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Gliclazide

J

Jo19

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi :)

I've just been put on Gliclazide and having read up on it - it seems it can cause weight gain. I've been steadily losing for a while now and really don't want to put weight back on. Is it a foregone conclusion that there is weight gain? I'm just on 80mg at the moment and not noticing a difference but nurse wants to titrate the dose upwards.

Thanks so much

Jo
 
Jo19 said:
Hi :)

I've just been put on Gliclazide and having read up on it - it seems it can cause weight gain. I've been steadily losing for a while now and really don't want to put weight back on. Is it a foregone conclusion that there is weight gain? I'm just on 80mg at the moment and not noticing a difference but nurse wants to titrate the dose upwards.

Thanks so much

Jo
Click to expand...
I have been using glic for over 7 years. When I started I was over 18 stone, and I changed lifestyle and diet, since then my weight dropped to around 10 stone, and has remained within 1 kg of 64 kg i.e. steady. My waistband shrank from 38" to currently 30" so I am now at the optimum BMI.

Glic increases the amount of sulfonyl urea which increases insulin production. It is what actually normally happens in the pancreas so it is not an alien process. Our delta cells synthesise sulfonylurea by design. It is normally self limiting since the delta cells reduce output as glucose levels drop so it is quite benign. It is possible to hve hypos on this medication, and I was able to reduce my dosage as my bgl levels normalised. I also came off other meds (Metformin, Actos) while I recovered.
 
I lost most of my 10st weight loss on Gliclizide, my opinion is it’s feeding or even over feeding the lows/hypos that cause the weight gain. Keep a close eye on your numbers and only eat enough carbs to correct if you do hypo, I used to have one dextrose tablet if I went below 4. Like @Oldvatr I reduced my meds accordingly as my numbers dropped (with my GP input) rather than feed the drug. I’m now only on metformin.
 
Thanks so much for the quick and positive replies :) That's really good to hear! Much appreciated :)
 
Oldvatr said:
I have been using glic for over 7 years. When I started I was over 18 stone, and I changed lifestyle and diet, since then my weight dropped to around 10 stone, and has remained within 1 kg of 64 kg i.e. steady. My waistband shrank from 38" to currently 30" so I am now at the optimum BMI.

Glic increases the amount of sulfonyl urea which increases insulin production. It is what actually normally happens in the pancreas so it is not an alien process. Our delta cells synthesise sulfonylurea by design. It is normally self limiting since the delta cells reduce output as glucose levels drop so it is quite benign. It is possible to hve hypos on this medication, and I was able to reduce my dosage as my bgl levels normalised. I also came off other meds (Metformin, Actos) while I recovered.
Click to expand...
That's really interesting - I need to read up more about all this stuff.
 
lovinglife said:
I lost most of my 10st weight loss on Gliclizide, my opinion is it’s feeding or even over feeding the lows/hypos that cause the weight gain. Keep a close eye on your numbers and only eat enough carbs to correct if you do hypo, I used to have one dextrose tablet if I went below 4. Like @Oldvatr I reduced my meds accordingly as my numbers dropped (with my GP input) rather than feed the drug. I’m now only on metformin.
Click to expand...
Wow - congrats on your weight loss. That's a good idea to get some dextrose.
 
Jo19 said:
Thanks so much for the quick and positive replies :) That's really good to hear! Much appreciated :)
Click to expand...
We had an energy shutdown so I did not quite complete my post.

Glic does not like Insulin resistance. It will push the insulin higher than it needs to, and thus is a sledgehammer cracking a nut. It is important as a T2 to reduce your glucose levels by limting carbs as much as you can otherwise you may be gaining extra weight because the extra insulin is doing its job-storing glucose and fat. In my tale in the prevous post, I entered the fray on MAX gliclazide, MAX metformin, nd MAX Actos, and my sugars were in the 20;s (mmol/l) Glic was not at that stage working for me,

Personally I used LCHF diet to hit the IR where it hurt, and it magically disappeared, Now I choose to stay medicated on 40mg Glic at night, I find it works very well, and now can drop high bgl by around 3 mmol/l but it does not usually cause me any hypo;s. BUT -I had a shock two nights ago where I went as low as 3.2mmol/l, but then I realised I had had a shot of whiskey, which compounded the effect. A slice of toast and marmalade put that to rights.

So, Glic needs a helping hand to overcome IR before iit becomes apparent that it is working. Low Carb is your best option IMHO.
 
In the leaflet with the medication it lists all the known side effects and how common that particular one is so it’s usually “very common” “common” “uncommon” “rare” or similar but it also normally says not everyone gets side effects and if you do they normally they settle down with time. A doctor is looking at benefits outweighing the risks so he will make a call that a bit of extra weight isn’t a problem but you also have a say in your treatment and what you put in your body so if you’re not happy ask for something else
 
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