Should You Switch Diabetes Medicine?

In the recent fallout of the controversy over the use of Avandia by those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes comes yet another issue. Recent scientific studies raise serious concerns about the safety of switching Avandia users to another diabetes drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat this serious ailment.

 

Most victims of adult diabetes - and there are an estimated 20 million of them in America - are well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of Avandia, the heralded anti-diabetes drug that was approved over a decade ago by the FDA and marketed as the new wonder drug for diabetics. Doctors commonly prescribed it for patients and sales boomed to the extent that an estimated 2 million people now use it.

 

However, complaints of negative side effects grew to such numbers that the FDA updated the products labeling several times to warn consumers of these complaints and possible side effects, that include heart-related chest pains and increases in the number of heart attacks by users of Avandia.

 

Now, another drug - pioglitazone - has been approved and is being prescribed but once again questions are being raised about the effect of this drug on the health of diabetics. Specifically, the FDA has received questions about whether the switch from Avandia to pioglitazone may itself cause even more negative health problems.

 

There will be the necessary compilation of data about this situation and the FDA probably will issue a more complete update once medical experts have been able to determine what is best for those who suffer from diabetes. The stakes are high over this issue because of the health of the millions of Americans involved and the possibility of legal actions that could evolve from this.

 

To learn more about the recent concerns about diabetes drugs please see this page. Avandia Lawsuits