Actos Dosage/Direction for Use

Actos should be taken once daily without regard to meals.
The management of antidiabetic therapy should be individualized. Ideally, the response to therapy should be evaluated using HbA_1C, which is a better indicator of long-term glycemic control than FPG alone. HbA_1C reflects glycemia over the past two to three months. In clinical use, it is recommended that patients be treated with Actos for a period of time adequate to evaluate change in HbA_1C (3 months) unless glycemic control deteriorates. After initiation of Actos or with dose increase, patients should be carefully monitored for adverse events related to fluid retention (see Warnings).
Monotherapy: Actos monotherapy in patients not adequately controlled with diet and exercise may be initiated at 15 or 30 mg once daily. For patients who respond inadequately to the initial dose of Actos, the dose can be increased in increments up to 45 mg once daily. For patients not responding adequately to monotherapy, combination therapy should be considered.
Combination Therapy: Sulfonylurea: Actos in combination with a sulfonylurea may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current sulfonylurea dose can be continued upon initiation of Actos therapy. If patients report hypoglycemia, the dose of sulfonylurea should be decreased.
Metformin: Actos in combination with metformin may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current metformin dose can be continued upon initiation of Actos therapy. It is unlikely that the dose of metformin will require adjustment due to hypoglycemia during combination therapy with Actos.
Insulin: Actos in combination with insulin may be initiated at 15 mg or 30 mg once daily. The current insulin dose can be continued upon initiation of Actos therapy. In patients receiving Actos and insulin, the insulin dose can be decreased by 10% to 25% if the patients report hypoglycemia or if plasma glucose concentrations decrease to less than 100 mg/dL. Further adjustments should be individualized based on glucose-lowering response.
Maximum Recommended Dose: The dose of Actos should not exceed 45 mg once daily in monotherapy or in combination with sulfonylurea, metformin or insulin.
Dose adjustment in patients with renal insufficiency is not recommended (see Pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics under Actions).
Therapy with Actos should not be initiated if the patient exhibits clinical evidence of active liver disease or increased serum ALT levels (ALT greater than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal) at start of therapy (see General, Hepatic Effects under Precautions and Special Populations Pharmacokinetics, Hepatic Insufficiency under Actions). Liver enzyme monitoring is recommended in all patients prior to initiation of therapy with Actos and periodically thereafter (see General, Hepatic Effects under Precautions).
There are no data on the use of Actos in patients under 18 years of age; therefore, use of Actos in pediatric patients is not recommended.
No data are available on the use of Actos in combination with another thiazolidinedione.