An estimated 69 percent of people with diabetes take oral medications or insulin or both to control their diabetes (57 percent, oral only; 12 percent, insulin and orals).
So, this means that people with diabetes often need to take medications for glycemic control. (Just to clarify: people with type 1 diabetes will always need insulin and generally don’t take any oral diabetes medications.)
And sometimes these people take medications not only to control their diabetes but also to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and other conditions that can emerge as complications of diabetes.
Bottom line: People with diabetes often need not one but several medications. And adding more medications to a regimen can cause problems with compliance, incorrect timing of medicines, and cost.
I want you to know that combination medications are available, but I also want to stress that I don’t think they are for everyone. For example, combination meds can be great for someone who forgets to take all of their medications and follows a general meal schedule (some of these meds are to be taken before meals). Combination meds may not be good for someone whose daily schedule is always changing.
Let’s go through the diabetes meds that are available as combinations and then discuss their pros and cons. Listed below are the combination oral medications currently available for diabetes (the brand name is followed by the generic names of the two drugs combined):
- Glucovance (metformin + glyburide)
- Avandamet (metformin + rosiglitazone)
- Metaglip (metformin + glipizide)
- Actoplus met (metformin + pioglitazone)
- Avandaryl (rosiglitazone + glimepiride)
The pros of these oral meds:
- one less pill to take
- timing is simplified
- less expensive perhaps, depending on your co-pay
The cons of these meds:
- only Glucovance is available as a generic, so the other combination meds are usually more expensive (again, depending on your insurance and co-pays)
- not as many options available for specific dose changes
- Not as much flexibility with timing of meals
If you think combination oral medications could work for you, ask your doctor about them. Be proactive and stay on top of all your meds. In my next blog, I’ll discuss combination insulins-stay tuned.
Most important information about Avandamet
More information about AVANDAMET (Rosiglitazone/Metformin):
FDA Approves Avandamet as Initial Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes
New Avandamet dosage strengths approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes
To buy AVANDAMET (Rosiglitazone/Metformin) click HERE: My Family Drugstore
Tags: Avandamet (Rosiglitazone/Metformin), Conditions & Treatments, Medications, Type 2 Diabetes