When do you take your Gliclizide?

[tree-peony]

My dose has just been increased to 80mg a day which my GP wants me to take in one go in the morning. I'm actually splitting it into 40mg x 2 taken with breakfast and then later in the day (not sure yet if it should be evening meal, or bedtime) as even this makes me feel a bit heady in the late afternoon.

I was wondering how other people take theirs?

 

[desidiabulum]

I take 20mg before breakfast and 60mg in evening, which seems to work for me -- any more than 20mg and I would be going hypo later in the day. But that's me, and your levels still seem much too high, tree peony - I can see why your GP wants you to take a high dose at breakfast to see what it can do. What are your levels like when you are 'heady'? Given how high your fasting levels are i do wonder whether they are still pretty high when you are getting the 'heady' feeling. To be honest, I do wonder whether your GP needs to be thinking of something more than just nudging up your gliclazide dosage. Forgive me if you've explained why on earlier threads, but are there reasons why your clinic is not doing more to help you get your bgs down?

 

[tree-peony]

he just says it'll take time and it's going in the right direction! I'm nudging single figures when I go a bit wappy, but I've been around 12 since mid morning.

 

[desidiabulum]

I can see that it's basically going in the right direction, but I do worry that you're so often in double figures. I think for most of us the sulphonylureas like gliclazide or glipizide are used to knock us down into the 7s/8s, and then the dosage is finessed to ease us lower while avoiding hypos if possible. I'm no GP but I'd worry that the meds haven't got you into the ballpark area by now. Don't want to sound negative -- just concerned about you!

 

[tree-peony]

I'm always in double figures! but I've only been on the Glic for 2 weeks, and 40mg for the first 10 days, so I guess it's early days yet

 

[suenjames]

I take 80mg morning and 80mg before my evening meal seems to work for me

 

[desidiabulum]

As an update to this thread, if anyone is wondering, tree-peony did indeed achieve wonderful control and low bg numbers, and got a better hba1c than me

 

[GillKat]

I was told by diabetic consultant to take 1 (80g) immediately before breakfast and the 2nd immediately before evening meal.

When I was changed to the two my doctor didnttell me when to take them so was taking every 12 hours but wrong.

I was also given saxagliptin to take before first glicozide and readings are into single figures most of time and average around very low 7s over 7, 14 and 30 days. Back in June I was in 20s! but have also changed what I eat and exercise really has a major effect on my levels.

 

[Georgehiggins]

I take 2x 80mg of gliclazide when I get up as my readings are about 16 to 17.6, then in the afternoon I test and it as out 14.6 and have 1x80mg of gliclazide again, I've reduced my diet but nothing is helping what do I have to do to get my levels down

 

[desidiabulum]

I take 2x 80mg of gliclazide when I get up as my readings are about 16 to 17.6, then in the afternoon I test and it as out 14.6 and have 1x80mg of gliclazide again, I've reduced my diet but nothing is helping what do I have to do to get my levels down

Hi -- what do you mean when you save you have reduced your diet? Have you changed it too? How about your exercise levels? Do you need to lose weight?

 

[pleinster]

I take 2x 80mg of gliclazide when I get up as my readings are about 16 to 17.6, then in the afternoon I test and it as out 14.6 and have 1x80mg of gliclazide again, I've reduced my diet but nothing is helping what do I have to do to get my levels down

George, I was on 80mg Gliclazide later upped to 160mg as readings were as high often in the high teens and never below 9 really. I changed my diet and came off my Gliclazide after looking at notes I had taken on what I was eating, when I was taking meds and what my levels were at various times...it wasn't doing a thing. After a few days of eating low carb foods my levels dropped really nicely and continued to do so. Now I never really get above 9 and mostly I'm under 7.2 and often a slow as 5.8. That said, I have a steroid spike in the am, and now that my diet is under control I'm trying Gliclazide again to see if I respond better now. I'd like to be hitting no more than 6.5 and be averaging about 5.6, and believe it is do-able. Advice is - record everything...stop eating bread, cereals and potatoes to start....and consider a low carb diet...if you haven't already. check the site for all kinds of info. I have also heard that Gliclazide is best taken 20 mins before breakfast..but it's speculative. Good luck

 

[Georgehiggins]

I have cut down on the amount of what I eat , no cereals for breakfast today or toast , had a lean ham salad for my lunch then about 3 I had an apple at 430 blood levels down to 9.4 so hope this is the start of reducing them now

 

[pleinster]

I have cut down on the amount of what I eat , no cereals for breakfast today or toast , had a lean ham salad for my lunch then about 3 I had an apple at 430 blood levels down to 9.4 so hope this is the start of reducing them now

Well done. I certainly found that with no toast or cereal levels started becoming way more civilized. On low carbs, my levels gradually came down in little chunks.

 

[MarcoRiveira]

I don't eat breakfast, and my bg level is around 7 to 9 around 11am, no medication taken.

My doctor learned about this and told me to take my medicines in the morning even without breakfast. That's 30mg diamicron mr (gliclazide multi release) and 1 500mg Metformin. Now i get around 6 at 11am, and just before dinner 5.5 to 6.5. I take another 500mg metformin after dinner.

Diamicron mr really works for me i guess. I am newly diagnosed. I had 18 at first (fasting), and due to this i was given insulin at the hospital to bring it down to 6, took 2 hours. I was then referred to a diabetes doctor.

I do eat a lot of carbs, although the rice i eat has a low GI, unless i had to eat out, where i just have a small portion of rice.

 

[Annie 71]

Hello all
Does anyone have Diabetes resulting from Steriod use ( from the doctors)?
Have 2 lung diseases because of the meds I take for this I am now told I have diabetes 2 diagnosed 13 MTHS ago. Have been on Metaformin did nothing to bring down levels still in the 90s Mmol. Put on trulicity brought my levels down bower was not eating for 4 days out 7. Still on Metaformin 1000mg X 1 now I am taking Gliclazide X2 40mg a day. I know it is early days but my levels are now higher than trulicity & Metformin.

Is anybody out there who has diabetes caused by long term Steriod use and how do you deal with it.

 

[Oldvatr]

I take Gliclazide. It is designed to increase insulin output from the pancreas so it is a sledgehammer pushing blood glucose into storage against Insulin Resistance.

One thing to bear in mind is that it only works when insulin is being demanded by the hormones. It actually responds to the Amylase enzyme that is triggered when carbs are eaten. Nothing eaten = no benefit from Glic. Indeed taking Glic after a meal is counterproductive since the insulin rush will have passed, So it is best taken about 20 minutes before a meal. I realised this and went to TWOMAD to match my doses (originally 4x80mg tabs split 2x2, but now I have only one 40 mg tab taken to cover the main meal in the day, and I eat a standard low carb breakfast that I know does not trigger any significant glucose spike, You can get Glic in 40mg tabs if that makes meal matching easier, but the Doc will need to split it on the scrip.