Glucophage (metformin, Bristol Meyers Squibb) – biguanide ; also
available in sustained release form; Glucophage XR. Glucophage is a brand name version of a drug called metformin. Metformin is the most popular diabetes drug in the United States. Metformin’s main job is to get your liver to stop producing too much glucose.
In many diabetics, the liver acts like a sugar factory on overtime; it
goes haywire and produces way too much sugar all throughout the day.
What metformin does is to send a signal to the liver to reduce the
production of sugar.
One drawback of metformin is that it can cause terrible stomach cramps
and diarrhea if you take too high a dose too soon. You have to give
your body a chance to get used to the metformin. If you build up the
dose slowly, day by day, these side effects can be dramatically reduced.
If you have poor kidney function you should not take metformin.
our doctor will monitor your kidney function with a simple blood test.
Prescribing Info – [ metformin]
medline search
General Information
Comparison Shop For Glucophage: since Glucophage is such a popular drug, there is a lot of competition between the internet sites that sell it keeping the prices low. If you shop around you should be able to get a good price on metformin.
Glimepiride (Generic; formerly known as Amaryl)
Amaryl prescribing Info
medline search
General Information
Compare Prices
Glyburide + Metformin, fixed combination tablet
(formerly known as Glucovance)
Prescribing Info
General Information
Medline
Compare Prices
Glucotrol XL (glipizide extended release, Pfizer)
Prescribing Info
medline search
General Information
Compare Prices
Glyburide (Micronase; Upjohn, Glynase; Upjohn, Diabeta;
Aventis) sulfonylurea
Glyburide works on the pancreas to increase insulin production in
response to a food so that your body can use glucose more efficiently.
Glyburide is relatively inexpensive. You must never take glyburide on
an empty stomach . If you take glyburide on an empty stomach your blood sugar may drop too low. The scientific name for low blood sugar is hypoglycemia.
Glyburide is usually taken once or twice per day. Glyburide is an
inexpensive drug.
Prescribing Info
medline search
General Information
Glyset (miglitol) glucosidase inhibitor
Prescribing Info
medline search
General Information
Januvia (sitagliptin phosphate)
Januvia diabetes drug developed by Merck. It was approved for use in
the United Stated October 19th, 2006.
Januvia is indicated to be used alone or in combination with metformin, Actos and Avandia.
Januvia is available as tablets containing 25mg, 50mg or 100mg. The
recommended dose of Januvia is 100mg per day to be taken with or
without meals. Patients with kidney disease or weakened kidneys should
take a smaller dose. [ Click here for the official Januvia prescribing information ]
Januvia is known as a DPP-4 inhibitor. DDP-4 inhibitors are part of a
broader class of medicines known as incretin mimetics, such as
Byetta (exenatide). However, unlike Byetta (which must be injected
twice per day) Januvia is a pill. [source]
DPP-4 inhibitors work in the pancreas to increase insulin protection.
They also work in the liver to regulate the over-production of glucose. Supposedly, Januvia is not expected to cause weight gain such as is
seen in other diabetes pills such as Actos, Avandia, and sulfonylureas
such as glimepiride and glipizide. In trials, Januvia was be taken once
per day in doses of 100mg or 200mg. [source]
Januvia is similar in action to another experimental DPP-4 pill, Galvus
which will be marketed by Novartis. [source]
Januvia Information Database
Januvia.com Januvia Home Page
Januvia patient information website
Januvia prescribing information [PDF Format]
Medline Search for Januvia
Click Here to Google Januvia
Click Here to view real time news regarding Januvia
Janumet
Janumet is a combination of Januvia and metformin in the same pill.
This way you get added convenience of one pill rather than two pills
and you only have to pay one copay but you are getting two drugs.
Janumet is available in two strengths. The low dose pill contains
50mg Januvia + 500mg of metformin. The 50/500mg pill is light pink
and stamped with the number “575″.
The second strength of Janumet contains 50 mg of Januvia + 1000mg
of metformin. The 50/1000mg pill is red and stamped with the number “577″. [ source = Janumet prescribing information]
For more information please visit:
Janumet.com [consumer site; FAQ, Prescribing information, etc]
Janumet.com [health professional site; more scientifically oriented than consumer site; patient educatio resources, etc].
Glipizide+Metformin ;
fixed combination tablet; formerly known as Meta-Glip)
General Information
Prescribing Info
Misc: Available in 3 Strengths:
2.5 mg glipizide/250 mg metformin
2.5 mg glipizide/500 mg metformin
5.0 mg glipizide/500 mg metformin
Compare Prices – Not available
Metformin – biguanide ; also available in sustained release form
Metformin is the most popular diabetes drug in the United States.
Metformin’s main job is to get your liver to stop producing too much
glucose.
In many diabetics, the liver acts like a sugar factory on overtime; it
goes haywire and produces way too much sugar all throughout the day. What metformin does is to send a signal to the liver to reduce the
production of sugar.
One drawback of metformin is that it can cause terrible stomach cramps
and diarrhea if you take too high a dose too soon. You have to give
your body a chance to get used to the metformin. If you build up the
dose slowly, day by day, these side effects are dramatically reduced.
If you have poor kidney function you should not take metformin.
Your doctor will monitor your kidney function with a simple blood test.
Prescribing Info – [ metformin]
medline search
General Information
Comparison Shop For Metformin: since metformin is such a popular drug,
there is a lot of competition between the internet sites that sell it keeping
the prices low. If you shop around you should be able to get a good price
on metformin.
Prandi-Met (combination tablet of repaglinide and metformin; Sciele)
Available in 2 strengths 1 mg Prandin./500 mg metformin. and 2 mg Prandin./500 mg metformin.d
Prandin (repaglinide, NOVO) Short Acting Insulin secretagogue
Prescribing Info PDF File – you need Adobe Acrobat to open this file;
Click Here to Download Adobe Acrobat for Free
Prandin.com
medline search
General Information
Precose (acarbose, Bayer) glucosidase inhibitor
Prescribing Info PDF File – you need Adobe Acrobat to open this file;
Click Here to Download Adobe Acrobat for Free
medline search
General Information
Rezulin (troglitazone, Parke Davis) Not available in USA –
Voluntarily withdrawn from market due to safety concerns
Rezulin Prescribing Info; side effects, warnings, dose.
medline search
Starlix (nateglinide, Novartis) Short Acting Insulin secretagogue;
Prescribing Info PDF File – you need Adobe Acrobat to open this file;