Aplevant 1.5mg Pre-Filled Pen

• If you are allergic to insulin or any of the ingredients of this medicine
• If you are suffering from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level).

• Low blood sugar (Hypoglycaemia)
• Lightheadedness
• Dizziness
• Anxiety
• Nervousness
• Tiredness
• Feeling hungry
• Visual disturbances
• Headache
• Shaking
• Sweating
• Pale skin
• Skin rashes
• Pain, redness, swelling at injection site.

Other General Warnings

• You have recurrent low blood sugar levels
• Be very careful about symptoms of low blood sugar like sweating, anxiety, fast heartbeat, headache, intense hunger, restlessness, dizziness, irritability. If you experience these, immediately have sugar (Do not consume artificial sweeteners). Eat something as soon as possible. Do not take insulin in such a scenario. If still the symptoms persists, seek emergency medical help
• You have frequent fever and infections
• You have diseases related to liver and kidney
• You have thyroid disorders
• You are switching to different insulin medicine brand
• You have pain, itching and swelling at the injection site, you should continuously change the site of injection
• Avoid doing heavy exercise
• You are planning to change your diet preferences
• You should always carry sugar candy with you
• You are taking insulin but not taking adequate meals, your blood glucose can drop drastically.

• Take this injection as per the technique suggested by your doctor or nurse
• This injection is to be taken under the skin of the thigh or upper arm or abdomen
• Do not take this injection in vein or in muscles
• Pull a skin, fold up to take this injection
• Wait for at least 6 sec before removing the needle from the injection site
• Always rotate the site of injection, do not take concurrent injections at the same site.

• Store between 2°C to 8°C in the refrigerator
• Do not freeze it
• Keep it out of the reach of children
• Do not open the carton of vials to protect it from light
• Any unused portion should not be stored and should be appropriately discarded.

• Use Aplevant 1.5mg Pre-Filled Pen once weekly on the same day each week, at any time of day, with or without food, to maintain consistent blood glucose control. Administer the injection subcutaneously into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm, and rotate injection sites each week to reduce the risk of skin irritation.
• Do not mix Aplevant with insulin in the same injection; never inject it into a vein or muscle.
• Always follow the injection technique demonstrated by your healthcare provider.
• Common side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or reduced appetite, are more likely in the first few weeks and usually improve as the body adjusts to the medication.
• Store the prefilled pen in a refrigerator (2°C–8°C). If needed, it can be stored at room temperature (below 30°C) for up to 14 days; do not freeze or expose it to direct heat.
• Aplevant is most effective when used alongside a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and routine blood sugar monitoring, as advised by your physician.
• Individuals with high blood sugar or diabetes are at risk of getting various health complications, such as eye, kidney, and nerve problems, heart diseases, and stroke. Therefore, it is advisable to take your diabetes medications regularly, make lifestyle changes, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight to control your blood sugar better. You should also regularly check your blood sugar levels.

Overdose

• Excess insulin will lead to low blood sugar levels, called hypoglycemia
• Symptoms like dizziness, fainting, sweating and tremors may be seen
• If you have the blood glucometer with you, test immediately and confirm
• Whether or not you test your levels, it is important to take some glucose water/juice/eat sugar or chocolates immediately and then rush to your doctor.

Missed a Dose

• Missed dose may lead to high blood sugar levels which can cause symptoms like feeling thirsty, excessive urination, loss of appetite, drowsiness, fruity smell from breath, etc.
• If you missed any dose of medicine take it as soon as you remember
• If it's time for your next dose then skip the missed dose and continue with your regular dose schedule
• Do not take a double dose of medicine to compensate the missed one as taking double dose can cause a drastic fall in blood glucose which can be dangerous.

How Does It Work?

• Insulin is crucial to allow entry of blood glucose into each cell of the body
• Inside the cell, this glucose is used as fuel
• In type 1 diabetes mellitus, the body fails to produce adequate insulin
• This leads to glucose accumulating in the blood and cause high blood glucose
• This medicine lowers blood sugars by stimulating glucose uptake by cells, tissue and muscles, especially by skeletal muscles and fat and by inhibiting glucose production by the liver.

Interactions with other medicines

• You may have symptoms of low blood sugar if you are taking other medicines for diabetes, depression (fluoxetine), medicines for fever and pain (salicylates), ramipril, lisinopril
• You may have high blood sugar if you are taking oral contraceptives, thiazide, steroids, thyroxine, medicines used to treat severe diarrhoea and abnormal growth of body organs like octreotide, lanreotide
• If you are taking a medicine pioglitazone to treat diabetes, be cautious, as some cases of heart attack and heart failure have been reported
• Some medicines block your body's response to low blood sugar, so you may not experience symptoms like headache, hunger pangs, sweating, anxiety when your blood sugar drops. This can lead to a serious fall in blood sugar. Inform your doctor if you are on medicines like Betablockers (Metoprolol, Propranolol, Atenolol), Clonidine, Guanethidine and Reserpine.

Interactions with food items

• This medicine is to be taken 15 mins before meals or after meals
• Maintaining a constant meal pattern is advisable when you are taking insulin
• Avoid skipping or delaying meals when you are taking insulin.