RxSideEffect.org: The effects of drugs vary depending upon the drug taken

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Like most medicines, diabetes drugs can cause adverse reactions and side effects. These unwanted effects are often mild, but sometimes they are more serious and can have a major impact on health or quality of life. Most of modern diabetes medications are very well tolerated and only rarely cause serious side effects. The effects of drugs can vary depending upon the kind of drug taken, how much is taken, how often it is used, how quickly it gets to the brain, and what other drugs, food, or substances are taken at the same time. Effects can also vary based on the differences in body size, shape, and chemistry. Diabetes drugs differ in how commonly they cause particular side effects. Medications are prescribed for a specific purpose, and anything else the drug does is a side effect. Some side effects are mild, like a slight headache. Others, like liver damage, can be severe and, in rare cases, fatal. Some go on for just a few days or weeks, but others might continue as long as you take a medication, or even after you stop. Some occur within days or weeks of starting a drug. Others may only show up after months or years of therapy.

When patients are diagnosed with diabetes, a large number of medications become appropriate therapy. These include medications for dyslipidemia, hypertension, antiplatelet therapy, and glycemic control. An adverse drug interaction is defined as an interaction between one or more coadministered medications that results in the alteration of the effectiveness or toxicity of any of the coadministered medications. Drug interactions can be caused by prescription and over-the-counter medications, herbal products or vitamins, foods, diseases, and genetics.

Metformin is considered the most efficient and inexpensive first line of treatment for Type 2 diabetes, but its effectiveness often diminishes after a few years. At that point, doctors will add one or more medications to keep blood sugar under control. But the list of possible side effects carries a much more somber tone: pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, urinary infections, thyroid cancer, gastrointestinal issues, and renal and gallbladder problems.