylurea while amaryl is a third generation. According to my doctor the older drugs are hard on the pancreas. For about an hour after taking glipizide my insides would feel they were being pulled out. Amaryl has none of the side effects that Glipizide has.