Duetact Dosage

The usual Duetact dosage for people who are switching from glimepiride to the combination medicine is 30 mg/2 mg or 30 mg/4 mg to start, depending on how much glimepiride you were previously taking. For those whose blood sugar levels are not controlled with either of these doses of Duetact, the dosage can be increased to a maximum of 45 mg/8 mg per day.

 

Duetact Dosage: An Introduction

Duetact® (pioglitazone and glimepiride) is a combination of two different diabetes medications -- pioglitazone hydrochloride (Actos®) and glimepiride (Amaryl®). The dose of Duetact that your healthcare provider prescribes will vary, depending on a number of factors, including:
 
  • How well your diabetes is controlled
  • Other medical conditions you may have
  • Other medications you are currently taking.
     
As is always the case, do not adjust your dose unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.
 

Duetact Dosage for Type 2 Diabetes

If you are switching to Duetact from Amaryl (glimepiride), the recommended Duetact dosage is Duetact 30 mg/2 mg or 30 mg/4 mg, taken once a day, depending on much glimepiride you were taking.
 In other words, if you were taking Amaryl 2 mg daily, your Duetact dose will be 30 mg/2 mg once daily; if you were taking Amaryl 4 mg daily, your Duetact dose will be 30 mg/4 mg once daily.
 
For everyone else, including people who are switching to Duetact from Actos (pioglitazone), the recommended starting dose is Duetact 30 mg/2 mg, taken once a day. Because elderly people are more likely to be sensitive to the effects of the glimepiride component in Duetact, it is recommended that they start on Amaryl 1 mg daily instead of Duetact. Once they get used to that dose of Amaryl, they can be switched to Duetact.
 
The first part of the Duetact dosage refers to the pioglitazone amount, while the second part of the dosage refers to the glimepiride amount (for example, Duetact 4 mg/1 mg contains 4 mg pioglitazone and 1 mg glimepiride).
 
Your healthcare provider may slowly increase your Duetact dosage, if necessary, to control blood sugar. The maximum dose is 45 mg/8 mg per day.
 
(Duetact Dosage Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;