How Effective is Janumet, Know its Dosage, Side Effects

If you have any medical conditions such as diabetic ketoacidosis or severe kidney disease, call your doctor for help and ask him to prescribe insulin treatment.

Janumet can cause lactic acidosis which is rather serious and must be taken seriously. Also get immediate medical help if you experience any of these reactions such as trouble breathing, uneven or slow heart rate, weakness and muscle pain, feeling tired and weak, nausea with vomiting, cold feeling in legs and arms, dizziness, stomach pain, etc.

Janumet is a medicine that is made with the combination of sitagliptin and metformin that are used to effectively treat oral diabetes which mainly helps to keep your blood sugar levels in control.

Metformin is responsible to lower sugar (glucose) production in the body mainly liver and also lowers the absorption power of glucose by intestines. The other combination medicine, Sitagliptin is responsible for leveling of glucose (insulin) levels that is formed after food intake.

Janumet is mainly taken along with exercise and regular diet to effectively control sugar levels in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Janumet is not for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

If you are allergic to this medicine or sitagliptin (Januvia), do not take janumet. Similarly, this medicine should not be taken even if you have diabetic ketoacidosis or severe kidney disease. You must call your physician and ask for insulin treatment.

Few patients taking janumet can develop lactic acidosis, a serious condition. This is more likely to occur in people with congestive heart failure, any severe infection, kidney or liver disease, older than 65 years, stroke or heart attack, dehydration due to high consumption of alcohol. Therefore, tell your physician about all these and their risk factors before taking janumet.

If you have any of the following conditions, tell your doctor to make this medicine janumet safe for you

• High triglycerides (a typical fat in the body)
• Liver disease
• Gallstones
• Kidney disease (mandatory to have a kidney checkup before taking janumet)
• 80 years and above and not checked for kidney disease
• Pancreatitis
• Alcoholism.

You will have to stop taking janumet if you need to inject a dye into your veins to take CT scan, have surgery or even take X-ray. It is important your dear ones know about your condition so they can inform your doctor ahead of treatment.

If you are planning to become pregnant or pregnant, you must inform your doctor as it is unknown if it can cause any harm to the unborn child.

Also, inform your physician if you are breast feeding your child since it is unknown if janumet passes through breast milk to the feeding child.

Janumet is only for people above 18 years of age and not for anyone below the 18 years category.

The janumet dosage must be determined after checking the patient’s current tolerability, effectiveness and regimen.

• Metformin 2000 milligrams – sitagliptin 100 milligrams of medicine to be taken orally each day (maximum dosage.)

• Metformin 500 milligrams – sitagliptin 50 milligrams two times a day orally for patients who are not treated with Metformin.
• If treated with Metformin earlier – Metformin dosage will be calculated with the previous dosage levels which can be 500 milligrams or 1000 milligrams and 50 milligrams and sitagliptin 50 milligrams which has to be taken orally two times in a day. Janumet and dosage is mainly for patients who are already taking 850 milligrams medicine regularly two times a day.

• Treated with Metformin earlier – Metformin dosage will be calculated with the previous dosage levels which can be 500 milligrams or 1000 milligrams and 50 milligrams and sitagliptin 50 milligrams which has to be taken orally one time in a day. The dosage will differ for patients taking this medicine for immediate release such as 850 milligrams or 1000 milligrams two times in a day. However, two tablets of sitagliptin metformin 1000 milligrams and 50 milligrams sitagliptin is the recommended dosage which is to be taken one time in a day.
• Patients changing from Immediate to extended release of janumet – It is important to have the same dosage of sitagliptin and metformin.

If you are taking janumet with the combination of insulin secretagogue such as sulgonyurea will need lesser doses of insulin in order to prevent risk of hypoglycemia.

If you experience any allergic reactions to janumet such as swelling of face, tongue, lips, throat, difficulty in breathing or hives call your doctor and get immediate assistance.

In case you have symptoms of pancreatitis taking janumet, cease taking this medicine and call doctor immediately for medical assistance. In most cases the symptoms would be nausea and vomiting, fast heartbeats, severed upper stomach pain and spreading to other sides mainly back, loss of appetite.

There are cases in which patients taking janumet have developed severe conditions of lactic acidosis. If you experience any early symptoms it is necessary to get treated immediately otherwise it would become a serious condition that would need much care. Therefore, in case you have any of these symptoms, stop taking janumet and call you doctor for instant help.

• Trouble breathing
• Nausea, stomach pain and vomiting
• Weakness or muscle pain
• Uneven or slow heart rate
• Light headed with passing out sensations, feeling dizzy and very weak
• Cold or numb feeling in legs and arms.

Also get immediate medical assistance if you have experience any of these side effects of janumet as well:

• Less or no urinating
• Severe skin reactions such as purple or red skin spreading rashes which mainly appears in the upper body which develops peeling and blistering, swelling of tongue or face, skin pain, fever, burning in eyes, sore throat, etc.
• Severe autoimmune reaction such as breakdown of outer layer of skin, blisters and itching
• Heart conditions such as tiredness and weakness, swelling in midsection, legs and feet, shortness in breath mainly while lying down and sudden weight gain.

Some of the other common side effects of janumet are:

• Cold symptoms such as sore throat, stuffy or runny nose or sneezing
• Weakness or headache
• Diarrhea, upset stomach, vomiting, gas, nausea are all the side effects of janumet.