$67.81

ACARBOSE

Follow carefully the special meal plan your doctor gave you. This is the most important part of controlling your condition, and is necessary if the medicine is to work properly. Also, exercise regularly and test for sugar in your blood or urine as directed.

For this medicine to work properly it must be taken at the beginning of each main meal.

Dosing

The dose of acarbose will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of acarbose. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • For type 2 diabetes:
    • Adults At first the dose is 25 milligrams (mg) three times a day, at the start of each main meal. Your dose may then be adjusted by your doctor.
    • Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.

Missed dose

It is important that you do not miss any doses. However, if you finish a meal and you have forgotten to take the medicine, do not take the missed dose. Instead, take the next dose at the beginning of your next meal, as scheduled. Do not double doses.

Storage

To store this medicine:

• Keep out of the reach of children.
• Store away from heat and direct light.
• Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
• Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For acarbose, the following should be considered:

Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to acarbose. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy Acarbose has not been studied in pregnant women. However, it is easier during pregnancy to control your blood sugar by using injections of insulin rather than by taking acarbose. Close control of your blood sugar can reduce the chance of your baby gaining too much weight, having birth defects, or having high blood sugar before birth. Be sure to tell your doctor if you plan to become pregnant or you think you are pregnant.

Breast-feeding It is not known whether acarbose passes into breast milk. However, acarbose is not recommended during breast-feeding.

Children Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of acarbose in children with use in other age groups.

Older adults This medicine has been tested in a limited number of elderly people and has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking acarbose, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Activated charcoal or
• Medicine for digestion that contains amylase or pancreatin (e.g., Creon) Use of these medicines with acarbose may prevent acarbose from working properly

• Diabetic ketoacidosis or
• Fever or
• Infection or
• Surgery or
• Trauma Insulin is needed to control these conditions

• Digestion problems or
• Inflammatory bowel disease or
• Intestinal blockage or
• Other intestinal problems Acarbose should not be used

• Kidney disease (severe) Higher blood levels of acarbose may occur; acarbose should not be used

• Liver disease Acarbose may make this condition worse