Diabetes seems like a common disease in the modern world. You can definitely know at least one person in the family or family of someone you know who has diabetes. Diabetes is so much more than just high blood sugar level. While in many cases it does not have obvious symptoms, people with diabetes are at risk for many complications such as eye diseases, kidney failure and nerve damage. Untreated diabetes can cause life-threatening events such as heart attack, stroke and diabetic ketoacidosis. It is estimated that 65 % of people with diabetes face death after heart disease or stroke. Many antidiabetic medications such as Glucophage 500 mg helps patients to regulate their blood sugar level. The question now is, how is Glucophage used for pregnancy?
Before answering that, you may want to know a bit more on Glucophage in general. Glucophage contains metformin as its active ingredient. Metformin belongs to a drug type known as biguanide. Metformin works by lowering the amount of sugar production produced by the liver. It also improves insulin sensitivity which means it helps the cells in the body to be sensitive to insulin and increase sugar absorption in the intestines. Insulin is a hormone that plays a vital role in maintaining the blood sugar level. Insulin exists in the human body and helps the cells to bind with sugar from food. This enables the cell metabolism to function properly. In people with diabetes, insulin resistance is an issue. Thus, insulin injection is given to help improve the resistance and contribute to good blood sugar control.
Glucophage is usually prescribed for patients with diabetes and is overweight or obese. This is because it is able to help patients lose weight while controlling their blood sugar. Glucophage sometimes may be combined with other kinds of anti-diabetic drugs especially in patients that fail to control their blood sugar level with only one medication.
For pregnancy, Glucophage is used to treat mothers who develop gestational diabetes (GDM). GDM is diabetes that only develops in pregnancy. As a matter of fact, 1% of all pregnancies are in women with pre-existing type 2 diabetes. Thus, usage of metformin such as in Glucophage helps to control the high blood sugar level in pregnant women. Plus, metformin has been proved to be preferred over insulin as it reduces maternal weight gain when blood sugar levels are not met with dietary measures. This is especially the case for women who are obese.
Metformin use during pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia. When metformin is used together with insulin for pregestational diabetes (pre-existed diabetes before pregnancy occurs), it significantly lessened the amount of insulin required and lowered the risk of severe hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).
There is no reason for metformin in Glucophage to pose danger to pregnant women. It does not even increase congenital abnormalities and in general is well tolerated. It is very rare for serious side effects to occur. There are also no reasons for a woman to stop taking metformin if they are planning for pregnancies as studies show no evidence of difficulties to get pregnant and no increased chances for miscarriage. Furthermore, metformin has been used to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a disease characterised by hormone problems causing women to have reproduction problems such as infertility and irregular menstrual periods. Thus, this proves that metformin does not cause reproductive health problems.
Due to the fact that pregnancy itself may cause the mother to be wary of their current medications, it is best for them to talk with their doctor should there be changes to the current medications or even possibly to stop taking it. It is imperative for patients to make sure before they do any changes to their medications, they have had discussion with their doctor. Having thorough discussion does not only help to give a clear picture of the recommended medication plan but also help to reduce the issues or complications during pregnancy.
In essence, Glucophage contains metformin that helps to lower the high blood sugar level. Doctors may prescribe metformin to people with gestational diabetes as soon as they receive the diagnosis. A person may start on an initial dose of 500 milligrams for once or twice a day. The dose may be adjusted depending on the gestational diabetes status. Either metformin or insulin, these medications should only be used as directed by doctors which means patients follow the right dose and the number of times of taking it. Since taking metformin may increase chances of hypoglycaemia, patients need to let their doctor know other medications they are taking so that adverse drug reactions can be avoided or be provided with alternative medications. Patients should always ask their doctor if they are unsure of medication they received or how to take it the right way.
