GLIMEPIRIDE

Hi Hazey,

I think your GP was being perhaps a little over-optimistic as regards the "instant results". The medical practitioner guidelines say that it can take up to a week for the effects of glimepiride (Amaryl) to be fully seen. If there is no improvement after 1 to 2 weeks then the dose is usually stepped up to 4mg, and if still no reaction after another 1 to 2 weeks up again to 6mg. 6mg is the maximum dose you can take.

What it does is to encourage your pancreas to produce extra insulin, and this effect lasts for up to 9 hours after you take the tablet. It is recommended that you take one a day and always before or with your first meal of the day.

Perhaps you will see some improvement over the next few days. Good luck.

Hi Hazey,

Sorry to hear your hopes of a lower bg were cruelly dashed! I'm type 1, so I have no use for sulfonylureas like Glimepiride 'cos my pancreas is shot. What I do know is that there is good reason not to use that sort of medication if you can avoid it.

I'm sure you know it encourages your pancreas to produce more insulin, which is why it can cause hypoglycemia. That's one reason to keep in mind. But the real problem is that, if you're type 2, you're insulin resistant and already produce a lot of insulin as a result. Getting your pancreas to pump out even more is likely to worsen, not lessen, insulin resistance. Sulfonylureas can hasten beta cell burnout, which would inevitably lead to an insulin prescription too.

I'm a terrible bore on the subject, I know, but I think the answer lies not in producing more insulin, but in needing less. That means avoiding the foods that require lots of insulin, and eating more of the ones that don't.

Good luck with it.

All the best,

fergus

I am not sure that Glimepiride has the same detrimental effect on beta cells as has been suggested above. I have just been changed from Gliclazide to Glimeripide for that very reason. I will be combining this with Levemir and a long acting metformin despite the fact that the first time I was given metformin I ended up in hospital with Pleurisy...ho hum. I am assured by my diabetic nurse that no one is allergic to Metformin...we will see. Mind you, my current 'spot' levels average 6.5 although long term HBa1c is 9 so that is the main thing I need to control.