What is the most important information I should know about alogliptin?
Alogliptin can cause serious side effects on your heart or pancreas, especially if you have ever had similar problems, or if you have kidney or liver disease.
Call your doctor right away if you have: signs of pancreatitis --severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back; or signs of heart failure --shortness of breath while lying down, weight gain, swelling in your legs or feet.
This medicine is not for treating type 1 diabetes.
What is alogliptin?
Alogliptin is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. It works by regulating the levels of insulin your body produces after eating.
Alogliptin is used together with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This medicine is not for treating type 1 diabetes.
Alogliptin is sometimes used in combination with other diabetes medications.
Alogliptin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking alogliptin?
You should not use this medicine if you are allergic to alogliptin, or if you have diabetic ketoacidosis (call your doctor for treatment).
To make sure alogliptin is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:
- liver disease;
- heart disease;
- kidney disease (or if you are on dialysis);
- pancreatitis;
- gallstones; or
- alcoholism.
Follow your doctor's instructions about using this medicine if you are pregnant or breast-feeding a baby. Blood sugar control is very important during pregnancy, and your dose needs may be different during each trimester of pregnancy. Your dose needs may also be different while you are breast-feeding.
It is not known whether alogliptin passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
Alogliptin is not approved for use by anyone younger than 18 years old.
How should I take alogliptin?
Follow all directions on your prescription label. Your doctor may occasionally change your dose. Do not use this medicine in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
You may take this medicine with or without food. Follow your doctor's instructions.
Your blood sugar will need to be checked often, and you may need other blood tests at your doctor's office.
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can happen to everyone who has diabetes. Symptoms include headache, hunger, sweating, irritability, dizziness, nausea, fast heart rate, and feeling anxious or shaky. To quickly treat low blood sugar, always keep a fast-acting source of sugar with you such as fruit juice, hard candy, crackers, raisins, or non-diet soda.
Your doctor can prescribe a glucagon emergency injection kit to use in case you have severe hypoglycemia and cannot eat or drink. Be sure your family and close friends know how to give you this injection in an emergency.
Blood sugar levels can be affected by stress, illness, surgery, exercise, alcohol use, or skipping meals. Ask your doctor before changing your dose or medication schedule.
Alogliptin is only part of a treatment program that may also include diet, exercise, weight control, blood sugar testing, and special medical care. Follow your doctor's instructions very closely.
Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. You may have signs of low blood sugar, such as extreme weakness, blurred vision, sweating, trouble speaking, tremors, stomach pain, confusion, and seizure (convulsions).
What should I avoid while taking alogliptin?
What are the possible side effects of alogliptin?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop taking alogliptin and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of pancreatitis: severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, or fast heartbeats.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- severe or ongoing pain in your joints;
-
heart problems --shortness of breath (even while lying down), rapid weight gain, swelling (especially in your feet, legs, or midsection);
-
liver problems --nausea, upper stomach pain, tired feeling, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
-
a severe autoimmune reaction --itching, blisters, breakdown of the outer layer of skin; or
-
severe skin reaction --fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the face or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.
Common side effects may include:
- headache; or
- cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sinus pain, sore throat.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
What other drugs will affect alogliptin?
Other drugs may increase or decrease the effects of alogliptin on lowering your blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible interactions are listed in this medication guide.
Where can I get more information?
Your pharmacist can provide more information about alogliptin.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
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