contains the active ingredient metformin hydrochloride
Consumer Medicine Information
This leaflet answers some common questions about Diaformin.
It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor, diabetes educator or pharmacist.
All medicines have benefits and risks. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking Diaformin against the benefits expected for you.
If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or diabetes educator.
Keep this leaflet with your medicine. You may need to read it again.
Diaformin is used to control blood glucose (the amount of sugar in the blood) in people with diabetes mellitus.
Diaformin can be used in type 2 diabetes in adults and children over 10 years of age. It is especially useful in those who are overweight, when diet and exercise are not enough to lower high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia). For adult patients, metformin can be used alone, or in combination with other oral diabetic medicines or in combination with insulin in insulin requiring type 2 diabetes.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Diaformin has been prescribed for you. Your doctor may have prescribed Diaformin for another reason.
Diaformin is available only with a doctor's prescription.
There is no evidence that Diaformin is addictive.
Diaformin belongs to a group of medicines called biguanides.
Diaformin lowers high blood glucose (hyperglycaemia) by helping your body make better use of the insulin produced by your pancreas.
People with type 2 diabetes are unable to make enough insulin or their body does not respond properly to the insulin it does make. This causes a build up of glucose in the blood, which can lead to serious medical problems.
Long-term hyperglycaemia can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney damage, poor blood circulation and gangrene.
Signs of hyperglycaemia may include:
Do not take Diaformin if you are allergic to:
Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include skin rash, itching or hives; swelling of the face, lips or tongue which may cause difficulty in swallowing or breathing; wheezing or shortness of breath.
Do not take Diaformin if you have any of the following conditions:
Do not take Diaformin if you need to have major surgery or an examination such as an X-ray or a scan requiring an injection of iodinated contrast (dye). You must stop taking Diaformin for a certain period of time before and after the examination or the surgery. Your doctor will decide whether you need any other treatment for this time. It is important that you follow your doctor's instructions precisely.
Do not take this medicine if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. The safety of Diaformin in pregnant women has not been established.
Insulin is more suitable for controlling blood glucose during pregnancy. Your doctor will replace Diaformin with insulin while you are pregnant.
Do not take Diaformin if you are breastfeeding. Diaformin is not recommended while you are breastfeeding. Your doctor will discuss the options available to you.
Do not take this medicine after the expiry date printed on the pack or if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering. If it has expired or is damaged, return it to your pharmacist for disposal.
If you are not sure whether you should start taking Diaformin, ask your doctor.
Tell your doctor if you have allergies to any other medicines, foods, dyes or preservatives.
Tell your doctor if you have or have had any of the following medical conditions:
Your doctor may want to take special care if you have any of these conditions.
Tell your doctor if you drink alcohol. Alcohol can affect the control of your diabetes. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol while you are being treated with Diaformin may also lead to serious side effects. Your doctor may suggest you stop drinking or reduce the amount of alcohol you drink.
If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell him/ her before you start taking Diaformin.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including any that you buy without a prescription from a pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
Some medicines and Diaformin may interact with each other. These include:
These medicines may be affected by Diabex or may affect how well it works. You may need different amounts of your medicines or you may need to take different medicines.
Your doctor and pharmacist have more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking this medicine.
Follow all directions given to you by your doctor and pharmacist carefully. They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet.
If you do not understand the instructions on the pack, ask your doctor or pharmacist for help.
The dose varies from person to person. Your doctor will decide the right dose for you.
The usual starting dose for adults is 500 mg one to two times a day. Your doctor may increase or decrease the dose, depending on your blood glucose levels. The maximum recommended dose is 1000 mg three times a day.
The elderly and people with kidney problems may need smaller doses.
Children & Adolescents:
The usual starting dose for children from 10 years of age and adolescents is one tablet of 500 mg or 850 mg once daily. Your doctor may increase or decrease the dose, depending on your blood glucose levels.
The maximum recommended dose is 2 g taken as two or three divided doses.
If your child has diabetes that is resistant to insulin and is being treated in hospital, your child's doctor will decide the dose.
Swallow the tablets with a glass of water.
The 500 mg and 1000 mg tablets can be divided in half along the breakline, if advised by your doctor or pharmacist.
Take Diaformin during or immediately after food. This will reduce the chance of a stomach upset.
Take your medicine at about the same time each day. Taking it at the same time each day will have the best effect. It will also help you remember when to take it.
Continue taking your medicine for as long as your doctor tells you to.
This medicine helps control diabetes but does not cure it. Most people will need to take Diaformin on a longterm basis.
If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take your next dose when you are meant to.
Otherwise, take the missed dose as soon as you remember (with food), and then go back to taking your tablets as you would normally.
Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose you missed.
If you are not sure what to do, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Immediately telephone your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26) for advice, or go to Accident and Emergency at the nearest hospital, if you think you or anyone else may have taken too much Diaformin. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.
If you take too much Diaformin, you may feel sleepy, very tired, sick, vomit, have trouble breathing and have unusual muscle pain, stomach pain or diarrhoea. These may be early signs of a serious condition called lactic acidosis (build up of lactic acid in the blood).
You may also experience symptoms of hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose). This usually only happens if you take too much Diaformin together with other medicines for diabetes or with alcohol.
If you do experience any signs of hypoglycaemia, raise your blood glucose quickly by eating jelly beans, sugar or honey, drinking a non-diet soft drink or taking glucose tablets.
Make sure that you, your friends, family and work colleagues can recognise the symptoms of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia and know how to treat them.
Diaformin does not normally cause hypoglycaemia, although you may experience it if you take other medicines for diabetes such as sulfonylureas or repaglinide; or if you also use insulin.
Hypoglycaemia can occur suddenly. Initial signs may include:
If not treated promptly, these may progress to:
If you experience any of the symptoms of hypoglycaemia, you need to raise your blood glucose immediately.
You can do this by doing one of the following:
Unless you are within 10 to 15 minutes of your next meal or snack, follow up with extra carbohydrates such as plain biscuits, fruit or milk. Taking this extra carbohydrate will prevent a second drop in your blood glucose level.
If you notice the return of any of the signs of hyperglycaemia, contact your doctor immediately. Your doctor may need to consider additional or other treatments for your diabetes.
The risk of hyperglycaemia is increased in the following situations:
Tell your doctor if you:
Your blood glucose may become difficult to control at these times. You may also be more at risk of developing a serious condition called lactic acidosis. At these times, your doctor may replace Diaformin with insulin.
If you are about to be started on any new medicine, remind your doctor and pharmacist that you are taking Diaformin.
Tell all the other doctors, dentists and pharmacists who treat you that you are taking this medicine.
If you become pregnant while taking Diaformin, tell your doctor immediately.
Tell your doctor if any of the following happen:
Your blood glucose may become difficult to control at these times. You may also be more at risk of developing a serious condition called lactic acidosis. At these times, your doctor may replace Diaformin with insulin.
Visit your doctor regularly for check-ups.
Your doctor may want to perform blood tests to check your kidneys, liver, heart and vitamin B12 level while you are taking Diaformin.
Check your blood glucose levels regularly. This is the best way to tell if your diabetes is being controlled properly. Your doctor or diabetes educator will show you how and when to do this.
When you start treatment with Diaformin, it can take up to two weeks for your blood glucose levels to be properly controlled.
Carefully follow the advice of your doctor and dietician on diet, drinking alcohol and exercise.
Do not take Diaformin to treat any other complaints unless your doctor tells you to.
Do not give your medicine to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you.
Do not skip meals while taking Diaformin.
Do not stop taking your medicine or change the dosage without checking with your doctor.
If you have to be alert, for example when driving, be especially careful not to let your blood glucose levels fall too low. Low blood glucose levels may slow your reaction time and affect your ability to drive or operate machinery.
Drinking alcohol can make this worse. However, Diaformin by itself is unlikely to affect how you drive or operate machinery.
If you become sick with a cold, fever or flu, it is very important to continue eating your normal meals. Your diabetes educator or dietician can give you a list of foods to eat on sick days.
When you are travelling, it is a good idea to:
By following these simple measures, you can further reduce the risk from heart disease.
Know warning signs of heart attack and what to do:
If you have heart attack warning signs that are severe, get worse or last for 10 minutes even if they are mild, call triple zero (000). Every minute counts.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Diaformin.
Diaformin helps most people with diabetes but it may have unwanted side effects in some people.
All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical attention if you get some of the side effects.
If you are over 65 years of age, you may have an increased chance of getting side effects.
Do not be alarmed by the following lists of side effects. You may not experience any of them.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice any of the following and they worry you:
These are generally mild side effects which disappear after the first few weeks. Taking Diaformin with meals can help reduce stomach pain, nausea and diarrhoea. Skin reactions have been reported rarely.
Tell your doctor immediately or go to Accident and Emergency at the nearest hospital if you notice any of the following symptoms of lactic acidosis (build-up of lactic acid in the blood):
Lactic acidosis is a very rare but serious side effect requiring urgent medical attention or hospitalisation. Although rare, if lactic acidosis does occur, it can be fatal. The risk of lactic acidosis is higher in the elderly, those whose diabetes is poorly controlled, those with prolonged fasting, those with certain heart conditions, those who drink alcohol and those with kidney or liver problems.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything that is making you feel unwell.
Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some people.
Some side effects (e.g. reduced vitamin B12 level) can only be found when your doctor does tests from time to time to check your progress.
Keep your tablets in the blister pack until it is time to take them. If you take the tablets out of the blister pack they may not keep well.
Keep your tablets in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 30°C.
Do not store Diaformin or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink. Do not leave it in the car or on window sills. Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.
Keep it where children cannot reach it. A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
If your doctor tells you to stop taking this medicine or the expiry date has passed, ask your pharmacist what to do with any medicine that is left over.
Diaformin tablets are available in 3 strengths:
The active ingredient in Diaformin is metformin hydrochloride:
The tablets also contain:
Diaformin is made in Australia by:
Alphapharm Pty Limited
(ABN 93 002 359 739)
Level 1, 30 The Bond
30-34 Hickson Road
Millers Point NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9298 3999
www.alphapharm.com.au
Australian registration numbers:
Diaformin (500 mg) - AUST R 73806
Diaformin 850 - AUST R 73808
Diaformin 1000 - AUST R 82207
This leaflet was prepared on 16 September 2016.
sku | 9323610003966 |
---|---|
Tax Class | Taxable Goods |
Refrigeration Required | No |
Manufacturer | Alphapharm (Mylan Australia) |
Poisons Schedule | S4 |
Flammable Goods | No |
Small orders (less than 500g) cost $7.70 to be delivered anywhere in Australia. For larger orders, shipping costs are calculated on distance and weight (leaving Sydney) and an exact price can be obtained in the shopping cart prior to checkout.
The Online Pharmacy offers Shipping DISCOUNT on orders over $150. A discount of $7.70 is automatically applied during checkout. Additional shipping costs for bulky goods or priority delivery are paid by the customer.
The weight limit for Australia Post is 22kg and orders that weigh more than this cannot be shipped. We recommend placing multiple smaller orders to work around this problem.
Please refer to our shipping page if you would like the full details regarding our shipping information.
The Online Pharmacy has a simple pricing structure for prescription medicines that does not involve the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
The advertised price is available to anyone with a valid Australian prescription.
Please be aware that when a prescription is dispensed as a private prescription you do not receive any safety net contribution toward your PBS safety net.
Always read the label. Follow directions for use. If symptoms persist talk to your healthcare professional. This medicine may not be right for you. Read the warnings before purchase. The pharmacist reserves the right to not supply contrary to our professional and ethical obligation.
Ordering your prescription medication online is simple once you understand the process. Please refer to the following guide before ordering prescription medicines for the first time.