ACTOS: Side effects, ratings, and patient comments
ACTOS: Side effects, ratings, and patient comments
askapatient.com
ACTOS in the Askapatient database.
Rating Reason Side Effects Comments Sex Age Time Taken Date Added
F M
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Diabetes Type II I started out on 30MG/day for about 3 months but even with exercise it did not control my sugar. I was put on Actos Plus twice a day and that controlled sugar well. After being on Actos Plus for 2 months I gained 17 pounds. I continued my exercise routine but noticed occasional shortness of breath while resting, eyestrain, and swollen ankles. I took a routine stress test and after 5 min my heart went into Ventricular Tachycardia for about 30 or 40 beats and then resumed normal rhythm after several minutes of rest. I had never experienced problems in previous stress tests. I have Echocardiogram scheduled. I have also experienced extreme hunger right after eating and feel like this may have contributed to weight gain M 65 5 months 9/19/2008
1 Diabetes 40lb weight gain...leg and ankle swelling...shortness of breathe...stress over all three problems Am seeing my Dr in 2 days and will be telling him that 'I AM NOT nor WILL NOT BE TAKING ACTOS EVER AGAIN'...have been complaining about Actos for months...weight gain menace is depressing...goodbye ACTOS...bye George...(~.-) M 66 2 years 9/6/2008
Email
1 Diabetes Medium amnemia and strong muscle aches Doctor insists that I have internal bleeding and that this is not a side effect of Actos. No blood in stool, now going through colonoscopy and complete 'light' tube down throat and into intestines. Have been on Actos-Avandia for years. Doctor jokingly said I would not die of disease but of side effects of medication! WHY DON'T DOCTORS KNOW MORE ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF DANGEROUS DRUGS? They take at face value what the drug pushers tell them when they deliver their little samples of death. M 70 3 years 8/20/2008
Email
1 Poor glucose control I have had Type II Diabetes for 17 years. I had been well controlled up until a year ago. My doctor tried many different medications which were not working. He was about to put me on insulin, but wanted to try Actos plus Amaryl first. I have tolerated Amaryl very well for a number of years. When I began taking Actos, I was initially pleased to see my glucose become well controlled again. That, however, is the only positive thing I can say about Actos. My initial satisfaction with the drug turned to complete dissatisfaction within a few weeks. I began to gain weight. My appetite soared. My eyes became very blurry. I also experienced chronic headaches, muscle aches, and extreme swelling of my feet, ankles and legs. To sum up, the only thing I can add is that for me, Actos was worse than the disease! F 56 90 days 8/19/2008
Email
4 Type II Diabetes None after about 15 years of treatment No weight gain or other side effects. I am a physician. My Hgb Aic is 5.9. I also take Metformin and Starlix. M 72 15 years 8/16/2008
2 Type 2 Diabetic Significant, fast weight gain (40 lbs), edema in ankles/feet, constant backache, bloat in stomach, loss of energy, loss of muscle tone, increased carb cravings. Didn't start to feel these side effects until after being on actos 45mg about 9 mths, probably because I'm also on metformin, metoprolol, lisinopril & hctz and was introduced to those drugs at about the same time and was dealing with the side effects from those as well (I was diagnosed in 11/06 as diabetic and hypertensive). I 'adjusted' to the other drugs after 6 mths and have not felt too many side effects from them in the last year but started feeling more of the actos side effects by winter 2007. My understanding of how actos works is that it helps your stem cells to make more fat cells to 'soak' up the extra glucose floating around in your blood after you have eaten-this helps to keeps your blood glucose (BG) levels within acceptable limits when you test your BG with a monitor. Now, this is just MY opinion, not a medical fact, but because you have those extra fat cells floating around in your body, you also get increased appetite (the carb cravings), thus a vicious cycle emerges...you crave more food, then actos responds by making more fat cells to soak up the extra glucose from the extra food, thus producing even more craving for food, etc, etc, etc. You see my point...the other problem is that since actos is 'tying' up all of your stem cells' time into making more fat cells, the stem cells don't have as much time to make more muscle cells to help keep your body toned, so you start to feel more 'flabby' over time even if you do maintain a regular exercise routine. So you a F 47 19 months 8/9/2008
