Not really - I would just go for the 100s.
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I get 100mg which are divisible, without any effort you get two 50mg pills. I use glucobay from bayer. Check if yours are divisible as well.
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The Acarbose available in Hong Kong is a generic produced in Portugal called Farmoz. Has anyone heard of it or used it? The price is $255 USD for 1000 100 mg tablets.
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Wow - thats a great price.
How do you purchase it? Do you need a prescription? Any online Hong Kong pharmacies selling it at that price?
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I got a prescription at a local doctor and then went to the physical pharmacy. I think they only provide it to Hong Kong residents though. Although there may be a way to purchase the generic somewhere else? This is the first I have heard of the Potugese generic of Acarbose.
Here is the link to the pharmacy web page if interested:
https://www.loksintong.org/lok-sin-tong-community-pharmacy?_lang=en
It provides reference prices for MANY other medications as well. Realize that prices are in HKD which is 7.826 HKD = 1 USD
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Just noticed the price of Acarbose at CostPlusDrugs:
$16.50 for 90 X 100mg tablets, or 0.18$ per 100mg tablet. (so even better than your $0.25 price in HK).
Link to the Acarbose Pricing:
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I am not surprised. Hong Kong is rarely the cheapest for anything.
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Picked up my Acarbose today and had a nice chat with the pharmacist about it. Here are some tidbits I learned.
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You should start at 100 mg and only move to 50 mg if you cannot tolerate the side effects or if you are very lightweight.
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acarbose and Metformin are synergistic so you can take both together.
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Metformin has worse side effects than Acarbose. Acarbose is a very gentle drug as he called it.
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Dear De Strider，thank you for your message, it was very helpful. May I ask if the doctor instructed you to take 100mg before each meal or only before the meal containing carbohydrates? Thank you!
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He said 3 times a day, once with each meal. I didn’t ask if I should take it if I am not having carbs. Sorry!
Most meals usually have carbs though. At least my meals. 
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This was posted in another thread by Brimstone, but I think it is important for everyone taking Acarbose to read. It appears that taking Acarbose might be worse than metformin for gaining or retaining muscle mass.
Association of Acarbose with Decreased Muscle Mass and Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study
“Acarbose treatment was associated with decreased muscle mass and strength”
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I’m not worried about this acarbose/muscle study. It was done in a group of hospitalized diabetic patients, so they weren’t getting any exercise and were even more sedentary than the average sedentary person. Since acarbose essentially cuts caloric intake (since carbs are never absorbed in the first place), then of course non-exercising patients who cut calories are going to lose muscle mass and strength.
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Please clarify for me.
I was under the impression that acarbose inhibits the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, slowing down, but not preventing digestion and absorption of carbs. So you are saying its not a matter of delaying absorption by acarbose but rather its preventing absorption. Thus acarbose reduces the total caloric intake of the meal.
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Since the carbs don’t get absorbed in the small intestine and then get passed to the large intestine to act as an energy source for the growth of bacteria colonized therein, the net energy absorbed is overall decreased (even though some of it is recouped as short chain fatty acids formed by the colonic bacteria).
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Here ya go, I decided to actually read the paper From the Discussion section:
“The association between acarbose and low muscle mass and function should not be totally unexpected, as acarbose is an α-glucosidase inhibitor that inhibits the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates in the small intestine. This effect of acarbose on absorption of carbohydrates leads to reduction of energy, especially in Asia where rice forms a major component of the diet and the dietary contribution of carbohydrate is high”
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Just reviewed an interesting article about role of iron in aging. Acarbose is mentioned as one of the medications which causes low iron. I am wondering if a combination of Rapamycin with Acarbose have a cumulative effect in causing iron- deficiency anemia and low ferritin level in some patients.
Acarbose extends lifespan in mice [47]. Acarbose increases fecal excretion of iron and has been known to be a cause of iron-deficiency anemia in humans [48, 49].
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Just reviewed an interesting article about role of iron in aging. Acarbose is mentioned as one of the medications which causes low iron. I am wondering if a combination of Rapamycin with Acarbose have a cumulative effect in causing iron- deficiency anemia and low ferritin level in some patients.
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Thanks a lot. Very good find!
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So, I have been taking Acarbose for a few days now. Here are some observations:
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A lot more gas. I feel like all my defecations are a lot more explosive.
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The gas is odourless yet loud. However I am a fairly regular guy so I don’t keep much crap in the system. So that may be why.
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The fecal matter seems to be less processed and closer to the original form of the food. Maybe less processing is going on?
4 My gut feels great. However I did just finish a course of antibiotics and am now taking probiotics. I used to have more intestinal discomfort that seems to have resolved itself.
- I find I am eating less. I don’t feel the need to overstuff my self as much as before.
Hopefully all of the above will lead to a healthier life. I am willing to give it a try. That and I bought 9 boxes of Acarbose pills…
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