It is still beneficial for many, but not for heart-failure patients.
(DIABETESMINE.COM)
The ensuing back and forth debate on the drugs—which lasted for weeks and was widely reported in the news—left people confused and concerned.
Never halt medication without consulting your doctor
Sheri Gibson, a 49-year-old Avandia user, was so disturbed by the health scare that she stopped taking the drug. Gibson, a regular on the dLife message boards, said her chat room compadres were evenly split on the drug's safety. Gibson eventually decided to finish her supply of Avandia.
It was a good decision. One thing all experts agree on: You should never halt the drugs abruptly in response to news stories.
"One of the most important things is people should not stop taking their medications without talking to their health-care provider," cautions Jane Seley, a certified diabetes educator and diabetes nurse practitioner at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "That's very scary to me because the potential harm of suddenly stopping taking your Avandia—not treating your high blood sugar—because of what you heard on the news is probably far worse than the potential risk (of taking it)."
However, you should be aware of the risks and side effects of any drug that you are taking and act promptly if you have problems.
Dick Robbins, age 72, of Hot Springs Village, Ark., was taking Actos and scheduled a doctor's appointment to discuss his problem with foot swelling (a potential side effect). "When I got there I told him that I was concerned about the Actos; I'd been reading about it online," he says. His physician suggested a switch to Novolog insulin, which he did.
"I went off of it and went on Novolog; within five or six days, the swelling was gone," he says.
Last Updated:
June 16, 2008
