Avandia- rosiglitazone maleate tablet is a prescription drug from GlaxoSmithKline. The tablet is available in 4mg and 8mg compositions, which patients take orally as prescribed by their healthcare expert. The core medical use of this drug is intended to control the level of blood sugar in humans. The course of action this drug adapts is by making the cells in body more sensitive to insulin, which is a blood sugar controlling hormone, thus helping in increased absorption and lowered levels.

Some Drug facts associated with Avandia:

Just like every other medicine, Avandia too comes with its set of side effects, which makes this a rather banned drug in many countries. But for places where it’s still sold as an over-the-counter medication there are some facts that patients should be aware of. These are as follows:

  • Before taking this drug, the person should tell their healthcare experts about any medications they are taking. The professionals will help you know about any drug interactions. The most prominent oral interactions that can be seen while on Avandia are with gemfibrozil, other anti-diabetic drugs, nitrates, some herbal products and quinolone antibiotics.
  • The drug should be stored at room temperature away from moisture and light.
  • Prescribed to patients suffering from type 2 diabetes i.e. NIDDM (non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus), its use in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs like insulin cannot be ruled out.
  • Under normal circumstances it is advised not to combine Avandia with insulin.
  • Patients suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis (a rare condition) and type I diabetes are recommended not to use the same.
  • People suffering from heart ailments of any kind must make sure that their doctor is aware about the same. Also, those who have a history of eye ailments, liver disease or strokes must also inform their doctor beforehand.
  • In practical, a total of 126 other drugs are known to interact with Avandia.
  • Primarily there are 8 disease interactions associated with Avandia.

Avandia- Associated side-effects and complications:

Some side effects and complications most commonly associated with Avandia are:

  • Avandia is known to increase the risk of heart ailments in people. Heart attacks, strokes are some prominent cardiovascular problems, which are prevalent among individuals on this medication.
  • Women on Avandia are more prone to experience bone fractures in hand, upper arm or foot.
  • It has also been noticed every so often that women on this medication have started their menstrual periods again, even when the same stopped long back. This is dangerous, especially in females who are on birth control and are not planning to conceive in the near future.

Avandia- General Findings:

Many complications associated with the drug have raised questions on its effectiveness. This has lead to significant fall in the number of doctors prescribing the same to patients. From a whooping 13 million count in 2006, the number has now declined to 2.6 million as per the research statistics of a pharmacy company.

Some piece of advice:

The effects of this drug on the growing fetus or a newborn are still not inspected, but studies on the same are in progress. Thus, it is always recommended to tell the doctor about your complete medical condition to help them access your general state of health and interactions this drug can induce on consumption.

Avandia as an anti-diabetic drug is prescribed to individuals with type II diabetes and in people where controlling blood sugar levels by other medications are not possible. Patients on such medications should be aware of the signs of low sugar level i.e. hypoglycemia which are experienced as weakness, headache, irritable behavior, sweating, tremors and trouble in concentrating. Keeping a source of sugar handy can save this from occurring.

Patients on this medication are now being advised to turn to other anti-diabetic drugs that work well, but without the complicated side effects.

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