Glimepiride+Pioglitazone

When should one not use Glimepiride+Pioglitazone

• If you are allergic to glimepiride, pioglitazone, or any other ingredient of Glimepiride+Pioglitazone.
• If you are allergic to other sulphonylureas or sulphonamides (glipizide, glyburide, sulfamethoxazole). If you are not sure what these medicines are, please confirm with your doctor.
• If you have or had heart failure.
• If you have severe kidney disease or severe liver disease.
• If you have or had bladder cancer or visible blood in the urine.
• If you have Type 1 diabetes mellitus where your pancreas produces little or no insulin.
• If you have very low blood sugar levels or a serious complication of diabetes called diabetic ketoacidosis.
• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Common side effects of this drug are:

• Increase in weight
• Swelling
• Dizziness
• Buildup of gas
• Loss of sensation on the skin
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia)

Other General Warnings

• You have heart or liver problems.
• You are older than 75 years of age.
• You take medicines for treating inflammation.
• You have a type of diabetic eye disease called macular oedema which causes swelling of the back of the eye.
• You have cysts on your ovaries (polycystic ovary syndrome).
• You are already taking other medicines for the treatment of diabetes.
• You have problems with your enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) since it can decrease your red cells.
• You experience pain/burning while passing urine, sudden strong urges to pass urine, or notice blood in your urine.
• You experience difficulty breathing, an increase in weight, or swelling after using this medicine.
• You notice vision disturbances after using this medicine.
• You develop symptoms like tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and dark coloured urine after taking this medicine.

How Does It Work?

• Glimepiride+Pioglitazone contains pioglitazone and glimepiride as its active substances.
• Pioglitazone allows the body to make better use of the insulin that it produces by making the fat, muscle, and liver cells more sensitive to insulin.
• Glimepiride stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin.
• As a result, the level of blood sugar is reduced which helps to control Type 2 diabetes.

Interactions with other medicines

• Some medicines can affect the way Glimepiride+Pioglitazone works, or Glimepiride+Pioglitazone itself can reduce the effectiveness of other medicines taken at the same time.
• Tell your doctor about all medicines, supplements, or herbals you are currently taking or might take to avoid any possible interaction.
• The use of Glimepiride+Pioglitazone with medicines used to treat abnormal/high cholesterol levels (gemfibrozil), pain/fever (phenylbutazone), diabetes (insulin, metformin), tuberculosis (para aminosalicylic acid), tissue rebuilding (testosterone, stanozolol), bacterial infection (chloramphenicol, clarithromycin), fungal infections (miconazole), blood clots (warfarin), abnormal heart rhythm (disopyramide), obesity (fenfluramine), inflammation of the pancreas (fenofibrate), high blood pressure (ramipril, propranolol), depression (fluoxetine), gout (allopurinol), cancer (cyclophosphamide), Parkinson's disease (selegiline, phenelzine), poor blood circulation (pentoxifylline), allergies (tritoqualine) may cause an increase in the effect of Glimepiride+Pioglitazone in the body.
• The use of Glimepiride+Pioglitazone with medicines used to treat hormone imbalance (oestrogen, progesterone), fluid accumulation (hydrochlorothiazide), thyroid disorders (carbimazole), immune system alteration (cortisone), nausea/vomiting (thiethylperazine), mental disorders (chlorpromazine), increased eye pressure (acetazolamide), fits/seizures (phenobarbitone, phenytoin), constipation (bisacodyl), low blood sugar level (diazoxide), low vitamin B3 levels (nicotinic acid) may decrease the effect of Glimepiride+Pioglitazone in the body.
• Particular care should be taken if you are taking medicines for stomach/intestinal ulcers (ranitidine).

Overdose

Missed a Dose