Categories: OASIS

hhoe admin

Share

Nurse Teachings on Precautions to be Exercised While Using Biguanides

Patient/caregiver was educated regarding precautions to be exercised for using biguanides as follows

  1. Take the medication at the same time every day, to avoid forgetting the medication.
  2. Maintain good regular eating habits. Do not skip your meals.
  3. Be aware of signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as, dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, and hunger, to avoid any episodes of altered levels of consciousness and accidental falls. One should stay away from activities, such as, driving and operating heavy machinery, until they are used to the side effects caused by these medications.
  4. Report any symptoms of stomach upset, such as, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and metallic taste in the mouth immediately to your doctor.
  5. Maintain compliance with your dietary recommendations, as ordered.
  6. Maintain compliance with any exercise schedule prescribed by your doctor. Try not to overdo on your exercise.
  7. Take weight reading at least twice a week and maintain a log of every reading for comparative feedback. Maintain an ideal weight for your height.
  8. Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
  9. Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
  10. Take a blood sugar reading always before you take the pill. Maintain a log of every day blood sugar readings for comparative feedback, as to how well the drug is helping to control the blood sugars.
  11. If the blood sugar is too low, despite eating regularly and without skipping a meal, you can defer taking the medication for that dose and notify your doctor regarding the same.
  12. Keeping a track of frequency of episodes of low blood sugars, despite eating regularly, can help your physician revise your dose on the medication.
  13. Also, notify your doctor, if the blood sugar continues to be high, despite taking the medication as recommended, so that, your medication dose could be revised.
  14. Observe compliance with any regular lab work ordered, such as, HbA1c. As these drugs are eliminated in the urine, renal function panel could be ordered periodically.
  15. If a dose is missed, it should be taken at the earliest notice of noncompliance, if it is within 2 hours of the scheduled missed dose time. Report the noncompliance to your physician. If it is time for the next dose, the missed dose can be skipped. Compensating for the missed dose by taking an extra dose can pose serious risk for an episode of extremely low blood sugars, thus precipitating an emergency.

Editor's Pick

    Leave A Comment

    Related Posts