Show ""Sr VANT Patient Information about AVANDIA (rosiglitazone maleate) 2 mg 4 mg and 8 mg Tablets What is Avandte? Avandia is one product in a class of prescription drugs or called thiazdidinediones TZDs It is used to treat type 2 diabetes by helping the' body use the insulin that it is already making Avandia comes as pIKs that can be taken either onc8 a day or twice a day to help improve blood sugar levels How does Avandia treat type 2 dtabetas? If you have type 2 diabetes your body probably still produces insulin but ft is not able to use the insulin efficiently Insulin is needed to allow sugar to be carried from the bloodstream into many cells of the body for energy If insulin is not being used correctly sugar does not enter the ceks very well and builds up in the blood'lf not controlled the high blood sugar level can lead to serious medical problems including kidney damage blindness and amputation Avidia helps your body use insulin by making the cels more sensitive to insulin so that the sugar can enter the cell How quickly will Avandia begin to work? Avandia begins to reduce blood sugar levels within 2 weeks'1 However since Avandia works to address an important underlying cause of type 2 diabetes insulin resistance It may take 8 to 12 weeks to see the full effect If you do not respond adequately to your starting dose of Avandia your physician1 may increase your daily dose to improve your blood su(jar control How should I take AvandU? Your doctor may tell you to take Avandia once a day or twice a day (in the morning and evening) It can be taken with or without meals Food does not affect how Avandia works To help you remember to take Avandia you may want to taka it at the same time every day What If I miss a dose? If vour doctor has prescribed Avandia far use once a day: As soon as you remember your missed dose take one tablet anytime during the day If you forget and go a whole day without taking a dose don’t try to make It up by adding another dose on the tallowing day Forget about the missed dose and simply tallow your normalschedule If vour doctor has Prescribed Avandia for use twice a day: as you remember the missed dose take One tablet Take the nekt dose normal time on the same day Don't try to make up a missed dose from the day before You should never take three doses on' any single day In order to make up far a missed dose the day before Do 1 need to iset my Mood for auger while using AvandU? Yes ybu should fallow your doctor instructions about your testing schedule Does JtaWKfla cure type 2 diabetes? Currently there is no cure tor diabetes The only way to avoid the effects of the disease is to maintain good blood sugar control by tallowing your doctor advice for diet exercise weight control and medication Avandia alone or ' in Combination with other antidiabetic drugs (lesutfonyl-urea- s or metformin) may improve these other efforts by helping your body make better use of the Insulin it already As soon produces- ’ Can I take AhnnCs with other medfeadone? Avandia has been taken safety by people using other medications including other antidiabetic medications birth control pills warfarin (a blood thinner) Zantac (ranitidine an antiulcer product from GlaxoSmithKline) certain heart medcations and some choiesteroMowerfng products Ybu should discuss with your doctor the moet appropriate plan tar you If you are taking prescription or products for your diabetes or tar condfttans other than diabetes Jbe sure to tell your doctor Sometimes a patient who is taking two antidiabetic medicattane each day can become irritable lightheaded or excessively tired Tell your doctor if this occurs your blood sugar levels may be dropping too low and the doseof your medication may need to be reduced What should I dlecuas with my doctor before taking Avandia? Avandia in combination with insulin may increase the risk of serious heart problems Because of this tafc to your doctor before using Avandia and insulin together Avandia may cause fluid retention or swelling which could lead to or worsen heart failure so tek your doctor if you have a history of these conditions Ybu should also talk to your doctor If you have liver problems or if you are nursing pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant If you are a premenopausal woman who is not ovulating you should know that Avandia therapy may resutt in the resumption of ovulation which may increase your chances of becoming pregnant' Therefore you may need to consider birth control options What are the possible aide effects et AvandUt Avandia was generally well tolerated in clinical foals The most common side effects reported by people taking Avandia were upper respiratory infection (cold-lik- e symptoms) and headache As with most other diabetes medjca-tioh- s you may experience an increase in weight Ybu may also experience edema (swelling) andor anemia (tiredness) If you experience any swelling of your extremities ' (eg legs ankles) or tiredness notify your doctor Talk fa your doctor immediately if you experience edema shortness of breath an unusually rapid increase in weight or other symptoms Of heart failure Who should not use AtwndKa? Ybu should not take Avandia if you are fathe later stages' of heart failure or If you have active liver disease The follow- ing people should also not take Avandia: People with type 1 diabetes people who experienced yellowing of the skin' with RezulW (troglltazone Parke-Davipeople who are allergic to Avandia or any of Its components and people with diabetic ketoacidosis s) era laboratory (sets rsoononended? doctor may conduct blood tests to measure your blood sugar control Blood testa to check for serious liver problems should be conducted before starting Avarktia every 2 months during the first year and periodically thereafter It is important that you call your doctor immedlataiy If you experience unexplained symptoms of nausea vomiting' stomach pain tiredness anorexia dark‘ urine or' yelowlngof the skin s How should I store AvundU? Avandia should be stored at room temperature in a chHd-proof container out of the reach of children Store Avandta in Its original container Why --Ybur ' Do you think It’s proper for pooplo to spend money on luxuries for' thenv solves when there are poor people In the same cityP — Veranda Cox Veetavia Hills Ala Yes Say a person buys a pair of $1000 shoes The money leaves his bank account and arrives in the account of the shoe manufacturer who disburses most of it to everyone from cobblers to the people who deliver the shoes to the store (not to mention tirrrit' government taxing i58' So agencies) jobs are crested and maintained the working people get the money and ourlich friend has a pair of shoes in his closet that will fall apart just as fast as any other shoes Let’s hope he also buy a $5000 handbag for his wife and takes his kids on a $10400 vacation to New York City and sup- ports all the new musicals! Say that thd owner of a dog kennel has a setup of fivn pans shaped like those below Shin needs to board four dogs that detest each other and she wants none of them to share x common fence How eon the move Only two of the feneee and accomplish this goeP —Bill Loercher Mount Joy Pa CknoSrnhhKins 02001 The GlaxoSmithiqjne Group of Companies All rights reserved Printed in USA AV0638 August 2001 )' The answer appears at the end of the ' ' : cahram ’ MSI M MV It MM S NHH UMApM |