Introduction to Metformin.

Introduction


For the purpose of controlling blood glucose level, fewer anti-diabetic drugs have been proven to be of much importance. This is a novel drug, which doesn't act on the pancreas—increasing the secretion of insulin—but helps to counter the insulin resistance part of the diabetes pathology. Nowadays, metformin has become one of the first line drugs for the treatment of diabetes and almost all patients are being prescribed this particular drug to ensure that their blood glucose level remains within normal limits. It has become so commonly prescribed that most of the doctors are readily agreeing to ensure that they provide these drugs to their patients from the very beginning of diagnosis of diabetes.

 

Uses


The most common use of this newer anti-diabetic drug is in controlling blood glucose levels, whereby the glucose in the blood is passed into the peripheral organs such as muscles and tissues. There is increased utilization of glucose in the periphery, for which insulin is not necessary. It is a novel medicine in the sense that it doesn’t require enough pancreatic beta cells to exert its action. In this regard, it is supposedly a very good drug, because other anti-diabetic drugs usually need some amount of pancreatic beta cells to be performing. Apart from having its good effects on the blood glucose level and working in a unique manner, this drug is also having some effects on the body, which is different from other anti-diabetic drugs. It may help with reducing body weight. It also helps in decreasing the cholesterol level in the body thus in an indirect manner, it helps in decreasing fat content. In more than one way, this drug has been found to be of benefit for the body, especially in diabetic patients.

 

Dosage and administration


This anti-diabetic drug is one of the most important drugs being administered to diabetes patients. Often, doctors start prescribing the medication whenever a new case of diabetes is found. It will therefore be helpful for patients to take the drug with a minimum dose of 500 mg and gradually increasing the dose to about 2000 mg per day if needed. The increase in dosage has to be measured in line with the effects experienced by the patient so that the optimal dosage can be determined.

 

Side effects and precautions


Metformin has to be taken with meals, unless told otherwise by the doctor. For all anti-diabetic drugs, such is a norm because of the chances of hypoglycemia. Although it is not such a big issue with this drug, precautions should still be taken. Another good feature of this drug is that it doesn’t have much side effects although lactic acidosis can occur in some patients, however, it is not very common and hence not a matter of huge concern. It is a very safe drug and has become one of the most commonly utilized drugs for patients with type II diabetes. It is readily available across all kinds of drugs stores and prepared by many reputable manufacturers.

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