Type II diabetes mellitus is a serious medical condition that affects millions all over the world. It is where the pancreas malfunctions in manufacturing the hormone insulin that regulates the level of sugar in the blood. Insulin is what releases the energy from sugar so that the cells of your body could use it. When you have diabetes, your pancreas does not produce enough insulin to help your body use up all the sugar. As a result, the glucose level in your blood increases above normal level. Sometimes, insulin is produced too much, causing the blood glucose to drop suddenly. Common symptoms of diabetes are polyphagia (frequent hunger or eating), polydypsia (frequent thirst or drinking), polyuria (frequent urination), nocturia (nighttime urination), hypoglycemia ( low blood sugar), and hyperglycemia ( high blood sugar). When you have hypoglycemia, your skin feels cold and clammy, dizziness, headache, and hunger. In hyperglycemia, you have a sudden weight loss, frequent thirst, headache, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, and poor concentration. You should see your doctor and have your blood sugar tested.
Type II diabetes is caused by poor diet and exercise, an underlying infection, and stress. People who are at risk in having this condition are those people who are very busy to have regular meals and often have sugar fixes to fight off hunger. People who have eating disorders could also have diabetes. One very severe complication is diabetic ketoacidosis. This is when the body could not get energy from the sugars in the blood anymore because of lack of insulin, that the cells already get energy from the fat cells of your body. When the cells use energy from the fat cells, ketones are produced. The ketone by-product is very toxic and is very harmful to your body.
To treat diabetes, there actos diabetes drug is prescdribed. It is generically known as pioglitazone that is taken orally by those who are diagnosed as type II diabetics to regulate blood glucose levels. Here are some things that you should take note of in taking actos diabetes drug:
1)Â Â Â Â Medical history
It is important that your doctor is well-informed about your medical history. You should not take actos diabetes drug if you have a heart condition, if you retain fluids, if you already had a stroke, or a liver condition. It is also important that you tell your doctor if you have a hormonal imbalance that affects your menstrual cycle. If you are not on your menses and you start menstruating when you took actos diabetes drug, then you should tell your doctor. You would have to take contraceptive pills at the same time. If you are pregnant, please tell your doctor so that you may know if you could take actos diabetes drug or not.
2)Â Â Â Â Stick to dosage and blood checks
Never attempt to know better than your doctor by adjusting the dosage of actos diabetes drug on your own. Always let your physician adjust the dosage for you for optimal results. It is usually prescribed that you take actos diabetes drug once everyday with or without food intake. As you take the drug your blood glucose level should always be checked.
3)Â Â Â Â Emergency sweets
When you take actos diabetes drug,you ae prone to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. With this, you should always bring emergency sweets with you like milk, candy, orange juice, or glucose (gel). Your doctor could also prescribe you with a glucose emergency injection kit that you could use if you cannot eat or drink at all.
4)Â Â Â Â Medication interaction
Always check if other medications that you take interact with actos diabetes drug. This is to prevent serious adverse effects. Some of the medications that interact with actos diabetes drug are: cimetidine (Tagamet), delavirdine (Rescriptor), tolbutamide (Orinase), NSAIDs—Ibuprofen (Advil), probenecid (Benemid), aspirin, anticoagulants, and insulin. There are more medications that interact with actos diabetes drug so you really have to talk about it and check twice with your doctor.
5)Â Â Â Â Refills
You should maintain the regularity of taking your actos diabetes drug dosages. Get your medication bottle filled before you actually run out.
Some diabetics resort to alternative medicine to deal with type II diabetes. One very known  to significantly lower blood sugar levels is the bitter gourd or Momordica charantia. The leaves are actually proven to be more effective than the fruit. It can be taken as capsules or tea everyday. Some people drink other herbal concoctions, try acupressure, and even acupuncture to treat their diabetes.
Whichever treatment you want to have for your type II diabetes– actos diabetes drug or alternative treatments—make sure that you consult with your physician to make sure that your overall health and condition is not aggravated in any way.