Glumetza

Glumetza lowers blood sugar. If you experience upset stomach, try taking medication with food.

Glumetza Overview

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Glumetza is a prescription medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Glumetza belongs to a group of drugs called biguanides, which work by helping your body respond better to the insulin it makes naturally, decreasing the amount of sugar your liver makes, and decreasing the amount of sugar your intestines absorb.

This medication comes in an extended-release tablet. It is taken typically once a day. Swallow Glumetza tablets whole.

Common side effects of Glumetza include diarrhea, nausea, and upset stomach.

How was your experience with Glumetza?

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What are you taking Glumetza for?

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  • Other
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2

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  • Less than a week
  • A couple weeks
  • A month or so
  • A few months
  • A year or so
  • Two years or more

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Glumetza Cautionary Labels

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Uses of Glumetza

Glumetza is a prescription medication used to treat type 2 diabetes.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Manufacturer

Glumetza Drug Class

Glumetza is part of the drug class:

Side Effects of Glumetza

Serious side effects have been reported including:

Lactic AcidosisIn rare cases, Glumetza can cause a serious side effect called lactic acidosis. This is caused by a buildup of lactic acid in your blood. This build-up can cause serious damage. Lactic acidosis caused by Glumetza is rare and has occurred mostly in people whose kidneys were not working normally. Lactic acidosis has been reported in about one in 33,000 patients taking Glumetza over the course of a year. Although rare, if lactic acidosis does occur, it can be fatal in up to half the people who develop it.

It is also important for your liver to be working normally when you take Glumetza. Your liver helps remove lactic acid from your blood.

Make sure you tell your doctor before you use Glumetza if you have kidney or liver problems. You should also stop using Glumetza and call your doctor right away if you have signs of lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis is a medical emergency that must be treated in a hospital.

Signs of lactic acidosis:

  • feeling very weak, tired, or uncomfortable
  • unusual muscle pain
  • trouble breathing
  • unusual or unexpected stomach discomfort
  • feeling cold
  • feeling dizzy or lightheaded
  • suddenly developing a slow or irregular heartbeat

If your medical condition suddenly changes, stop taking Glumetza and call your doctor right away. This may be a sign of lactic acidosis or another serious side effect.

Common side effects of Glumetza include:

  • diarrhea
  • nausea
  • upset stomach

These side effects generally go away after you take the medicine for a while. Taking your medicine with meals can help reduce these side effects. Tell your doctor if the side effects bother you a lot, last for more than a few weeks, come back after they've gone away, or start later in therapy. You may need a lower dose or need to stop taking the medicine for a short period or for good.

About 3 out of every 100 people who take Glumetza have an unpleasant metallic taste when they start taking the medicine. It lasts for a short time.

Glumetza rarely causes hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). However, hypoglycemia can happen if you do not eat enough, if you drink alcohol, or if you take other medicines to lower blood sugar.

 

Glumetza Interactions

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

  • beta-blockers
  • cough and cold products containing decongestants
  • calcium channel blockers
  • cimetidine (Tagamet)
  • corticosteroids
  • digoxin (Lanoxin)
  • diuretics such as furosemide (Lasix)
  • estrogens
  • insulins or other medicines for diabetes
  • isoniazid (INH, Nydrazid)
  • morphine
  • niacin (nicotinic acid, Niaspan)
  • nifedipine
  • oral contraceptives
  • oral steroids
  • phenothiazines such as promethazine (Phenergan)
  • phenytoin (Dilantin)
  • procainamide
  • quinidine
  • quinine
  • ranitidine
  • thyroid medicines such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, Tirosint)
  • triamterene
  • trimethoprim
  • vancomycin

This is not a complete list of Glumetza drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Glumetza Precautions

A small number of people who have taken Glumetza have developed a serious condition called lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis is caused by a buildup of lactic acid in the blood. This happens more often in people with kidney problems. Most people with kidney problems should not take Glumetza. See "Side Effects".

Some conditions increase your chance of getting lactic acidosis, or cause other problems if you take Glumetza. Most of the conditions listed below can increase your chance of getting lactic acidosis.

Do not take Glumetza if you:

  • have kidney problems
  • have liver problems
  • have heart failure that is treated with medicines, such as Lanoxin (digoxin) or Lasix (furosemide)
  • drink a lot of alcohol. This means you binge drink for short periods or drink all the time.
  • are seriously dehydrated (have lost a lot of water from your body)
  • are going to have an x-ray procedure with injection of dyes (contrast agents)
  • are going to have surgery
  • develop a serious condition, such as heart attack, severe infection, or a stroke
  • are 80 years or older and you have NOT had your kidney function tested

Do not drink a lot of alcohol drinks while taking this medication. This means you should not binge drink for short periods, and you should not drink a lot of alcohol on a regular basis. Alcohol can increase the chance of getting lactic acidosis.

Glumetza Food Interactions

Follow dietary (food) recommendations made by your doctor and dietitian which should include a healthy diet. Skipping meals should be avoided as this can cause problems maintaining blood sugar control. There are no specific foods to avoid while using Glumetza.

Inform MD

Before receiving Glumetza, tell your doctor if you:

  • have kidney problems
  • have liver problems
  • have heart failure that is treated with medicines, such as Lanoxin (digoxin) or Lasix (furosemide)
  • drink a lot of alcohol. This means you binge drink for short periods or drink all the time.
  • are seriously dehydrated (have lost a lot of water from your body)
  • are going to have an x-ray procedure with injection of dyes (contrast agents)
  • are going to have surgery
  • develop a serious condition, such as heart attack, severe infection, or a stroke
  • are 80 years or older and you have NOT had your kidney function tested
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding

While taking Glumetza, tell your doctor if you

  • have an illness that causes severe vomiting, diarrhea or fever, or if you drink a much lower amount of liquid than normal. These conditions can lead to severe dehydration (loss of water in your body). You may need to stop taking Glumetza for a short time.
  • plan to have surgery or an x-ray procedure with injection of dye (contrast agent). You may need to stop taking Glumetza for a short time.
  • start to take other medicines or change how you take a medicine. Glumetza can affect how well other drugs work, and some drugs can affect how well Glumetza works. Some medicines may cause high blood sugar.

Glumetza and Pregnancy

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Glumetza will harm your unborn baby.

Glumetza and Lactation

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Glumetza is excreted in human breastmilk or if it will harm your nursing baby.

Glumetza Usage

Glumetza is taken by mouth and is available as an extended-release tablet. Glumetza is taken typically once a day. Glumetza should be taken at the same time each day. Glumetza tablets should not be chewed, split, or crushed. Swallow Glumetza tablets whole.

Your doctor will tell you how much medicine to take and when to take it. You will probably start out with a low dose of the medicine. Your doctor may slowly increase your dose until your blood sugar is better controlled. You should take Glumetza with meals.

Your doctor may have you take other medicines along with Glumetza to control your blood sugar. These medicines may include insulin shots. Taking Glumetza with insulin may help you better control your blood sugar while reducing the insulin dose.

Continue your exercise and diet program and test your blood sugar regularly while taking Glumetza.

Your doctor will monitor your diabetes and may perform blood tests on you from time to time to make sure your kidneys and your liver are functioning normally. There is no evidence that Glumetza causes harm to the liver or kidneys.

Glumetza Dosage

Take Glumetza exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

For Glumetza, the starting dose is 500 mg once daily, and the maximum dosing is 2000 mg once daily (or 1000 mg twice daily).

The maximum total daily dose of Glumetza, 2000 mg is the maximum total daily dose with insulin.

Glumetza Overdose

If you take too much Glumetza, call your local Poison Control Center or seek emergency medical attention right away.

Other Requirements

Store Glumetza at room temperature away from excess light and humidity.

Keep this and all medicines out of the reach of children.

Glumetza FDA Warning

WARNINGS

Lactic Acidosis:

Lactic acidosis is a rare, but serious, metabolic complication that can occur due to Glumetza accumulation during treatment with Glumetza; when it occurs, it is fatal in approximately 50% of cases. Lactic acidosis may also occur in association with a number of pathophysiologic conditions, including diabetes mellitus, and whenever there is significant tissue hypoperfusion and hypoxemia. Lactic acidosis is characterized by elevated blood lactate levels (>5 mmol/ L), decreased blood pH, electrolyte disturbances with an increased anion gap, and an increased lactate/pyruvate ratio. When Glumetza is implicated as the cause of lactic acidosis, Glumetza plasma levels >5 μg/mL are generally found.