Health Effects of Type 2 Diabetes Medication

Thanks a lot John La grace, National Awareness Director of Drug Watch for giving me this fabulous opportunity to publish this post in my blog.

Health Effects of Type 2 Diabetes Medication

Basically, every drug on the market is associated with certain side effects. Most commonly, drugs will cause nausea and vomiting, both of which are not serious side effects and either ease up after using the drug for longer or will stop once the patient has stopped taking the medication, especially once it is completely out of his or her system. Certain diabetes medications are associated with dangerous side effects that can last a lifetime, far exceeding the duration of time that the patient is taking the med.

The diabetes drug Actos is one example of a medication used to control hyperglycemia that results in serious issues. One issue commonly associated with taking Actos are issues with the cardiovascular system. It is known to increase one's risk of heart attack and stroke. Congestive heart failure, which occurs when the heart cannot pump an adequate amount of blood to support one's bodily organs, may arise in patients who take the drug. This is caused by the excess fluid that is retained because of this thiazolidinedione. Because of these detrimental effects, many users of this medication have held the manufacturing company accountable and filed an Actos lawsuit to compensate for the life long effects.

Actos has also been linked with bladder cancer. Generally, a person affected by this type of cancer will experience pain in the back or pelvic region. Other symptoms include blood in the urine, dark urine, frequent urination and painful urination. Although taking the drug does not automatically sentence a person to bladder cancer, prolonged exposure to Actos has been known to cause it.

The drug Actos is not the only diabetes medication linked with life threatening side effects. In fact, the diabetes medicine Avandia is also known to cause heart problems. Heart attack and stroke are just two of the dangerous side effects of Avandia and other forms of Avandia like Avandamet, which is a combination medication consisting of rosiglitazone maleate and metformin hydrochloride.

Although other meds in the thiazolidinedione category are known to cause liver problems, Actos is not. Patients will have their liver enzymes checked periodically when on Actos just to be safe. Avandia, however, is linked with serious liver problems.

In some cases, the liver problems will only be liver damage. But in more serious cases, the liver problems can cause complete liver failure. Patients who experience liver problems will have abnormal liver enzyme levels. These individuals may have jaundice, which is the yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the skin color. This coloring is because the liver is not filtering harmful toxins properly and the byproduct bilirubin will build up in the person’s system.

Due to the fact that the liver is responsible for over 500 functions within the body, a variety of problems may occur. Fatigue is one symptom that is quite common in patients who have liver damage from a diabetes treatment. Nausea, weight loss and a loss of appetite are also common in patients who have liver problems.

Elizabeth Carrollton writes about defective medical devices and dangerous drugs for Drugwatch.com.