ACTOS - Pioglitazone HCL

Actos Medication Used For

Actos medication is prescribed as monotherapy for supplementing diet and exercise for the improvement of glycemic control in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), more commonly known as type - 2 diabetes. Actos can also be prescribed in combination with sulfonylurea, metformin or insulin for patients for whom adequate glycemic control can not be achieved by diet and exercise plus a single agent.

Directions for Actos

The recommended initiation dosage for Actos medication is one 15 mg or 30 mg tablet to be taken once daily. Actos medication should be taken without regards to meals. Your doctor may increase the dosage to 45 mg once daily if desired results are not achieved with lower dosages.

How Actos medication works

The antihyperglycemic effect of Actos works only in the presence of insulin. Hence Actos is not adviced for patients with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. While Actos itself does not cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), its combination with insulin or other oral hypoglycemic agents may result in lowering of blood sugar levels. It is advisable to reduce the dose of the concomitant agent.

Side effects of Actos medication

The most common side effects of Actos include chest pain, decreased urine output, dilated neck veins, extreme fatigue, blurred vision, irregular breathing, irregular heartbeat, problems with teeth, shortness of breath, swelling of face, fingers, feet or lower legs, tightness in chest, troubled breathing, weight gain & wheezing. It is advisable to consult your doctor if any of the above side effects continue for an extended period of time. Actos was also found to result in unexplained weight gain in certain patients.

Other Actos information

Actos can be split and taken at half the dosage but it should be done only after medical advice.