Jo’s Cafe

I want to again extend my congrats to Trelania. She developed Gestational Diabetes during her pregnancy, so for regular readers, that was the reason the for posts on the condition. She was able to control it quickly with diet, which is important to everyone, pregnant or not.

Popular Diabetes Drugs Maybe Harmful to those over age 65

A study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Dec. 12th, 2007, shows that people over 65 may have an increased risk of congestive heart failure and heart attack, compared to younger people, with the diabetes drugs rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos) which are in the class of thiazolidinediones (TZD’s).

via Diabetes.about.com

What doesn’t cure you kills you — wait, I think I have that backwards, unless you’re talking about diabetes medication. Geez.

So the above article says that Actos and Avandia are BAD … now we have this one that says, “Wait!! It can Lower Cardiovascular Risk In Diabetic Patients With Kidney Disease.” Uh you say, the article doesn’t say “Actos” or “Avandia anywhere!? No it doesn’t, but if you do a search for the main ingredient, Pioglitazone, mentioned in the article, your find out it is in Actos! So now you’ve been diagnosed and your doctor is trying to give you one of these medications and you’re in a panic about falling over dead from heart failure.

Talk.To.Your.Doctor.

It really depends a lot on your medical history and current condition. And if you have a good doctor, like I do, you will be watched closely while on any of your medications.