What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?
You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking pioglitazone if you have:
- Heart problems of any kind, especially congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Liver problems, including liver failure or cirrhosis
- An upcoming surgery
- Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.
Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
- Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant (see Actos and Pregnancy)
- Having problems getting pregnant
- Breastfeeding
- Premenopausal without regular menstrual periods.
Tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you may be taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Alternatives to Pioglitazone
In general, type 2
diabetes treatment begins with lifestyle changes (for example, weight loss, exercise, and diet). If lifestyle changes alone are not effective at
managing diabetes, medication (such as pioglitazone) may be necessary.
The main goal of
diabetes medicine is to lower blood sugar levels enough to reduce your risk of developing problems related to diabetes, such as heart, nerve, eye, or kidney problems. Because pioglitazone can lower blood sugar levels, people may be able to lower their risk for developing problems related to high blood sugar by taking it.
For most people, pioglitazone is quite effective at controlling blood sugar. It is also generally well tolerated. However, side effects can occur or the medicine may not work as well as needed. In these cases, you may need to combine pioglitazone with another diabetes medicine, such as
metformin (
Glucophage®) or insulin. You may also wish to consider a substitute. These substitutes could include other thiazolidinediones or other diabetes medicines, either by themselves or in combination.
To learn about controlling diabetes through lifestyle choices, click the following eMedTV links:
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