Gliclazide

[perrywinkle]

Hi I have been put onto Gliclazide recently by GP to try and control better. I have been taking it for a month with no real problems but suddenly over the last two days I have been having hypos in the afternoon. Down to 1.6 one day and nearly passed out. Do they take a while to get into the system before they start having affect? I am wondering if perhaps I am not eating enough as I have cereal for breakfast when morning reading is around 8/9. Sandwich at lunchtime and then early evening meal. Any advice would be appreciated. Only on 40mg to start with

 

[Lamont D]

Ok, what you need to do is contact your GP. Because the glicizide is giving you hypos.
You have better blood glucose levels than your doctor thinks.

If he doesn't explain why, ask him.


Are you low carbing?

 

[Bluetit1802]

After a carby breakfast (cereal) and a carby lunch (bread) you should not be down to 1.6. in the afternoon.
Have you been testing before and after eating? Are those levels acceptable to you?
Gliclazide works on the pancreas to stimulate insulin production and is maybe working a bit too hard.
We can't really advise you. You need to speak to your doctor.

 

[alaska]

Gliclazide works by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin.

It is good at lowering blood glucose levels but this comes at a price.

Producing more insulin means insulin resistance gets worse, makes weight gain more likely and burns out the pancreas. Keep taking these drugs for a number of years and you may need to go onto insulin injections before too long.

The other side effect, as you have found out is the risk of hypos.

Unless you have MODY or have very little willpower to control your diet, then really it's not a good type of drug.

A low carb diet, based around unprocessed food, should be more effective in safely lowering blood glucose levels without any of the disadvantages and side effects listed above.

Note that cereal is a highly processed food.

You shouldn't go onto a low carb diet if on medication that causes hypos without first speaking to your doctor.

You can find out more about low carb dieting here
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/lowcarb/

 

[pleinster]

I agree very much with what @alaska has said. I was on 80mg Gliclazide initially, doubled due to a slow start to its effect. Gradually I realised that a very low carb diet (particularly one where I gave up my beloved cereal, toast or croissants in morning) made all the difference. Sounds like you do have a meter; how often do you test? I suggest testing before and 2.5 hour
after a meal and recording the results and the kind of food eaten (also when you take your Gliclazide) - that way you will soon learn what is working and what is not (and you can show it to your doctor as hard evidence). When I did this, I soon established what was best for me personally and told the doctor I was stopping the meds to try solely diet control instead...he accepted this easily as I had figures to support my decision...to be honest I had already stopped the Gliclazide anyway. My levels are not exactly perfect but have vastly improved and seldom get above 8.5mmols (more usually between 5.4 and 7.5 mmols) no meds for diabetes and no hypos at all. So, I'd say talk to your doctor about trying diet alone to see what happens...and then really look seriously at cutting those carbs down.

 

[lovinglife]

Hi I have been put onto Gliclazide recently by GP to try and control better. I have been taking it for a month with no real problems but suddenly over the last two days I have been having hypos in the afternoon. Down to 1.6 one day and nearly passed out. Do they take a while to get into the system before they start having affect? I am wondering if perhaps I am not eating enough as I have cereal for breakfast when morning reading is around 8/9. Sandwich at lunchtime and then early evening meal. Any advice would be appreciated. Only on 40mg to start with

Hi there,

Have you tried splitting your dose? I started on max dose glic and as I lost my weight reduced to 80g a day (cannot drop that last one no matter how hard I try) my GP told me to take it all in the morning but I found I was hypoing in the afternoon but having to high numbers after my evening meal - I split the dose to 40g morning and evening - which always made more sense to me anyway and my numbers became more stable and much lower all round.

 

[lillipilli15]

Hi...i was on glic in the am n met in the pm...my gp has taken me off gliclazide as she said my bs was very tightly controlled and she was concerned as i was at risk of hypos...i thought it sounded a bit bonkers to be honest but it seems to be working....

 

[Lamont D]

Hi...i was on glic in the am n met in the pm...my gp has taken me off gliclazide as she said my bs was very tightly controlled and she was concerned as i was at risk of hypos...i thought it sounded a bit bonkers to be honest but it seems to be working....

Glicizide works to provide more insulin.
That means it reduces the amount of glucose in your blood and your levels drop.
Because you are low carbing and your insulin resistance is better than it was, the extra insulin gives you the hypos. Not bonkers! Nature.
Glad it's working tho!

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi...i was on glic in the am n met in the pm...my gp has taken me off gliclazide as she said my bs was very tightly controlled and she was concerned as i was at risk of hypos...i thought it sounded a bit bonkers to be honest but it seems to be working....

Lilli - I'll say what @nosher8355 did in a slightly different way, if that's OK.

The Gliclazide stimulates your own body to generate more insulin, which helps reduce your blood sugars. It doesn't contain any insulin. However, because it makes your body work harder than it would naturally, irrespective of what you eat, once your control and insulin resistance improves, your body can be allowed to "relax" a bit and react a bit more naturally to your diet.

Stopping your Gliclazide is a very positive step for you. You should be very pleased. Well done.