Original Comment:
| Pat | No Subject | May 12th, 2008 | Rating: 7.1333 |
|---|---|---|---|
| I have been a type II diabetic for almost twenty years, and have been extrememly insuline resistant. I have been taking glucophauge, glyburide and actos together for the last three months. I noticed that I was gaining weight, my clothing felt tight, especially in my legs and stomach. I never gave the medication a thought, until about a week ago when my ankles blew up like balloons. I then realized that I was retaining quite a bit of fluid. Still, I didnt know it was the Actos, until this morning when my husband read the warning packet that came with the prescription. I feel so stupid, all this time I was not thinking. I am going to stop taking the actos. I cannot even fit in most of my clothes, and have gained about ten pounds. Has anyone else had this kind of reaction? Thanks for any feedback. By the way, I did notice a dramatic drop in my numbers. It definitely was bringing the sugar levels down. | |||
Replies:
| Michael | actos | September 17th, 2003 |
|---|---|---|
| I have Type II and have been taking actos for about a year and my my average blood sugar is 110 now and is pretty stable depending on what I eat. Before actos my average was 160 and I was having lots of problems with dizziness and my blood sugar was out of control. I have noticed a weight gain and it is difficult to control but I try hard. I am retaining fluids but the pros far exceed the cons. | ||
| Norm | Actos | September 21st, 2003 |
| My endocrinologist started me on insulin in March, 2003. But he also kept me on Actos because he said it would help the insulin work more effectively. In August, my ankles swelled up, so I called him. He asked me if I had trouble breathing or heart problems, and I said no, I did not. He then told me that the swelling was caused by the heat. No asking me to come in, just accept the fact that the heat has caused the swelling. I siffered for another month because he never called me back when I left a message that they were even more swollen the next day. I developed an upper respiratory infection in the last week, so I visited the Nurse Practitioner working out of my family physician's office. After making her diagnosis of URI, she asked if I had any other problems. I showed her my ankles and she was amazed at how swollen they were. She asked me what other medications I was taking, and I mentioned 45MG of Actos (the strongest dosage it comes in) She told me that the Actos was the problem, and if I was already on insulin, why take the Actos? She advised me to stop taking it for ten days and see what happens. I am now on day two of not taking it, and the swelling is beginning to lessen. The doctor who prescribes it won't have me come in for a look, but a Nurse Practitioner knew immediately that the Actos has swelling (water retention) as a side effect. I have a visit with the endocrinologist in a week. If the swelling is gone, I'm sure he'll says its because the weather is cooler. That will be my last visit to him. Norm | ||
| Karen | No Subject | October 12th, 2005 |
| Yes, I have had this same reaction, and my doctor is switching me to another drug. The fluid retention and weight gain can be dangerous to your heart. | ||
| Anonymous | No Subject | December 2nd, 2005 |
| I gain 50 lb using actos,have read about other problem with heart. My wife and i have decided that if the medication has not around fot 20 to 30 years where not taking it. | ||
| Anonymous | No Subject | December 2nd, 2005 |
| I also had bad leg swelling on Actos. When I stopped taking it I lost 7 pounds of water almost immediately. Bad stuff. | ||
| Anonymous | No Subject | December 2nd, 2005 |
| The same thing happened to me while taking Actos. When I stopped taking it I lost 7 pounds of fluid in 3 days. I am now on low-carb diet and so far my sugar levels are fine. Better than when I was on the Actos. | ||
| Anonymous | No Subject | December 3rd, 2005 |
| I have been taking 1 tab at breakfast of 45mg Actos for about the past eight months. I've noticed extreme weight gain (yet my diet is low carb/low fat and closely monitored). I've also experienced bloating around my mid-section, stomach pain and slight swelling of the ankles. Based on the above comment and replies, it strongly points to Actos as a potential reason for my problems. Thanks for bringing this up, I am going to discuss this at my next doctor's appointment. | ||
| Mare | Actos/Glyberide | December 3rd, 2005 |
| I started taking a combination of Actos and Blyberide since April 2005, I too have noticed a drastic weight gain and my legs have swollen. My appetite has increased and I thought it is because I am an emotional eater (maybe both). But calves and ankles are swollen. Is there any hope that this will subside. | ||
| SUMBUNNY | ME TOO! | December 3rd, 2005 |
| Hi, I read your letter about actos, and I felt like I was reading a page off my own life. I started taking actos 2 months ago, it brought my sugars down, but I started putting on weight too, nothing fits me now, my doctor gave me alot of samples but they did not have any drug information connected to them, I thought I was just putting on a few pounds from too much food not enough exercise, I think I gained about 13 pounds and my legs became very swollen and shiny. I also had a pain in my chest and headache that would not go, I finally came to the conclusion that I should check on the new medicine. I was shocked to see that I had every symptom listed. It said that a new patient should be started on 15 mg , the samples I was given were 45 mg. I wish I had checked on this earlier. | ||
| Gayl K | No Subject | December 3rd, 2005 |
| I had the opposite reaction and given that you are taking several medications, Actos may not be the real reason. Just be careful with any assumption in any direction. Plus, I have noticed that side effects are much more common with Actos when it is taken with other drugs, especially other insulin drugs. I took Actos by itself. I am insulin impaired, but not truly diabetic. I have other health problems that led to my insulin problems and insulin damage, so it is a secondary problem. Doctors first put me on glucophage and other insulin drugs, but that just put me into allergic shock. I was suffering from extreme swelling and a sudden weight gain BEFORE I took Actos and Actos actually decreased my swelling and I started to lose alot of weight with Actos. Since my health improved enough, I was taken off Actos and then the swelling and a great deal of the weight came back. I say this because the generalization that Actos is the cause of fluid retention and weight gain is a general precaution, but may not be the reason for fluid retention and weight gain for every individual who uses it. Most any kind of medication causes me to retain fluid and gain weight, Actos is the only drug that I have taken that actually helped me to stop retaining fluid and lose weight. I want to try to go back on to Actos because I believe I was taken off too soon. I don't think I would have to take it forever, but atleast long enough to get healthy again. | ||