Vildagliptin for diabetes

About vildagliptin

Insulin is a hormone which is made naturally in your body, in the pancreas. It helps to control the levels of sugar (glucose) in your blood. If your body does not make enough insulin, or if it does not use the insulin it makes effectively, this results in the condition called diabète (diabète sucré).

People with diabète need treatment to control the amount of sugar in their blood. This is because good control of blood sugar levels reduces the risk of complications later on. Some people can control the sugar in their blood by making changes to the food they eat but, for other people, medicines like vildagliptin are given alongside the changes in diet.

Vildagliptin works in part by increasing the amount of insulin produced by your body. It also reduces the amount of a substance called glucagon being produced by your pancreas. Glucagon causes your liver to produce more sugar, so by reducing the amount of glucagon in your body, this also helps to reduce the levels of sugar in your blood.

Vildagliptin can be used by itself or alongside other medicines for diabetes, to help control your blood sugar level in different ways. Vildagliptin is available in a combination tablet with metformin to reduce the number of tablets you need to take each day.

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine may only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking vildagliptin it is important that your doctor knows:

• Si vous êtes enceinte, essayez d'avoir un bébé ou allaitez.

• Si vous avez des problèmes avec le fonctionnement de votre foie, ou avec le fonctionnement de vos reins.

• If you have a condition where your heart is not working as well as it should, known as heart failure.

• Si vous prenez d'autres médicaments. Cela inclut tous les médicaments que vous prenez et qui sont disponibles à l'achat sans ordonnance, ainsi que les médicaments à base de plantes et les médecines complémentaires.

• Si vous avez déjà eu une réaction allergique à un médicament.

• Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside the pack. It will give you more information about vildagliptin tablets and will provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you may experience from taking them.

• Take vildagliptin exactly as your doctor tells you to. Swallow the tablets with a drink of water.

• The usual dose is one 50 mg tablet taken twice a day (Galvus® brand), although sometimes only one dose a day is needed depending on what other medicines you are taking. Your doctor will tell you how many doses you should take and this information will also be printed on the label of the pack of tablets to remind you. If you have been told to take one dose of vildagliptin each day, take it in the morning. If you have been told to take two doses each day, take your first dose in the morning and the second dose in the evening. You can take the vildagliptin tablets before, during or after meals.

• If you have been prescribed a combination tablet of vildagliptin with metformin (Eucreas® brand) you should take one tablet twice a day, just after meals. Taking the tablets with food will reduce the risk of stomach upset which is a side-effect of metformin. There are two strengths of Eucreas® tablet - both strengths contain the same amount of vildagliptin but the amount of metformin differs. You will be prescribed the strength of tablet that fits with your current metformin dose.

• Si vous oubliez de prendre une dose, prenez-la dès que vous vous en souvenez (sauf s'il est presque l'heure de votre prochaine dose, auquel cas laissez de côté la dose oubliée). Ne prenez pas deux doses ensemble pour compenser une dose oubliée.

• It is important that you keep your regular doctor's and clinic appointments. This is so that your progress can be monitored. You will need to have blood tests from time to time to make sure that your liver is working well. This is because vildagliptin can occasionally cause liver problems. The symptoms of this are feeling sick, being very tired, abdominal pain and dark-coloured urine - you must tell your doctor if you develop any of these symptoms.

• Votre médecin peut vous recommander de tester régulièrement le sucre (glucose) dans votre sang ou vos urines pour vérifier que votre diabète est bien contrôlé. Votre médecin ou votre infirmière spécialisée en diabète vous montrera comment faire cela.

• Si votre médecin vous a conseillé de modifier votre régime alimentaire, d'arrêter de fumer ou de faire de l'exercice régulièrement, il est important de suivre les conseils qui vous ont été donnés.

• Ne buvez pas d'alcool, car cela peut affecter le contrôle de votre glycémie. Demandez conseil à votre médecin si vous avez besoin de plus d'informations à ce sujet.

• Si vous êtes conducteur, vous devez faire particulièrement attention, car votre capacité de concentration peut être affectée si votre diabète n'est pas bien contrôlé. Il peut vous être conseillé de vérifier votre glycémie avant de voyager et d'avoir une collation avec vous lors de longs trajets.

• Consultez votre médecin avant de commencer tout nouvel exercice physique, car cela aura un effet sur votre taux de sucre dans le sang et vous devrez peut-être vérifier vos niveaux de sang ou d'urine plus régulièrement.

• Make sure you know what it feels like if your blood sugar is low. This is known as hypoglycaemia, or a 'hypo'. Although vildagliptin is unlikely to cause low blood sugar, other medicines that you are taking for diabetes alongside it may. The first signs of hypoglycaemia are feeling shaky or anxious, sweating, looking pale, feeling hungry, having a feeling that your heart is pounding (palpitations), and feeling dizzy.

• If you are due to have an operation or dental treatment, you should tell the person carrying out the treatment that you have diabetes and that you are taking vildagliptin.

• Si vous ressentez une soif inhabituelle, urinez plus fréquemment que d'habitude, ou vous sentez très fatigué, vous devriez en informer votre médecin. Ce sont des signes qu'il y a trop de sucre dans votre sang et que votre traitement pourrait nécessiter un ajustement.

• Treatment for diabetes is usually lifelong. Continue to take vildagliptin tablets unless you are advised otherwise by your doctor.

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the most common ones associated with vildagliptin. You will find a full list in the manufacturer's information leaflet supplied with your medicine. The unwanted effects often improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

Si vous ressentez d'autres symptômes que vous pensez être dus aux comprimés, parlez-en à votre médecin ou à votre pharmacien pour obtenir des conseils supplémentaires.

• Gardez tous les médicaments hors de la portée et de la vue des enfants.

• Conserver dans un endroit frais et sec, à l'abri de la chaleur et de la lumière directes.